Choosing Watercolour Brushes for Watercolour Pencils

Have you ever admired a watercolour pencil artwork, rich with smooth blends and bright hues, and wondered about the technique behind it?

While the pencils are important, the brush often plays a pivotal role!

Watercolour brushes are the hardworking tools that change dry pencil strokes into luminous, painterly effects. They soften edges, blend colours smoothly, and open up a range of textures you might not expect from pencils alone.

As a pet portrait and wildlife artist myself, returning to art and finding the capabilities of coloured pencils was a process of discovery.

I quickly learned that pairing the right pencils with the right brushes was fundamental to achieving the realistic, detailed results I wanted.

Understanding how different brushes work with watercolour pencil pigment can help your art progress from simple sketches to genuinely impressive pieces.  

But looking at the different watercolour brushes available can feel confusing.

Sable or synthetic? Round or flat? What about waterbrushes?

Don't worry! Whether you're new to watercolour pencils or exploring them after using other mediums, this information aims to be a helpful resource.

We'll break down what you need to know, step-by-step, assisting you in choosing and using watercolour brushes to bring your pencil art to life.  

Why Brushes Are Necessary for Watercolour Pencil Art

Watercolour pencils connect drawing and painting. You apply pigment with the control of a pencil, but it’s the brush and water that activate the colour. Here’s why understanding brushes is very important for aspiring watercolour pencil artists:

• Blending Ability: Brushes allow you to smoothly blend colours on the paper, creating soft gradients and transitions difficult to achieve with dry pencils.
• Softening Edges: Want a softer, atmospheric appearance? Brushes can soften hard pencil lines, integrating your subject nicely with its background.
• Activating Pigment: A damp brush dissolves the pencil pigment, intensifying the colours and creating transparent washes similar to traditional watercolour.
• Creating Effects: Different brush shapes and methods allow for distinct textures – consider dappled light, soft fur, or smooth skies.
• Precision and Control: While pencils offer line control, brushes provide control over water application and pigment movement, which is helpful for detailed work.

Think of your watercolour pencil and brush working together. Learning to use them effectively is fundamental to getting the most out of this versatile medium.  

Sable vs. Synthetic Brushes for Watercolour Pencils

Visit any art supplier, and you’ll encounter a primary decision: natural sable hair brushes or synthetic filament brushes? Let's look at the pros and cons specifically for use with watercolour pencils.

Natural Sable Brushes: The Premium Option

Traditional watercolourists often prefer brushes made from Kolinsky sable hair.

Pros:

• Excellent Water Holding Capacity: Sable holds a substantial amount of water and pigment, allowing for long, smooth washes.
• Superb Point and Spring: High-quality sable brushes maintain a very fine point and return well to their shape, offering great control.

Cons:

• High Cost: Genuine Kolinsky sable brushes are costly, which can be a barrier, especially for beginners or hobbyists.
• Delicate: The fine hairs can be damaged by the rubbing motion sometimes required with watercolour pencils.
• Ethical Concerns: Some artists choose to avoid animal hair products.

Synthetic Brushes: The Practical Option for Pencil Artists

Modern synthetic brushes, often made from nylon or Taklon filaments, perform very well.

Pros:

• Affordability: Synthetics cost significantly less than sable, making them accessible for all budgets.  
• Durability: They hold up better to the methods often used with watercolour pencils, like lifting or moving pigment. This is helpful because activating pencil pigment requires more friction than moving wet watercolour paint.  
• Good Performance: Quality synthetics offer decent water holding, good shape retention, and can maintain a fine point. They are well-suited for the blending, softening, and activating tasks required.
• Vegan-Friendly: No animal hair is used.

Cons:

• Less Water Capacity: Generally, they don't hold as much water as sable, needing more frequent dipping. For the controlled application needed with pencils, however, this can prevent accidentally overwetting your work.
• Point Longevity: Less expensive synthetics might lose their fine point faster than high-end sable with heavy use.

My Recommendation for Use with Watercolour Pencils

For watercolour pencils, I strongly suggest starting with good quality synthetic brushes.

Why?

The process of activating and moving pencil pigment often involves some friction on the paper surface. This can quickly damage the delicate, costly point of a natural sable brush (something I experienced with nice brushes early on!).  

Synthetics are robust enough for the job, affordable enough to replace if the point wears, and offer excellent control over the amount of water applied – important for not washing out the pencil lines. Look for reputable brands known for quality synthetic filaments.

Looking at the photograph, you can see the two sable brushes on the right no longer have their original fine points – a result of using them with watercolour pencils before I switched to nylon brushes. The middle three demonstrate the sharp points these brushes should maintain. Nowadays, I typically use the synthetic brushes shown on the left for this kind of application.

Understanding Brush Shapes and Their Uses

Beyond the material, brush shape greatly influences the marks you make.

Here are the most common shapes and how they are useful for watercolour pencil art:

Round Brushes

• Description: Pointed tip, round body. A very versatile brush.
• Uses: Good for detailed work (using the tip), filling small areas, creating varied lines (thin with the tip, broad with the side), and general blending. A few different sizes (e.g., small size 2/4, medium size 6/8) are very useful.  

Flat Brushes

• Description: Square or rectangular, flat ferrule.
• Uses: Suited for covering larger areas quickly (washes, backgrounds), creating sharp, straight edges, and lifting colour in defined shapes. Useful for architectural elements or broad areas in nature scenes.

Filbert Brushes

• Description: Flat ferrule but with an oval or rounded tip.
• Uses: Combines the coverage of a flat with the softer edges of a round. Good for blending, creating petal or leaf shapes, and softer transitions.

Liner/Rigger Brushes

• Description: Very long, thin bristles coming to a fine point.
• Uses: Designed for creating long, fine, continuous lines – useful for tree branches, grasses, or fine details. While you can use dry pencils for fine lines, a liner brush offers a different, more fluid mark.

Fan Brushes

• Description: Bristles spread out in a fan shape.
• Uses: Less common for basic application but useful for creating textures like foliage, grasses, or even fur effects with watercolour pencils. Dip lightly in water and gently swipe over pencil marks.

Finding Your Ideal Brush Fit

Choosing brushes is personal. Think about your typical subjects.

Do you prefer detailed work (rounds, liners)? Broad nature scenes (flats)? Soft florals (filberts)?

Don't hesitate to experiment. Try holding different brushes – are they comfortable? Does the brand offer good shape retention in their synthetics?

Start with a few basic rounds and perhaps a small flat, then add to your collection as you discover your preferences. Finding a brush that feels right in your hand is part of the artistic process.  

The Waterbrush: A Portable Tool for Watercolour Pencils

What if you want to sketch with watercolour pencils outside, maybe capturing a local view or on vacation, without carrying pots of water? Consider the waterbrush!

A waterbrush is a useful tool: a brush tip attached to a plastic barrel that holds water. You gently squeeze the barrel to release water into the bristles, allowing you to activate and blend your watercolour pencils anywhere.

Benefits:

• Portability: No need for separate water containers or the chance of spills.
• Controlled Water Flow: You manage how much water is released.
• Convenience: Easy to clean – just squeeze and wipe on a tissue or cloth.
• Versatility: Good for travel sketching, outdoor work, or quick studio sessions.

Waterbrushes come in various tip shapes (round, flat) and sizes. They are a practical, affordable addition to any watercolour pencil artist's toolkit, especially for working outside the studio.

How to Use Watercolour Brushes with Your Pencils

Ready to combine pencil and brush? Here’s a practical approach:

1. Sketch Lightly: Begin by sketching your subject with watercolour pencils. Apply light layers first – you can always add more colour, but removing it is harder.
2. Prepare Your Brush: Dip your chosen brush (e.g., a medium round synthetic) into clean water. Gently blot it on paper towel or a sponge until damp, not dripping. Too much water can dilute the pigment or create puddles.
3. Activate the Pigment: Gently touch the damp brush tip to your pencil lines. Work in small sections. Observe as the water dissolves the binder and releases the pigment.
4. Blend and Soften: Use gentle, deliberate strokes to move the activated pigment, blending colours or softening edges. Follow the shape of your subject with your strokes (e.g., curved strokes for round objects).
5. Control Your Water: Rinse your brush frequently in clean water, especially when changing colours, to avoid mixing unwanted shades. Re-dampen and blot as needed. Less water usually keeps colours stronger; more water creates lighter washes.
6. Experiment with Strokes: Try different marks. Pushing the brush can gather pigment at the leading edge for darker areas. Dragging the brush pulls pigment along, often resulting in a lighter value at the end. Combining these motions helps build varied tones, suitable for textures like ground or weathered surfaces.
7. Lifting Colour: Made an error or want to create a lighter area? With most watercolour pencils (excluding ink-based types like Derwent Inktense), you can often lift some colour. Apply clean water, let it sit briefly, then gently dab with a clean paper towel or sponge. Note: This works best before the pigment fully dries.
8. Layering: Let areas dry completely before adding more dry pencil layers for richer colour or detail. You can then activate these new layers with your damp brush.

Practice Leads to Improvement

Like any art method, skill comes with practice.

• Don't hesitate to try things out on scrap paper.
• Test different brushes, vary the water amount, see how colours blend.
• Observe how the pigment works on your paper.

This hands-on work is how you'll build confidence and find what suits your style.

Watercolour brushes are more than just tools for wetting pencils; they are creative instruments that help realize the full capabilities of the watercolour pencil medium.

From selecting durable synthetics over delicate sables, to understanding the functions of different shapes like rounds, flats, and filberts, choosing the right brush allows you to blend, soften, and add texture to your art with greater control.

The useful waterbrush adds further possibilities, making colourful art achievable anywhere.

Developing brush techniques takes practice, but working through the process of experimentation—managing water, blending colours, correcting mistakes—is important for moving your pencil drawings towards the impressive pieces you aim to create.

Ready to improve your watercolour pencil art?

• Experiment: Take a synthetic round brush and practice activating and blending colours on scrap paper today!
• Learn More: Look at our detailed tutorials on specific Watercolour Pencil Techniques like layering and creating washes.
• Get Inspired: Sign up for our occassional newsletter for more tips, tutorials, and insights. 

Your progress with watercolour pencils begins with picking up the brush. Happy painting!

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