Sable brush feel -- more friction than Golden Taklon?

[PaintByNumbers]

I broke down and got a WN Series 7 to try. It has a totally different feel than my accustomed Loew-Cornell Golden Taklon brushes.

 

It requires more effort to lay down the paint. First I was thinking that the paint wasn't coming off the bristles as easily, but maybe its the friction of the brush itself?

 

Anyone else experience a radically different feel with sable? I don't like it; it requires more movement and I feel like I'm "muscling" the brush.

 

Don't know if I will get used to it or not.

 

I do like the potential for a finer point, but so far I don't _want_ that fine a point most of the time; and it seems that to get a broader line requires more effort from my fingers.

[PurityThruFire]

Uh-huh, I know just what you are talking about.

I'll tell you this, at first I didn't really like my W&N Series 7 either but after a couple of weeks staying with it and using my sables I will NEVER go back.

Just stick with it, you will get used to it.

[ixminis]

My quickest answer is yup, sables have "More control with a bit more effort"

 

For me:

Sable for detail

Synthetic for base coats that require speed, but not as much accuracy (and terrain)

[vutpakdi]

If you want a broad line and want to paint quickly, you should probably use a synthetic-sable blend or synthetic flat. Or, a larger Winsor & Newton Series 7 brush.

 

I find the Series 7 brushes do have a different feel than the synthetics, and I like that feel. I like that increased control and the longer life.

 

Ron

[SaintRigger]

Jenna got me some weasel-butt brushes for my b-day. I have yet to try them out, but I've been playing with some new techniques and I think they would be more suited for.

 

I've gotten fairly good and quick with synthetics, but I'm eager to try out the natural brushes. I'll see if I notice it too.

[Rodnik]

Yep..different feel.

 

I use taklons, too. I cut the tips off of 'em and use the handles for custom sculpting tools.

[Cerridwyn1st]

That, and if you have to "work" to lay the paint down, it could be that your paint is too thick. Try thinning a little more and give it another try. By the way, what size brush are you using? Is it a regular WNS7 or a mini?

[fieldarchy]

the feel is VERY different. But it's a good different. You just need to break in the new brushes and get accustomed to working with them. Even when you are used to sable when you get new brushes they don't feel quite right. You just have to work past it.

[Jubilee]

I'm the complete opposite! Using synthetic or synthetic blend brushes has always been a struggle for me, and they always feel akward. I much prefer my W&N Series 7 or DaVinci Maestro. Guess it's what you're used to.. :)

 

/ali

[fieldarchy]

Jubilee I definitely feel the same way. I loved my W&Ns when I got them but they do have a very different feel to them.

[TaleSpinner]

The synthetics are harder to control for the shear factor that they release the paint TOO easily. The W&Ns let you control how much, when, and where to put the paint better. You will need to get used to them. You also need the paint at the right consistency. It is easier to paint with thined paints with a W&N than with synthetics, so you may find that you can now thin a bit more than you could before. That too will help your artwork. Give them a few months, I'm betting you toss the synthetics.

 

TS

[PaintByNumbers]

I bought 3 sizes but was using the Series 7 #0.

 

The difference in feel is using the same dollup of paint, so thickness shouldn't be an issue. And generally I don't want it so thin that I lose opacity; I want to cover in one coat, not make translucent layers. I would like to wet blend.

 

Maybe the sable fibers do need to be broken in before they get soft & smooth.

[Cerridwyn1st]

Sable brushes lend themselves more readily to multiple layers of nearly transparent paint. If what you want is paint that is so thick it covers in a single layer, you may well have wasted your money buying sables.

 

Sables are excellent for free-hand and painting small details such as eyes. If properly cared for, they won't splay or get a bend at the end the way synthetics do. They seem to resist being "wrecked" by painting on a surface they were not intended to - metal. Synthetics tend to get ruined quickly painting metal.

 

The brushes favored by some painters were developed for watercolor techniques. In a sense, the techiques these painters use for mini painting are adaptations of watercolor techniques applied to a small figure. Because the brushes were developed for these techniques, high-end sables are the weapon of choice for Master Painters (and those who want to be.)

 

Not everyone paints the same way. I have a friend who is a good painter and he would never thin his paint or use expensive sables. He gets the cheapest synthetics he can find at Wal-Mart, uses them until they are wrecked, then throws them out and buys more. I know another painter who does multiple detailed layers of drybrushing. I tried his method once and it made me nuts. I just don't have the patience for it.

 

To each his own. Maybe the sables aren't the best tool for the kind of painting you like to do, but that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with your painting style. As long as you enjoy the hobby and have results that you like, that's all that really matters.

[Helltown]

I broke down and got a WN Series 7 to try. It has a totally different feel than my accustomed Loew-Cornell Golden Taklon brushes.

 

It requires more effort to lay down the paint. First I was thinking that the paint wasn't coming off the bristles as easily, but maybe its the friction of the brush itself?

 

Anyone else experience a radically different feel with sable? I don't like it; it requires more movement and I feel like I'm "muscling" the brush.

 

Don't know if I will get used to it or not.

 

I do like the potential for a finer point, but so far I don't _want_ that fine a point most of the time; and it seems that to get a broader line requires more effort from my fingers.

 

The feel and action of sable is why I still use my white taklon brushes almost exclusively. I'll break out a sable now and then, be disappointed with the results, wash it and put it away again.

[Joe Kutz]

My painting is split almost equally between synthetics, sables and airbrushes. Personally...I still don't understand the hoop-la about the sables. They are nice from time to time, but they don't last any longer than my synthetics and I haven't found them to have any more innate ability to paint details. They are however different tools, and require different techniques. If you load a synthetic brush like you would a sable and try to paint an eye ball...it will likely make a mess. If you try to paint with synthetics with the same amount of force that you use with a sable...you will curl its tips.

 

If you really want to put your head in a vice...try detailing with an airbrush after a 6 month or so hiatus. No feedback what so ever from the brush...but you can paint lines so fine and smooth with the airbrush that it makes a sable brush seem like a paint roller.