Types of Brushstrokes

Learning to handle your brush is crucial in depicting the texture of fur, clouds, grass and feathers. There are several types of strokes you should be familiar with when painting the natural world.

Dabbing Vertical Strokes

These strokes are done quickly, in a vertical motion, with either a round or a flat brush. They are good for painting the texture of grass in a field.

Smooth Flowing Strokes

These strokes are good for long hair, such as a horse’s mane or a long-haired cat’s tail. Use a round brush with enough water so the paint flows, and make the strokes flowing and slightly wavy.

Dabbing Semicircular Strokes

These are done fairly quickly, in a semicircular movement, with a flat brush such as a shader. These strokes are good for skies, portrait backgrounds or other large areas that need to look fairly smooth, such as a wall or floor.

Small Parallel Strokes

Use this kind of stroke to paint detail, such as short animal fur or bird feathers, using the tip of your round. Be sure to paint in the direction the hair or feathers grow on the animal.

Glazing

A glaze or wash is used to modify an existing color by painting over it with a different color thinned with water so that the original color shows through. This creates a new color that you couldn’t have achieved any other way. Dip your brush in water, then swish it around in a small amount of the glazing color. Blot briefly on a paper towel so you have a controllable amount of the glaze on your brush, then paint the color smoothly over the original color. In this detail of a log, a glaze of Burnt Sienna was painted over a portion of the log to show how the glaze warms up the colors.

Drybrush or Scumbling

This is when you modify a color you’ve already painted by painting over it with another color in an opaque fashion, so that the first color shows through. Dip a moist, not wet, brush into the paint, then rub it lightly on a paper towel so that there is just enough paint to create a broken, uneven effect when you paint over the original color. Repeat as necessary.

Smooth Horizontal or Vertical Strokes

These strokes are good for man-made objects and water reflections. Using enough water so the paint flows but is not runny, move your round brush evenly across the surface of the panel.