Many people love painting. While painting requires using brushes manufactured explicitly for the job, people often ask whether they can use makeup brushes instead of traditional painting tools. If you love a short answer, it is yes, you can. Synthetic fiber makeup brushes are ideal for painting jobs but have some drawbacks. We shall elaborate on these aspects in detail in this blog.
Why are makeup brushes good for painting jobs?
Generally, makeup brushes have short bristles and are handy tools. So it becomes easy to control the brush and apply paint accurately. However, a long bristled brush is not ideal because using them on the canvas can be challenging. It would be excellent if you had a steady hand for the painting job. Otherwise, short bristles brushes are the best.
Secondly, makeup brushes are soft and fluffy. Therefore, they do not absorb much color and water, making them convenient for specific painting work. In addition, makeup brushes are comfortably less expensive than painting brushes. So, many artists tend to use makeup brushes as their painting tools.
Benefits of using your makeup brushes as painting accessories
It is pertinent to note that applying makeup is an intricate painting job, especially how you do eyeliners. It requires extreme precision. So, the makeup brushes that help sketch beautiful eyeliners can be comfortably used for painting.
- Makeup brushes are soft and fluffy, making them convenient to pick up paint and apply on the canvas seamlessly.
- While makeup brushes have short bristles, they have sufficiently longer handles, making them more comfortable to grip and paint.
- Compared to painting brushes, makeup accessories are considerably less expensive.
- The makeup brush tips can soak more paint than a conventional brush. So, the application will be different but look equally beautiful.
- Besides being handy to use, makeup brushes are easy to clean.
- Cheap painting brushes can shed hair. On the contrary, manufacturers take extreme care to produce high-quality makeup brushes that do not shed any bristles to damage the painting.
Drawbacks of using makeup brushes as painting tools
Generally, using makeup brushes for painting does not have any disadvantages. But, brushes with short handles are inconvenient because they do not provide an expansive view of the canvas. Similarly, makeup brushes are not ideally suited for detailing your portraits and paintings.
Overall, cosmetic brushes can do a good painting job, especially those with synthetic fibers. Let us see the most sought-after makeup brushes for painting jobs. We shall discuss the brushes depending on their shape.
- Wash Brush: Any makeup brush with short bristles can double up as a painting accessory. The foundation brushes used in cosmetic makeup procedures are comparatively thicker than regular paint brushes. This brush is better than a dry brush because it dunks up sufficient watercolor to spread on the canvas rapidly.
- Fan Brush: Landscape painting requires using the fan brush because its unique shape allows for adding unobtrusive features to the darker areas on the canvas. Just as you use fan brushes to spread blush on your cheeks, they are ideal for blending backgrounds or painting skies and water bodies. In addition, natural landscapes like mountains, trees, grasslands, and water plants are comfortable to paint using the fan brush.
- Angled Brush: Usually, you use angled makeup brushes for eye makeup. This brush allows the painting of intricate details. Moreover, these brushes are perfect for blending lines and shapes with fluctuating thicknesses. So, if you wish to paint sharp lines and vary the thickness levels of your paints, the angled brush should do the job perfectly.
- Round Brush: Compared to other brushes, the round ones are smaller. However, they benefit because the smaller structure allows you to grip them like a pen. So, you get exemplary control over your painting. The exciting aspect of these round brushes is that they are helpful when dry and wet.
- Delicate Brush: The eyeline brush is the most delicate of all makeup brushes. They are thin, slender, and have long bristles. This brush can pick up as little paint as possible and is excellent for subtleties. Besides, they are perfect for detailing and writing letters or words in your paintings. Though these brushes are longer than other makeup brushes, they offer excellent control.
- Flat Brush: The flat brush is similar to the wash or foundation brush in your makeup arsenal. But, these accessories do not have dense bristles. So, you can use them for shading or at the edges. In addition, as these brushes gather more paint, they are perfect for applying broader strokes to the canvas. Besides, the flat brush offers more control than the wash brush because of its thin handles.
Can you use makeup brushes for oil paintings?
Yes, makeup brushes are suited for all paint jobs, watercolors, acrylic, and oil paintings. The small, round brushes are perfect because you can hold these accessories close to the bristles and paint details properly. Simultaneously, makeup brushes are the best for painting extensive backgrounds in oil paintings.
How is the blending brush useful in a paint job?
A blending brush helps spread the makeup product on your cheeks and forehead to ensure a uniform application. These brushes work well with powders and liquids equally well. So they can double up as painting brushes and evenly spread dry powder and watercolor on the canvas. They are ideal for shading work and smudging. Many professional artists prefer using makeup brushes because they are versatile and flexible.
A word of caution
While you can use makeup brushes as painting accessories, we do not recommend reusing them for your makeup activities. Of course, you can clean them and ensure no paint residue. Though oil and acrylic paints are not toxic, some traces can remain on the bristles. So it is safer to keep such brushes in your painting kit instead of mixing them with your makeup accessories.
