Is it the skill or is it the tools

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edomingox

New member
you know, i always wondered, is it the tools that make the painter great or is it just the skill. I mean, you take a beginner and give him/her an expensive brush, will they produce better results than giving an experienced painter a crappy (citadel) brush?
I myself bought some Kolinsky sable brushes (0, 3/0) but don\'t seem to see the difference from those and my white nylon brushes.
oh yeah, pink soap rules!!!
 
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paleotaur

New member
Well, the only real difference between brush quality is their longevity. A sable brush will keep its shape and springiness longer than a nylon one. Paints and flow/retarder mediums will make more difference, but ultimately, skill and practice are by far the most important things.... ...unfourtunately:(;):p:flip::bouncy:
 
laurence

laurence

Brushlover
Gear vs Skill

A good tradesperson never blames his/her tools.. While owning high quality gear may enhance your overall ability to produce greater results at the end of the day it comes down to things such as practise, imagination, determination, passion, talent, hard work & sheer love for what ever it may be that your doing. These are just a few of the many things that contribute to good results. I\'m always amazed at a friend of mine who can make any ol\' guitar sound great, this is because he\'s a damn good player. I\'m sure that if you gave Arjay or Cyril a set of craft store rats hair bristle brushes and some kindergarten paints and asked them to paint up a mini they\'d both produce a great looking mini, this is because their underlying skill, talent, experience etc will shine through...
 
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finn17

New member
Skill all the way

If you take an idiot and give him a Steinway piano to play on he is going to sound like an idiot. Take a concert pianist and give him a beaten-up old piano and he is still going to sound like a concert pianist albeit playing a broken-up old piano.
This seems obvious but you would be surprised how many people spend mega bucks on a new camera and expect their photography to improve!
Study and practice is what counts at the end of the day. Damn!
 
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Shadow

New member
The Skills

It is definateley the skills, which is a good thing because no-one would do this if you could just pick it up and be an \'Eavy Metal Painter. The satisfaction is in becoming better and better.
;)
 
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vincegamer

Active member
If you don\'t know what you are doing, your project will be just as bad with great tools as with crappy tools.
If you do know what you are doing, you can do it with more ease with great tools (you could probably do it still with crappy tools, it\'s just harder).

My advice to new painters is always start out with cheap paints and brushes. If you enjoy it, when you think you\'ve gotten pretty good, switch to the quality stuff. It\'s sort of a mind trick. You will see an improvement and be happy, but if you\'ve been using the top quality tools all the time you don\'t get that little ego trip.
 
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supervike

Super Moderator
a little of one, alot of the other

You have to own the skills to make the tools work well.

It is like the world class golfers. Once they have mastered the basics of the game, switching to a better made club, will give them a little more advantage.
 
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Errex

New member
On a side note. It is easier to develop your techniques if you don\'t have to struggle with your own tools.

This doesn\'t mean you should go out and buy the most expensive brushes you can find, but rather be realistic and get the basic standard equipment you need for the level of skill you are at.

Say, if you are still too dependant on the drybrushing style of painting, then getting that ultra expensive W&N would be a waste of money.

Basically, I find that GW\'s brushes are quite adequate for all skill levels, while I admit they have a rather limited lifespan.
 
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smokey

New member
tools or skill? a mix of both...

Buying the best quality anything has it\'s place. If I\'m buying something that I expect to last (electronics, furniture, a car, etc.) then I wwill buy the higghest quality I can afford (which currently isn\'t much. I don\'t even own a car, and I have crappy furniture and a small tv:duh:)

If I\'m buying a tool that I expect to wear out and then have to replace, I\'ll buy a medium grade tool so I get relativvely good results, but I\'m not out 30 bucks everytime I need to replace it.;)

I\'ve found that the only way I get any better at this stuff is when I sit down and just model/paint A LOT (which unfortunately isn\'t as often as I\'d like!. :mad:

Smokey:bouncy:
 
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Tuubje

New member
Originally posted by laurence
A good tradesperson never blames his/her tools.. While owning high quality gear may enhance your overall ability to produce greater results at the end of the day it comes down to things such as practise, imagination, determination, passion, talent, hard work & sheer love for what ever it may be that your doing. These are just a few of the many things that contribute to good results. I\'m always amazed at a friend of mine who can make any ol\' guitar sound great, this is because he\'s a damn good player. I\'m sure that if you gave Arjay or Cyril a set of craft store rats hair bristle brushes and some kindergarten paints and asked them to paint up a mini they\'d both produce a great looking mini, this is because their underlying skill, talent, experience etc will shine through...
Click to expand...

I agree with this comment :innocent: (\"no need to typ it down again\")
 
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tabithatan

New member
its the skills.....
sure havin a good brush would make it more comfortable fur ya to paint, but, without the skills or knowhow of the rite technique... well..... its like a beginner on a steinway......

personally I dont believe in buyin really good brushes, I only save it for the really fine detail brushes.... often I just use the cheapest thing I can find........ I run through brushes like er.... water.....
 
B

Big Mean Elf

Guest
Talent and a tooth pick

I see this sort of topic a lot on yahoo groups,the answer is that with talent you can make things work ,and NO TOOL will make up for lazy or un skilled efforts ,period,you have to make love to this stuff,you have to PRACTICE and in the end,if you are a professional,your skills will show on what you do,but pros often have THE RIGHT tools for what ever they are do`n.

:]:cool:
Peace!:innocent:
 
Z

ZeCorto

Guest
Do not limit your skills

Of course, skill is the most important factor. Give a ukulele to Carlos Santana and it will still sound good. BUT it will sound a LOT LESS good than if he had a good guitar.
The same is true of anybody, if you can paint to any level with GW brushes, you can paint better with Windsor & Newton series 7.
Do not ask your tools to do the job for you, but do not let your tools be the weakest link in your painting chain either, it would be a pity (everybody prefers good guitar to good ukulele)
 
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mrika

New member
At one point I was trying to do fine lines with my $2 brushes. When I spent $10 on nice sable brush I noticed a dramatic improvement. I think that only the super fine detail brushes need to be expensive. They just seem to work better.
 
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Sturmhalo

Guest
Well, without the right tools, skill alone won\'t necessarily give the best results!

No matter how good you are, there\'s only so much you can do with a crap brush.

I\'d say the percentage is 60/40 in the favour of skill!

:D
 
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