Waterbrush Hack

 

Princeton 3/4" angle shader that came in my SketchBox.

When I reviewed the watercolor palette that came in my “urban sketching” SketchBox, I mentioned that I had used the ¾-inch angle brush that had also come in the box. Without knowing anything about its “proper” use, I had a lot of fun painting a portrait with the different strokes it can make. I’m so used to the convenience of waterbrushes that I rarely use “real” brushes, so I knew I wouldn’t use that angle much, but it gave me an idea.

A long time ago, I bought a set of Kuretake waterbrushes in various sizes, and it included a so-called “flat wash” brush. Although it is shaped like a traditional flat brush for making wide washes, it’s too narrow for that purpose, and I found the flow too inconsistent for something like a wash. (If I really cared about making a true watercolor wash, that’s one time I’d choose a real brush.) It seemed useless to me.

The "flat wash" waterbrush -- useless until now.

Fortunately, I didn’t get rid of it – it was just waiting for this hack! Doing the hack, however, wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I first tried my ordinary desk scissors, and they simply would not cut through those nylon bristles – the bristles kept sliding out from the blades. Next I tried a craft knife, and it couldn’t cut through them, either.

I realized I needed something extra-sharp – and the lightbulb over my head turned on again! I got out the pricey, professional Japanese hair-cutting shears that I have been using to cut my own hair since the pandemic began. At the risk of dulling those expensive (but sharpenable) blades, I cut right through those bristles. Instead of a straight angled cut, I curved the cut slightly so that it would be more like a dagger shape.

Hacked with Japanese hair shears

At the top of the sketchbook page below, I made a few marks to show the wide range my hacked waterbrush can make. My original intention was to finish features and details with colored pencils, but the point on the brush was fine enough that I could paint the eyes, eyebrows and mustache. Perhaps not my best portrait work, but the hack gets an A+!

Red marks show the variety of marks the hacked brush makes.
(Earthsworld reference photo)