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- A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments.It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped during use.
Text and images Copyright (C) 2002 Tuomas Kuosmanen and may not be used without permission of the author.
Intention¶
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So, we want to create a nice paintbrush image with GIMP. This tutorial can be a bit complex and I think it is better for a bit more advanced GIMPer. If you want to learn the basics, a good way to do so is to get one of the many GIMP books written. If I must pick one to recommend, I think it would be Grokking The Gimp, it is pretty good. But I am sure many of the others are great too, check a few out at your bookstore!
Step 1¶
Anyway, we start off with a plain gray image.
Step 2¶
We first create a new transparent layer, and name it “tip” since we start drawing the brush from the brush tip.
Step 3¶
Use the Bezier (Paths) tool to make a brush-shaped selection, like on the above image. This could be tricky if you are not used to the tool, so it might be helpful to check out my Bezier tool tutorials if you have trouble.
Step 4¶
Just fill the selection with black color.
Step 5¶
Make another bezier selection, now inside the black brush tip. Since a wet brush tip is rather shiny, we want to add a hilight too make it look realistic. Try to think where the light comes from, and make the selection accordingly.
Step 6¶
We are going to use the Blend tool (gradient fill) to make the hilight. You might want to make a new layer for the hilight so you can edit it later if you are not happy with the result.
The important thing here is to set the blend mode to “FG to Transparent”, we only want to add white, not the black.
Step 7¶
Make a blend from top to bottom, so that the white fades out towards the brush tip.
Step 8¶
Then make another bezier selection that will form the brush metal handle, this is a bit more tricky, try to think where the brush handle will point, and add small “roundings” to the ends. Then fill the selection with a rather mid gray gradient. It does not look very real yet, but we want to bring this to life next…
Step 9¶
Keep the selection active still, and start adding black shadows with the airbrush tool so the shape gets some depth and looks more three-dimensional.
This takes a bit of work, start first with large fuzzy brush, and work towards finer detail by using a smaller fuzzy brush. As far as I know, real airbrush artists use the same method to paint, they just use masking film and tape in place of the bezier selection.
Again, think how the light would reflect and how the shadows would be on a real object. And dont worry if it does not look right at first, it needs some practice and patience.
Step 10¶
Also add some hilights by using white color on the airbrush. You can make the object appear more metal-like by adding a second hilight to the “shadow” edge as if it was reflected from the background plane. If your background was having some color, you could add slight tint of that color to the “second” reflection.
Again, since the metal has a pretty shiny surface, you can use the Dodge/Burn tool to make the shadows and hilights stronger. Using brighness and contrast might help too.
Step 11¶
We add the “engraving” by painting black with a very small brush, airbrush again works well. Try to make it look like some letter ornament or whatever you like.
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Step 12¶
Add hilights with white color to the areas that would get reflection. Since the light comes from top left, the hilights go to bottom right of the black “engraved” shapes.
Step 13¶
Next we want to do the rest of the handle. We again create a new layer for it. Since it comes from “inside” the metal part, it is better to put it behind the metal part layers.
Step 14¶
Again, the bezier selection tool. Yes, I love it. You should too. Make a nice tapered shape that represents the brush handle.
Step 15¶
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Doubleclick the “Bucket fill” tool and select “Pattern source” from the tool options window. Select one of the wooden patterns. This will make the texture of the handle. Fill the selection with the wooden pattern.
Step 16¶
Add another layer, this time for the hilight of the wood. Position it just above the handle layer.
Step 17¶
First, like you did on the “metal” part, shade the wooden handle a bit with the airbrush tool so it looks round. Then do a hilight like you did for the brush tip on steps 5-7. You might want to reduce the fill opacity a bit since the wood is quite not as shiny as the wet brush tip.
Step 18¶
Okay, it looks very much like a brush already… Lets just add a shadow and it looks better.
Step 19¶
Duplicate the image, delete the background and select “Merge visible layers” to make the brush just one layer. We are going to make this copy into a drop shadow for the original brush.
Step 20¶
Turn on “Keep Trans” checkbox on the layers dialog, and select the whole image and fill it black with the bucket fill tool.
Step 21¶
Unselect the “keep trans” and blur the layer a fair bit, I think I used something like 20 for the radius.
Step 22¶
Now scale the shadow image so that it is 60% of the original height, but keep the original width. You need to click the “chain” button on the scale dialog to change the image’s aspect ratio.
Step 23¶
Copy the shadow image on the original brush image, and move it just above the background layer. The easiest way to copy a layer is to drag it from the layers dialog to an image.
Paint Brush Sizes
Step 24¶
I wanted to erase some of the shadow of the handle so it looks more realistic. I just used the eraser tool with a big fuzzy brush.
Step 25¶
There! The finished paintbrush image. And you learned a lot about GIMP as well.
Thank you for the interest :-) You can get the image I did for this tutorial in GIMPXCF format here.
The original tutorial can be found here.
Media Gallery
Choosing the right paint brush for your task will make the job easier and provide superior results. These paint applicators come in a variety of shapes, sizes and different filament materials.
As a professional house painter, I own two dozen or more brushes, each with its own use. Typically each project you do will require two brushes, one for large areas or general use and one for the finer details.
The best sizes are 3 inch for general cutting in or large pieces of trim and 1-1/2 for the finer details.
A professional paint brush applies a smoother finish with less brush strokes; paint is applied faster and with less effort. Plus, if properly cleaned and stored will last for years. Inexpensive paint brushes can shed bristles into the finish and are difficult to work with, producing an inferior finish and more frustration.
Used Paint Brush
A straight line is what you want! It is well worth the extra cost for a good brush or two. Matching the right application tool to your job begins with the actual type of primer, paint or clear finish you are using. Paint brushes are categorized according to the type of coating being applied.
- Water Based Paints and Primers – Typical latex or acrylic paints and primer plus water based epoxy.
- Oil Based Paints and Primers – Alkyd paints and primers plus oil based epoxies. All solvent thinned paints and primers.
- Water Based Clear Wood Finishes and Stains – Includes acrylic urethane, water based polyurethane and its variants plus water based wood stains.
- Oil Based Clear Wood Finishes and Stains – This includes the common varnish and polyurethane plus oil based wood stains. All solvent thinned clear finishes and wood stains.
- Shellac Primers and Clear Finishes – Tinted and clear shellac is thinned with denatured alcohol. Some stain blocking primers are tinted shellac.
Each of these “types” of coatings or stains has a specific type of brush that is used. Type of paint brush refers to the filaments used in its construction. These filaments can be synthetic, natural, or a combination of the two.
- Synthetic refers to different types of plastics used to make the filaments, nylon and polyester or blends of the two. Other types of plastics have been invented, such as Chinex, and can be combined with nylon or polyester to produce different characteristics.
- Natural refers to animal hair that is used in the brushes construction, this type of filaments are called bristles. The most common type of hair used is imported from China and taken from long haired hogs. Another type is Ox hair.
The key point is that most filaments are designed for specific solvents and will be damaged if used in the wrong solvent.
Choosing a Paint Brush for Water Based “Water Thinned” Products
Synthetic brushes such as Polyester, Nylon and Poly/nylon blends are used to apply water based primers and finishes. These brushes can be used with all paints, but are best suited for Acrylic or Latex. They offer good stiffness verses softness for today’s thick paints.
Polyester brushes hold and release more paint, providing smoother finishes plus clean-up is faster and more thorough than other synthetics. Nylon brushes wear longer and are stiffer than any other filament. A nylon brush is well suited for rough surfaces.
Poly-Nylon blends provide longer wear, maximum resiliency and easy clean up. These are the most common type of brush on the market.
- Latex and Acrylic Primer and Paint – Thick paints demand a stiff brush. Although this works for most interior or exterior painting, when it’s time to prime and paint doors and other surfaces needing a smooth surface choose a softer brush. The poly-nylon blended paint brushes are available in different levels of softness and stiffness. Choose a stiff brush for painting exterior trim or cutting in interior walls. For interior trim and brushing smooth doors using acrylic enamel a softer brush is needed.
- Water Base Clear Wood Finishes and Stains – Includes acrylic urethane and water borne polyurethane, require synthetic filament brushes. Polyester provides a fine finish and easy application. Special synthetic blends, such as Chinex, are the best choice for these finishes. Choose a brush that is very soft, stiffness isn’t an issue as these finishes are very thin out of the can.
Choosing a Paint Brush for Oil Base “Solvent Thinned” Products
Oil base or Alkyd primers and finishes require natural filament blends for the best results. Although some synthetic brushes say “For All Paints”, they can’t beat natural animal hair.
Synthetic brushes loose there shape in oil base paints and primers, an oil paint brush must be stiff enough to hold its shape and soft enough not to leave to many brush marks.
Brush manufactures use a blend of different natural bristles to change the softness and stiffness. These blends are Black China bristle, White China bristle and Ox hair brushes. All of these natural bristle types can be combined with each other or with synthetic filaments.
- Black China Bristle Paint Brushes – Black China bristle brushes are perfect for use with oil base paint, primer and enamels. This type of natural bristle brush has the stiffness for cutting in a straight line and thicker hair for holding more paint.
- White China Bristle Paint Brushes – White China bristle brushes is a great choice for varnishes, polyurethane and stains. White bristles are finer than Black China bristles and provide a finer finish. Watch out for cheap white bristle brushes. They fall apart very easily.
- Ox Hair Blends – Clear wood finishes require a very soft brush for the best results and Ox hair blends are the softest, the perfect varnish brush. Usually a blend of Ox hair with white bristles, black bristles or synthetic filaments for stiffness.
These brushes cannot be used with latex paints or be cleaned with water this will ruin the brush! Never use a natural bristle brush in water or water based products. Natural bristle paint brushes absorb water and loose their shape, becoming imposable to control.
The Best Paint Brush for Shellac “Alcohol Thinned” Products
Shellac, clear as well as tinted, is a thin product and can be difficult to apply with a brush. You will need a brush that can absorb a lot of material and release it easily. A high quality white china bristle is the best brush for shellacs. Natural filaments are not damaged by alcohol.
Tinted shellac primer is a thicker product than clear finishing shellac, but still thinner than paint. Use a white china bristle brush when using tinted shellac.
Shapes and Sizes of Paint Brushes
Paint brushes come in a variety of shapes such as Angular, Flat, and Oval, and size ranges from 1—6 inches wide.
Angular brushes are great for surfaces that have many angles, narrow surfaces or are hard to reach, an excellent choice for an all-purpose brush. Flat and oval brushes can be used on all surfaces but are best suited for flat surfaces such as wide trim, doors and cutting-in walls or ceilings.
Determining which paint brush is best for your project is based on type of paint or finish, surface to be painted and which one your most comfortable using. I use a variety of different brushes ranging from 1 inch to 4 inches. Typical size is 2-1/2 inches for basic cut-in and 1-1/2 inches for small trim. Try to use the largest brush for the surface to be painted.
Paint Brush Descriptions and Use
- 1—2 Inch is a good choice for small surfaces such as touch-up, trim, moldings and window sashes.
- 2—3 Inch work great for general cutting in of walls as well as exterior trim.
- 4—6 Inch brushes are for large areas such as back brushing behind an airless sprayer or applying stain to a deck floor.