Starting Out - What Brushes do i need?

Hi

i am just starting out! i am actually booked into a course in a couple of weeks.

just wondering what brushes do i need? and what is the best make?

also how do you blend the colours into each other? mine just seems to dry and cake and not blend at all

I would have at least a #5 round synthetic (American Painter) is good and a #4 round sable(da Vinci).

Oh yes, you must blend. Hopefully this is one of the topics for your course?

i hope so!! will let u know how i get on!!!
does that link ship to the UK? xx

You will need to blend while all of the paint is still damp, or else "drag" the wet paint into the dry. It's a learning process. Try it with a sponge (dabbing) and see how that works for you. As far as brushes, I use Master's Touch kolinsky sables, and whatever else is on sale and passes my "try it dry on my arm while in the store" test. LOL

Speaking of brushes...

I re-washed all of my brushes last night to make sure they were ready for the gig this weekend (I NEED to get rid of some of these - washing 60 brushes SUCKS!), and it got me thinking. Almost all of the brushes I have right now are the Snaz synthetics; I started on the red ones, but quickly tossed those for the smaller green and gold - no idea what size, I don't think it's listed on the brushes. But reading posts here and elsewhere, I'm wondering if I should start looking into sables.

Those of you who have used both, do you find that you prefer one or the other? Do you keep both with you, or do you exclusively use one or the other? Your personal pros and cons of each?

tia.

Honestly... you need to try everything to decide what YOU like. I like sables - but quality varies. The ones I buy are expensive up here. I've tried some excellent brushes that were freebies at conventions but have no idea what they were!!!

Some of the acrylics work great... particularly in the flat and angle brushes.

I have a massive amount of brushes but tend to reach for the #4 round sables about 90% of the time. And when I am in the brush section at Michaels or art stores I don't even look at brands - I just look at the loofes (the hair) and pick out what I want from that!!

I tend to suggest to beginners that a good start is to get a #4 or medium round, a medium filbert or cat's tongue, a small script/liner (a #2 round would work too) and a 3/8" flat or square brush.

And get what you can afford - acrylic or sable... or some of both.

So much of how a brush works for people is their technique... so it really is a matter of trying the different brushes and practising with them... best is seeing someone use them in person I have found.

I have both but use only sable for linework. The synthetic is too springy for my style, but I use them for dot making and lips. Shannon is right... it has a lot to do with how YOU paint, so try both and see which one you like better.

Someone wonderful send me a #4( #5 can't remember) sable when I first started, and I love that brush, but I tend to always reach for my #6 gold taklon brush. I love it, love it, love it.

I taught a beginners class tuesday and the one thing I noticed is the difference in brush preference. All the people did pretty good with lines (for their first time picking up pro face paints) but they all liked a different number round. And they all looked great.

I would suggest buying a pack with a few different size rounds and trying it out til you find your favorite.

I got a great deal today. Found 4 #6 rounds for .30 a piece on closeout...yay!

Google the London School of Face painting if you are looking for for someone who will ship to the UK. Bibi is great.

Metina

I love my #8 sable! When I started out I used only them, but realised that with small children that moves all over the place, it is easier with smaller brushes for linework. So now I have a lot of different ones. I think most of them are good in the beginning, but very soon loose their ability to come to a point (maybe I handle them too roughly..). The ones I use at the moment are Diamond Arcade brushes. They are cheap - and look cheap - but they are actually good, and continue to be so. Also have some eyeliner brushes for lines.

And just got some of Vargas brushes. A really long liner brush, that is great for long curved lines, and some kabuki style brushes that are amazing at covering large areas and do the blending at the same time! But they are in stead of sponges, and to that prize (15 euro at a discount rate), it is not practical for facepainting, where I use one sponge per child.

/agree with all the above! Have some of both and use them all....depending on what I'm doing.

I do have a few favorites I tend to grab all the time...but they all serve a purpose!

Recently got some nice 1" synthetic flats that are perfect for the rainbow cakes!