what size/type brushes do you use for teardrops?

I am trying to perfect my teardrops and linework. I really feel like I am at a standstill though with the teardrops! Sometimes they look good but other times sloppy. What brushes do you use?

I'm pretty much them same as you - good most of the time but sloppy if I get complacent and hurry too much.
I use a #4 round for the main teardrops and swirls and then go in with a #1 or #2 to highlight them.
If I'm doing a littley with a tiny little face I just use #2 for everything.
This post is just another reminder to practice my swirls....ahhhhhhhhh, I don't mind the practicing - it's the clean up I don't like

This is with a Royal 6 round brush...sometimes mine look sloppy too..



This one is with a Royal ...um can't see the # cause it has rubbed off but its a bit bigger then the 6

I use a snazaroo brush with a red handle... I've been told it's about a 7? It's my favourite brush in the world... I do everything but tiny lines with it.

I totally hear you on being in a standstill, I felt like I was there a couple months ago. I got a free Aqualon Filbert #8 and I gave teardrops a try with that (thick to thin, it didn't work the other way) and I was like, omg, I just made the perfect teardrop. After collecting myself, I practiced some more. I used the filbert for like, two weeks, and then discovered I like my brushes to be super versatile, so I went back to the rounds. What I did learn though is that I am "heavy handed" so working with a brush that is made with golden taklon worked better for me because it was stiffer.
All in all though, thanks to the filbert experiment, I had new confidence with the teardrop and I didn't think about it so much. That is what really led to good teardrops. Not stressin' it and goin' with the flow. Once I started relaxing, it improved. Now I can make a decent teardrop with any size round brush.

I like that "once I started relaxing," bit. Cause it's so true. With doing decent outlines, teardrops. The more I think about it, the worse I do. I think I like white taklon the best. I love a #6, but I'm just not great enough to have it do everything I need, so I settle for a 3 or 4.

And I always love your designs, Debi.

I am extremely annoyed that I can't get this down. That is probably part of the problem. Going to watch more youtube vids today and more practice!

I'm w/ you April. I like my line work & tear drops, but don't love it yet. My biggest problem is getting the left side of the faces line work to look as good as the rights. Do any of the champs have any suggestions?

I'm not a champ by any means, but I've heard several times that if you do your worst side first, then you can match your better side to the other one to keep things the same. I don't generally worry about it all that much, but I'm not a perfectionist (maybe I should be, but I'm not)... I work fast and furious. LOL

Perry's right... do the bad side first. And really, the kid will like it even if it's not to your standard. I really really want mine to look like Debi's but it doesn't yet. I have not had a kid say to me, "You know face paint lady, it doesn't look like Silly Heather's teardrops." So, if the pressure's off, the teardrops end up looking better. Wierd, huh?

JBax wrote:Perry's right... do the bad side first. And really, the kid will like it even if it's not to your standard. I really really want mine to look like Debi's but it doesn't yet. I have not had a kid say to me, "You know face paint lady, it doesn't look like Silly Heather's teardrops." So, if the pressure's off, the teardrops end up looking better. Wierd, huh?

Ahhh... to have Silly Heather's teardrops*Dreamy Eyes*
I did do some really cool tribal work last night.

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Now THAT's something I get dreamy eyed about!!!

Kick-naughty word tribal. I love doodling.... Where's Ashley? She's the best doodler.

I use #3,4 and 6 depending on what I'm doing. Primarily, I use a pointed #3. If I'm doing a tribal pattern, I use a synthetic...in fact I have designated tribal only brushes.

a #4... but I can do them with any size pretty much. If you want bigger ones, then use a bigger brush and vice versa.

I love my #3 Brush that I got a long time ago that came "free" with a kit from Klutz.com and I use it for practically all my terdrops if I can help it. If not, I go with a Royal brand #4 or #8 for smaller or larger designs respectively. I sometimes us a filbert brush, if that's what is in my hands and I'm in a hurry, but I love, LOVE round brushes.

Tear drops can be hard to master, I remember when I was first learnig them, the tip of the bresh would fan out when I applied pressure to make the big end of the drop and then the whole teardrop would be botched . But that can sometimes be remedied by twirling the brush in the paint to help form and lock in that ovely point and by using just a touch more water than normal. The surface tension of the water in the brush will help hold the bristles together. I don't know if that is a problem you were encountering, but it's just a suggestion.

As far as getting the "bad" side to match the "good" side, personally, I don't get caught up in worrying about that so much, because there is a wierd kind of artistic beauty in asymetry... at least that's my opinion. Sometimes I purposefully make the sides not match in sze and number of teardrops and whatnot because it actually looks better, it adds interest to the face. But again, that's just my opinion.

HaHa! Me too! I intentionally do designs that go up on one side & go down on the other.

still practicing and seeing a slight improvement (need to start taking pics to mark my rpogress)...I think I was using too large of a brush!

This thread just saved my confidence. Gosh, I'm a perfectionist and am always at war with trying not to be too symmetrical. But, thanks to you guys, i feel better. Practice makes perfect...well perfect for me! lol