Anyone use a Reservoir Liner Brush?

[kathrynloch]

I've been meaning to ask this for awhile now but I keep getting sidetracked.

Anyway, back when I was painting the model horses, I got a Reservoir Liner and started using that for fine hair detail. It's by Escoda and is a size 2 but it's not huge. Basically it's really long and the belly is really thick. Because it keeps such a great tip, I can use it for tiny details even on minis - but it does take some practice since my brush control isn't that great.

The belly holds a ton of paint and I can get tiny details with the small tip without having to reload my brush. I'm serious I can keep painting for quite awhile. The only thing I've run into is the paint will actually start drying on the brush before I have to reload. Another problem is my hand tremors, the more pressure I put on the tip, the more paint it will release, well if my hand jerks - woops big ole blotch of paint.

I'm not sure but I think they might also be called Riggers? Anyway, recently I've been hearing from lots of folks how time consuming stuff is because when doing fine detail they constantly have to reload the brush. So I wanted to see if anyone had tried or used this type of brush.

As you can see the tip is very long and soft, that's why brush control is so important. For hair detail I use a side-brushing technique and the tip of the brush forms the actual hairs...it's kinda hard to explain. It's important that I keep it at a decent angle because if I get it too upright I put too much pressure and it starts blotching.

Also I've found its really handy for the goof ups. If you accidentally get too much water or paint on the mini - grab this brush and it slurps it right up in an instant. I just have to make sure to check the water levels of my paint because it will suck up enough water they'll get thick fast.

Just curious to hear about other's experience, I'm sure there are other brands out there but I haven't found them - probably because they don't call 'em reservoir liners and I just don't know the name. :laugh:

 

[QuietiManes]

Yeah, I think the "reservoir" is just how the belly is formed, all fat, creates nice pockets to hold lots more paint. There may be more to it, like a specific way the hairs are formed, shaped, placed, etc. Pretty much every brush has variations on the belly and the bristle length and such (well, you know all that). I know in all the brush review and "which is best" threads there is always someone who prefers one brand because of extra paint it holds and someone else who likes the thinner profile or longer/shorter bristles. But I don't recall anyone ever mentioning a reservoir liner by name.

I've never thought about needing to hold more paint in my brush, but I don't paint often, I'm also very anal about being horribly slow at it and constantly rinsing out the bristles every few minutes, so the paint never gets past the halfway mark.

On a side note: have you ever tried using one of those really long bristled liner brushes with the slim profiles? What are they...um...script liners? They should hold lots of paint but not let it flood out with a little twitch of the hand.

 

[kathrynloch]

Heya QM! Well, this brush has short bristles that form the actual belly and then they start tapering down to the point - so it's definitely made differently than all of my other Kolinsky's - even the fat belly ones. When I rinse it out I can really see the different lengths.

I do have a couple of script liners but while sable they are cheapo brands and they can't hold a point worth a damn. My Vallejo brushes are long and thin, especially compared to W&N and my Davinci's. I used to paint with those exclusively but they became more difficult to find so I started looking for other brands. Then I adjusted my technique and the Vallejo brushes don't jibe with the adjustments. They're still very nice when I have to do (actually it's more like attempt haha!) certain types of fine detail - like lettering or tiny freehand.

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For example I'm using the reservoir liner to create the hair detail on the horse (I know out of scale right now - workin' on it! :laugh. I use the tip to help me out with creating the detail but I only have to reload the brush when I change from white to gray and back - but I'm also not covering a huge area. As long as I keep my paint thin it works pretty well and doesn't get gummy. But if I get into OCD focus painting - then all bets are off because I don't come up for air for a very long time.