Supplies Paintbrushes for Face-ups

I actually have these old tweezers that hold closed and you squeeze them open. But a brush bristle or 2 in there and you've got one heck of a fine brush

 

i lust bought some 100/0 brushes from "Jen" she has a thread in the MP, and has just re-stocked if anyone is interested.

 

I have the Reaper Kolinsky 30/0 and 20/0 from JunkySpot and they are a very nice brush. You need a high-quality bristle in a brush that fine, to help hold the paint and keep it liquid, and these deliver. Emory paints miniatures himself, iirc, so would know a good-value brush when he sees one.

I've used pen nibs with acrylics before, and they work for awhile but fail massively when (not 'if') the paint dries in the ferrule - !blob!

My 'go to' brushes, though, I got from a miniature store in the late 80's - they aren't the tiniest, but they have a short, well-balanced (to my hand) handle and give great control. Sometimes you don't need a super-fine brush to get that delicate line, but a great-handling brush that comes to a fine point at the tip.

 

I was personally thinking about cutting up some of the brushes I bought that were tiny, but not tiny enough, for what I needed. they were cheap and from the wal-mart, so it wouldn't be a big loss to me. And honestly, any "artist" who asks you something like that isn't a real artist. True, there are some things that you don't really want or feel the need to modify for your needs, but that changes for everyone, and what one person thinks works well, another person might modify to suit their needs. Everyone does different things in the art world, and I've had soooo many of my professional art teachers talk about modifying store-bought things to make their own tools, or even making tools from scratch. Sorry if I got a little off topic, but...it just irked me to hear that someone was getting flack from someone working in an art store about how they use their tools.

 

I got a 30-0 brush at junkie stop, and it is amazing! I just used it today for eyelashes, it worked soo well.

 

I got a 30/0 Kolinsky Sable from junky spot, and was able to to do eyebrow detail lines on a Barbie head (well, technically, it was an Ariel doll by Disney- I dug it up from the basement to practice a face-up on before I tried on a head I paid for, lol). It cost $10, I think.

No matter what size you buy, Kolinsky Sable is the best you can get. It has the best "snap"- meaning it's resilient and retains it's shape and gives you the most consistent lines. It's also the most expensive brush material you can buy- it's a natural hair taken off of the males of one particular breed weasel of that lives in, like Siberia (not sure of the place. could have been Russia). o.0
Lucky you want the smallest ones- which are the cheapest and should run about $10-15 US. Large watercolor brushes can run into the hundreds!

Practice as much as you can. On anything you have at hand. Learning to control your hand and strokes make a huge difference- and it'll only come through doing it over and over. Also, make sure your paint is thin enough to spread with only light pressure, and be sure to wipe off some of the excess before taking your first stroke, and it helps me to brace my pinky on the surface of the head. I have very shaky hands!

Sorry for the lecture lol

 

I just got a 10/0 brush at Michael's yesterday for $3
Works great for those fine lines

 

Well,
i would like to make a little brush database.
Especially on blush brushes.

Because i think it be helpful for people who are starting out with faceups.
And i myself are a bit bored of my own brushes lol,
would like to see what others use and try to get my hands on some new brushes.


So i need pictures of:
-The brush
-The effect you use it for.

[please sharp pictures, so put your macro's one or els i can't use the pictures.]

 

what sort of brushes are you using atm?

I am curious about opinions between synthetic and natural fiber when working with pastels.

 

I was gonna take pictures today but got stuck with some work =3=

i use natural fiber for all the blush work... didn't even gave it that much thought.

I have one brush i use for pastel which is synthetic, but this actually removes pastel instead of applies it.
It's the best brush ever

hope i have some time to take some pictures tomorrow morning.

 

I'll take some clear pictures of mine. I use synthetics for almost everything save my liner brushes which are wn series 7's.

I figured I should have also put down I prefer synthetics I have natural brushes but they never quite worked as well for me.

 

I'm not sure anyone has posted about this brush company, but I've tried and couple of brushes from Royal and Langnickel and have found them to be pretty good. So far I've only tried the shader-type brushes (for eye/lip blush), but they've been good and they also do some very small liner brushes.

I've tried this one and this one so far.

The reason why I like this company: it's very hard to get small brushes in the UK and R&N seem to have warehouses in both the UK and the US.

They are not too pricey and shipped very fast. For some reason they don't seem to sell them in craft shops in the UK.

 

Here we go guys.

I use the Liner and Monogram for eyebrow hairs/eyelashes/liplines

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q198/Teddlove/eyebrows.png

I use the Royal and Round For the top eyeliner.

The Filbert for glossing. It's small enough to apply on small areas.

The Bright for applying in pastels for the eyebrows/eyelashes/eyeshadow/lips. Any STIFF flat brush is good for these. This brush is particularly kind of big. Might not be the best. You can/should get small ones.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q198/Teddlove/eyelashes.png

And This one to blend in the pastels. Which is a soft Flat brush.

Sorry for the REALLY crappy Face up I was trying to be speedy. Shoulder was killing me. (Still is..) and being frugal with the Sealer. These brushes work really well.

 

My brush set is a little different, I had my hand restrung a couple years ago, and one of the directions from my surgeon was to quit using skinny pencils/pens. This carries across (perforce) to brushes, I literally cannot hold skinny pens/pencils/brushes for longer than it takes to write my name anymore, but give me fat handled implements and I'm fine. Thus my brushes of choice are Loew-Cornell Soft Comfort. Side note: fat handles actually are better for everyone's hands.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s133/thothep/work in progress/brushes-001.jpg
The entirety of brushes I've ever used on face ups.

From left to right they are:
18/0 Spotters - Taklon (14650): one in good shape and one battered
5/0 Round - White Nylon (17000)
---these are almost exclusively used for paint work... including lip/etc glossing and when I smooth out watercolour pencil work with water
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s133/thothep/work in progress/brushes-002.jpg

Cheap brush out of a cheap watercolour set years ago - I use this to brush the pastel dust off the sanding block, it never gets near the dolls

1/8" Angle Shader - Taklon (14400): My primary brush for pastel application
2 Chisel Blender - Taklon (14450): Secondary for pastels application, mainly grabbed when doing vastly different colours (my natural faced boys it doesn't matter if there's blending between their different colours, but if somebody's wearing eyeshadow...)
8 Bright - White Nylon (17180): For large area (resin recolour) pastel application, also sometimes used for smoothing out colours
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s133/thothep/work in progress/brushes-003.jpg

3/4" Oval Mop - Natural (18170): brush over blushing for smoothing and blending

I seem to be really bad at taking pictures showing the detail of my face ups, so 'fraid I can't offer up images of the effect... not to mention the fact that every brush but the mop multi-tasks. Stupid camera won't focus most of the time...

 

Hello:
I've been using my brush I purchased at the NY Dolpa & it's time to purchase another brush or two. I'm using them for face up's.

I believe I've been using the Zoukei-mura Face Painting Brush 07 as that
is what Volks gave us while we attended the faceup classes.

Does anyone have a preference between the two brushes? I think they are both excellent but not sure if the quality is the same.

I sure would love to hear from anyone who has the time to help.
Thanks so much!

 

I have used 07 and thought it great for eyeliner and lip lines. For smaller/thinner lines, I have never been able to get great results with any of the Volks brushes that I have purchased. The finest lines I've gotten have been with a brush I bought from Michaels:

18/0 Loew-Cornell 7050 Script

It is especially wonderful for fine eyebrow hairs and freckles. Hope this helps!

Yume

 

gees everyone talks about Michael's but really in my experience they are the worst place to buy art supplies and my very last resort... maybe it's because I live in Canada and Michael's is a US company. Michael's sells most of their art supplies for 2-3 times the price of any other art supply store in my city!

It will cost me $10 to buy a Windsor & Newton brush at Michael's and $4 at another art specialty store like Opus or Island Blue >.> I saw a sketchbook there for $20 and that was the SALE price! The EXACT same sketchbook was $6 regular at the other 2 art supply stores!

going to Michael's for tiny brushes was truly a last resort for me =_= When I saw the condition their brushes were in, it made me want to cry! Brand new in their happy little containers and the bristles were fraying on some and I even saw one that had a broken handle! The store lady said she doesn't even buy her art supplies there with her 40% staff discount because it's still cheaper to buy at the other art stores.

Ok that's enough ranting... anyways I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that Junkyspot had freaking KOLINSKY SABLE 30/0 and 20/0 brushes! Kolinsky! Unfortunately I have to wait until a quote gets emailed to me since I live in Canada! *screams in frustration)

 

Tamiya paint and small thin brushes are amazing for eyelashes

 

Does anyone know another source to buy 100/0 size brushes? Jen here on DOA used to sell them, but she hasn't been on for over a month...

 

Thanks for these recommendations, I've been having real trouble getting a brush that holds the paint and is thin enough to do eyelashes. I've found a brush trimmed down to just a few hairs won't allow a good flow of paint.

 

Re-posting this from a similar thread because I'm still using these brushes and have found them to be good quality:

I'm not sure anyone has posted about this brush company, but I've tried a couple of brushes from Royal and Langnickel and have found them to be pretty good. So far I've only tried the shader-type brushes (for eye/lip blush), but they've been good and they also do some very small liner brushes.

I've tried this one and this one so far.

The reason why I like this company: it's very hard to get small brushes in the UK and R&N seem to have warehouses in both the UK and the US (for US people both these brushes are also on their US site).

They are a good price and shipped very fast. For some reason they don't seem to sell them in craft shops in the UK, which is a shame.

 

I highly recommend Windsor & Newton Series 7 Miniature brushes.

The smallest W&N S7 brush is only a 3/0, but the point on them very sharp and fine - the advantage over the much smaller brushes, is that don't have to worry about the paint drying before you get to the surface you want to paint, because it can hold a little more.

One thing that took me a while to learn is that the amount of bristles in a brush does not really matter - it's the tip that gets you the results. If you can find a brush with a well sculpted tip and high quality bristles, you can, with practice get the same results with a 0 as you can get with a 3/0

(I come from the miniature painting hobby and I just can't do the typical basecoat, wash, drybrush technique. I prefer picking out the details individually, so I need a brush that can do fine lines - My first ever faceup was done using the 3/0 brush for the eyelashes and they were just fine in terms of thickness)

http://www.dickblick.com/products/winsor-and-newton-series-7-kolinsky-sable-miniature-brushes/

 

Is there a market for cat's whiskers then?!? Cos I found one on the floor today!!

I've also just ordered the 20/0 and 30/0 brushes from Junkyspot, really hoping these will do the trick.

 

The smallest one I found was at Michales. I'd still like to have one smaller though. This one wasn't on a /0 range... So I can't remember what it was. (Like 1000 or so? But it wasn't too much smaller than my 20/0)

 

For faceups; specifically eyebrows and underneath painted on lashes, what type of paint brush should I use?

I have tried trimming down normal paintbrushes to a single fiber, but I find them flimsy and frusterating.

Does anyone know of a good paint brush or paint brush company that is thin enough and sturdy enough for a msd faceup?

 

Have you heard of Dick blick art stores? They have great brushes in all shapes and sizes. If you don't know of one near you, here is a link to there website-
http://www.dickblick.com/

 

indeed I have heard of dick blicks, I just don't live very close to any of the stores and I'm not sure if they would really help me?

I looked and I saw that a person used an 18/0 liner for dollfie faceups, but I'm not sure what that means @_@

 

Arteje makes a 100/0 Brush that's great for painting tiny eyelashes and eyebrows. Jen (That's her DOA username) sells them in the accessories section of the marketplace.

 

I use cheap nailart liner brushes I got off ebay. Just do a search "nailart brushes" on ebay, and you'll find alot 8Dv

 

You can find some super tiny brishes here on DickBlick.

Specifically these two are ones that I have purchased (after seeing a few people on the forum mention them) and use occasionally (I used to never paint eyebrow hairs or lip lines or lower lashes-- but I will be starting to do so more.)

Liner, Size 20/0
Monogram, Size 20/0

 

I just bought a set of 5 cheap plastic brushes, and used a pair of sharp scissors to trim the thinnest one so that there were only 4-5 fibers left.
It works like a dream.. I can finally paint eyelashes~ X3

 

my absolute fave brush is one I got from our local gaming store, made by Games Workshop, called the "Insane detail" brush....seriously, no number grade, just the title "insane detail"

 

Volks USA has brushes for Face-ups, they use mink fur and cat fur and come in very small sizes to slightly larger brushes. I love the way they work, and personally think it's worth the money.

 

I want to get a face up done for my Elli, a PukiPuki Cupid, but I'm scared to death about sending her out to other people seeing how I haven't had her for very long yet. So...I figured I would do a face up for her. I've always wanted to do once since...well, I started liking BJD, but had nothing to practice on. But luckily I got an extra blank face plate with her so now have something to use before I try it on her actual face plate. I know the materials I need except for one thing...

What sized brushes would you use for a tiny face up? I know they would need to be extra small, but is there any specific type of brush and size number anyone can give me? It would be greatly appreciated.

For example would brushes like [these] work? Would I need to buy that set or maybe just buy certain ones? Or is there something else I could possibly use?

Brushes Recommended So Far:
ღ 30/0 sable - JunkySpot
ღ 100/0 brushes - Jen - Has not been online in months / Ningyotan
ღ 0, 2, and 5 from Volks
ღ 4 and lower red sable water color brush

 

wow what a nice set! going to look into that set for sure!
yep that 10/0 shader, 20/0 round, and 20/0 spotter will be your best friends when it comes to eyelashes/eyebrows/lip-lines

Lots of luck!

 

I use a 20/0 liner, angular shader, round and spotter. I have found that there is nothing that I like better than a mop brush to get sheer even coverage on cheeks. I also like to have duplicates of my favorite brushes to use just for chalk pastels.

 

I don't think this is the best set There are some brushes in there that I don't believe you will need. But everyone has their own style I know.

I will tell you what I use:

-I use 3 very thin Mink brushes that come to a sharp sharp point. I bought all 3 off the Volks USA site while I was ordering other stuff and so far they are the best tiny brushes I have. I use size 1,3, and 7. They all come to a very sharp point so I think they would work for you. The difference is that the 7 holds more paint so I can do long continuous lines. For you I would suggest 0, 2, and 5. These are the only brushes that I paint with while I work. The rest never get wet. If you can't get these try to find round red sable brushes in tiny sizes at an art store.
< the link

-The rest are a mix of watercolor and acrylic brushes. Acrylic brushes are normally stiffer than watercolor brushes. I use 3 flat acrylic brushes for work around the eyes and lips. Like when I want to apply a thicker layer of pastel. My flat brushes are size 1, 4 and a white Sabel that is a size 6 (that will be too big for you) or so. I don't think you need 3 brushes! I have a bunch of brushes from school so I happened to have extras. I would suggest 2 because it is a very nice feeling while working to have extra brushes so you don't muddy colors from mixing. I think sizes 0-3 would work for you. Also some molds have tight spots and the smaller flat brush comes in handy for that.

- I use one round Windsor and Newton size 6 (your should use 4 and lower) red sable water color brush. Sable is very soft and really one of the best brushes you can have. This works better for soft blending that you don't want to spread every where. I use this around the eyes to blend. I find the flat brushes (because they are stiffer) tend to start wiping the pastels away once applied. The softer bush just smooths the pastels around and blends them.

-I have one large very soft brush that looks like a human blush brush It has no size on the handle. If I hold it to my Volks Masha's face it covers one whole cheek. It is very soft and I use this mainly for blending the pinks in the cheeks and chin. It smooths everything out. I am sorry I am not sure what size you could use on this. If you go to a store with your tiny that would help. I would guess a 10-12 size.

- Finally I have one thin round size 0 or 1 SOFT brush. This is my cheapest brush and I use this at the end for the gloss. I never use my best brushes to apply gloss. Over time it will ruin a brush. This cheap guy is reserved for gloss only. Keep a small amount of brush cleaner handy (I pour some in the lip) and use only this to clean the gloss off the brush (I don't dip in water) DON'T let gloss dry on this brush.

Other important info. about your brushes. I always opt for the better quality. Your brushes will last forever if you take care of them (one of my red sable's is 18 years old) so get the good ones. Also, if you need to go cheaper DON'T go cheap on the small painting brushes. They will fail to come to a nice point and you might have issues with the flow of paint. The Volks ones are made with Mink hair. Sable brushes are perfect too and you can find them at a good art store. Sable looks like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolinsky_sable-hair_brush. Red Sable is the best.

Before you start painting wet you brush first. I learned that it is important to get the water all the way down to where the handle meets the hairs. You should run water over the brush and press the bristles at the handle to make sure the water reaches the hairs packed in the center. Why? Because Acrylic is like plastic and once it gets in your brush and dries there it starts to destroy the shape of your brush. Keeping your brush's shape is your number one priority

Never leave brushes upside down in water with the bristles pressed to the base of the water jar!!! Especially with thin brushes. This is a sure way to warp the brush shape and it can happen fast. I normally clean my brushes in my water jug and set them beside my work area on a paper towel.

When I finish my work I wash all brushes in Windsor and Newton Brush Cleaner. I also use this to remove face up attempts that have failed It is safe for your Dolfie and your brush. Do this step to insure that no acrylics are still embedded in your lovely thin brush.

Last bit... If you ever do mess up a brush (deformed bristles even when wet) you can try to repair it . Shape the brush with fingers. Damped the bristles and dab a tiny tiny bit of rubber cement on the end and bring to a point. Warp in seran wrap and then wrap in a sliver of tiny foil. Leave it over night. The next day push rubber cement off with fingers. Now wash the brush with cleaner and rinse well. Hopefully the brush is fixed. Use this a last resort!

Here is a link to my work space. The large turquoise brush is replaced now.


Good luck.

 

That was helpful, extremely so actually. Thank you all for your responces

What about brushes like these maybe? They look tiny enough, like the brushes in my first post, but I'm not quite sure.

 

Those brushes are where I would start. Maybe get the thinnest one and try it out. I would not worry about buying a set because you might end up with stuff you don't need. Looks like the thinnest you can get is 1 rigger short handle. The bristles are nice and long too I would also get the smallest flat brush. 3MM ONE STROKE - Short Handle. While your at it maybe get one of the round ones like Introduction - ROUND - Short handle size 2 or 3. For the big soft brush for blushing I would try the Round brushes in 12 I think.

So hard to pick without seeing them in person. I normally go to the art store because it helps to touch the bristles and see the size.

 

I have the 20/0 spotter from the Princeton line and it's about the only one of theirs I find to be small enough to be very useful for tiny dolls. It's about 1mm wide at the tip, which is still pretty chunky if you're working on tinies, but the short handle makes it easier to control, especially if you have to work with magnification. The Volks brushes seem to be sized by a different system and I think they're much much thinner than the Princeton 20/0.
I found that I don't own sufficiently small brushes and have been using watercolor pencil on tinies for the smaller details. I hear good things about the Volks brushes, and Junkyspot has a 30/0 sable, I also understand someone in the marketplace has 100/0 brushes?
It is hard to pick without seeing, that's probably why I haven't bought any of the super-fine ones I mentioned.

 

I used 000 (3/0?) and it's still not thin enough to make the 'hair' (TxT)...I think I'm going to back on using pencil...

 

Humbrol spray is brilliant I have used it instead of MSC and it works great and doesnt smell too bad either - unlike some sprays that are way too strong!! Humbrol smells a bit like hairspray. I bought my Humbrol on ebay and it arrived the next day.

For paint brushes in the uk try The Works bookshop, in their painting section they do 4 tiny nib brushes for £1.99 and they work brilliantly, as they are so fine and excellent quality plus they dont break the bank!! The Works also sell pastels which are excellent quality too. I bought a very expenisve set of pastels from a hobby shop and too be honest they were quite bad but I got the cheaper set from the Works and they are brilliant. The colours can be worked up beautifully to give a great tone. So sometimes expensive items dont always work best!!!

 

Yeah, I have The Works in the Pentagon Shopping Centre near where I live I can check out for pastels and brushes, but for more expensive and longer lasting brushes I am tempted to buy the full brush set from Games Workshop as I know from experience that their brushes are extremely high quality sables.

Oh yeah, this next bit is personal opinion only, although many might agree with me: Sables are always better than nylon brushes - they last a lot longer, they hold better points, and they are generally better quality brushes all round. But then again, you get what you pay for - a cheap sable / goatshair that barely costs 0.99 is not gonna last as long as a nylon that costs 3.99, but the sable that costs 3.99 is gonna last a lot longer than the nylon of the same price.

A workman is only as good as his tools, after all.

Phil.

 

Come to find the sellers name is Jen. And her brushes are super tiny. She's been away for a few months though.

Thank you all for the suggestions.

 

Answered my own questions by surfing enough. -facepalm-

I checked Jen's page. I hope she'll be back soon, but there is also a japanese page with those teeny tiny brushes :heart

 

I came across these tiny brushes on eBay that said they were suitable for nail art. They are much like liners, has anyone used these and are they any good for face-ups?
Thanks

 

I bought 2 sets of 15(or 16?) brushes on eBay for like, £5 with shipping, intending to use them for faceups
I haven't used them yet but they look good enough to me.
Just waiting on my Volks Paint then I'll be trying them out.
£5 for two sets? Worth it, as its not a lot of money lost if theyre not to your liking

 

I've bought a set like Callum91 and they are BRILLIANT! I'm så glad I bought them and I only use them now xD And they are super cheap

 

Great, now I feel like a complete IDIOT for spending the money on the brush set from micromark.... :/

 

I use nail art brushes for about a year and they are perfect for faceups in my opinion. Cheap, natural hair, stiff enough. Also I cut out the thinnest ones and they work as 000 now.

 

This sounds like a good idea for lower lashes... maybe?

 

It depends on the nail brush. I bought some and they sucked. I prefer the Volks brushes personally.

 

Tsukidoll > Yes, it really depends on the quality. But those I bought, though they were cheap, are really good. Now I can make eyelashes and thinner lines ^^

 

Are they as small as 10/0 & 20/0 paint brusshes?

 

they work fabulous for lashes! I have quite a few

 

They really work? I thought about this before but was afraid that it would harm the resin or something.

 

I love this thread, it's so helpful! Thank you all for your contributions, and thanks Zettai_Yoru for starting it!

 

Hi whats the best brush for doing eyelashes/brows i have several really fine brushes which either hold to much paint giving me lines that are to thick or some which dont seem to hold enough

Which types are best please?

Thanks Kate

 

Personally I use watercolour pencil for brows, I find them easy to control. I don't know about brushes for doll painting but I can imagine miniature painting brushes might work? Like a 0/18 or maybe a very thin "liner" brush?

 

Thankyou....i have some watercolour pencils here might give those a go