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Brush training for Nail-Art brushes

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Content The historical development of brushes and brush production

Parts of an artist brush and quality relevant attributes

The brush head

The handle

Presentation of different applications and brush shapes

Choosing the right brush with the brush symbols

The right brush care

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The historical development of brushes

The desire to create a nice home inspired mankind to search for suitable colours and tools

Oldest documents of art was discovered in South-West-France and North Spain: cave-paintings of Altamira dated 18000 – 13000 B.C.

First these paitings were considered to be counterfeits.

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The historical development of brushes

During excavations a „painter's studio“ was discovered

Brushes made of bones and animal hair

Different sizes and lengths Paints made of animal fat and blood.

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The historical development of brushes

Brushes counted as on of the oldest tools of mankind

Brushmaking is over all one of the oldest trades

In the past times brushes were made by artists themselves and by their assistants

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The historical development of brushes

About 250 years ago brush-making became a separate trade

The German centres of brush production are in Bechhofen and Nuremberg

The only vocational school for the training to become a brushmaker (3 years) is in Bechhofen

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Pressung / Verklebung

Parts of a brush

hair / bristle

adhesive

Ferrule

Crimping / glueing crimping / glueing

Brush handle

stamp / imprint

hair / bristle

Brush handle

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Material for the brush head Significant for the quality of a brush Basics:

Natural hair Synthetic hair Natural bristle Synthetic bristle

For natural hair and bristle the climate is very significant: The colder the area and weather, the better the quality

bristle

hairshaftroot shaftshaft tip

shaftroot flag

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Natural hair The hair has one individual tip. The surface of the hair is

rough.

Before the hair can be used by the brushmaker, it has to be washed and thoroughly cleaned. The different hair lengths are separated and sold in bundles.

root shaft tip

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Kolinsky

Hair of highest quality and price

Taken from the tail of the red sable Kolinsky

Lives in Siberia and North China

Purchasing price for 1 kg: up to 12.000 €

Tips of the hair very long and thin

High paint holding capacity

High flexibility

Perfect hair for liquid media

Natural hair

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Natural hair

Red sable

Very valuable hair, similar to Kolinsky

Single hair tips not as long as of Kolinsky

Suitable especially for water colour brushes, liners,

Suitable for application of acrylics in nail design

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Other types of natural hair not relevant for nail brushes

• Squirrel hair– Hair taken from the tail of squirrels, very soft

• Ox hair– Hair taken from the ox ear, medium stiffness

• Fitchew hair– Hair taken from the tail of the animal

» Badger » Used for shaving brushes» Pony hair (also know as camel hair) » Taken from the fur of ponys» Goat» Taken from the back of goats» Used for powder and rouge brushes

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Synthetic hair The hair has one individual tip. The surface of the hair is

even and smooth.

Synthetic hair imitates the attributes of natural hair

Available in different diameters and colours

Substituting more and more simple natural hair qualities

The best quality of a synthetic brush is achieved by a perfect mixture of different diameters and qualities

tipshaftroot

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Synthetic hair Originally used for “punched” brushes and simple

school paint brushes (without tip!)

Higher qualities meeting higher requirements were developed in Japan by Toray.

Almost at the same time competitor Teijin

In the meantime various copies from Far East

Most used diameters: 0,07, 0,10 und 0,15mm

Tip treated chemically and /or mechanically

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Synthetic hair Toray

Synthetic hair of very good quality

High elasticity High shape retention Mostly used in golden colour,

also white, black and wine read and various mixtures

Very suitable for gel application

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Synthetic hair

„Toray“ selection gold- Mixture of different diameters, for

every brush size an individual mixture

- Best results in elasticity, shape retention and paint holding capacity

- Used for high quality nail design brushes, mainly gel application

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Synthetic hair

• Toray selection „Tiger Toray“– Toray hair imitating natural

colours – The single fibre is extremely

conical shaped – High shape retention, great

snap – Highest liquid holding capacity

for synthetic filaments

Common Toray Tiger Toray

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Synthetic hair

• Wine red Toray

– Toray hair with different diameters

– Wine red colour

– Excellent stability

– High shape retention and low abrasion

– Perfect for gel application and One-

Stroke-technique

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Synthetic hair• Konex

– Toray imitation– Made in Korea– Often in golden or white colour– Only used in 0,10mm– For economic brushes and basic

equipment

• Other brands for synthetic fibres – Orolux, Sintelux, Jax, Artisan ...

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Natural bristle The bristle has multiple tips = flag. The surface of a natural

bristle is rough.

Before bristle can be used by the brushmaker, it has to be cleaned thoroughly and bleached.

The naturally twisted bristle are bound, cooked and dried

After this process they are separated in the same length

root shaft flag

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Natural bristle Natural hog bristle mostly from China

Especially strong, because pics are grown in free-range husbandry

Mostly taken from the back of the pics, because there it is the longest and strongest

Colours: white bleached, grey, black

For brushes mainly white bleached

Chungking bristle is especially strong

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Synthetic bristle Synthetic bristle for artist brushes can have one or multiple

tip. The surface is rather smooth.

The synthetic bristle used for brushes is mainly prepared in Germany

Basic material is Nylon 612 The synthetic bristle is produced

through different mechanical processes

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Synthetic Bristle - BRISLON®

BRISLON Perfect imitation of natural bristle

with artificial flag Suitable for pastose media Light colour like natural bristle Great capillary effect

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SummaryQuality attributes brush head

Paint and water holding capacity

Elasticity

Strength and length of tips

Shape retention

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Ferrules Seamless ferrules

Made of metal tubes Silver ferrule:nickel-plated brass tube Golden ferrule: nickel-plated & gold-plated

brass tube Aluminium ferrule: made of 99%

pure aluminium

Ferrules with seam Cut out of metal plates Wraped over a mandrel and soldered

Nickel ferrule: made of nickel plated tin or copper Metal ferrule: made of tin

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Handles• Raw material

– Mainly beech and poplar wood from native and renewable forrests in Europe

– Acrylic handle, plastic handle, aluminium handle

• Varnish

– Different colours,

– different surface effects

• Shapes

– Round “English shape”

– Round short

– cylinder shape

– 3-edged-shape

– Straight shape:

acrylic handle or aluminium ZIGMA-Line

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How can I find the right brush ?

• Application

– media gel or acrylics

– technique e.g. one-stroke

– effects e.g. nail art

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Application - regarding media -

• acrylics

• Requires highest quality of red sable and Kolinsky

brushes

• Optimized liquid holding capacity is essential

• Fine but stable tip with good snap is required

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Application- regarding media -

• Gel application:

• Mainly brushes with synthetic fibres:

– Golden Toray – Wine red Toray– Tiger Toray– Synthetic fibre imitating sable– The different fibres should be tested with

the chosen gel

Red sable:– Used for gel in flat shape – Special shapes for NailArt and 3D

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Brush careBrushes should be valuable tools and not through-away products

For a long duration here some advice:

Never let the brush stand too long in water or cleaning detergent. The brush head can become loose or the ferrule can become rusty.

Always clean the brush thoroughly after every use.

Remove colour from brush head and ferrule

Dry moisture with clean tissue or cloth

Hand the brush upside down to dry

Dry the brush with room temperature