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hello dakka,

tonight, I come before you with a question of epicly noob proportions... what does wetting your brush mean? you read about it in tutorials and you hear people talk about it in videos, but as I've never actually *seen* a painter do it (water pot is always off camera, etc) I'm not quite sure what we're talking about. up until now, I'd just assumed it meant rinsing out your brush when the paint started to run dry, loading more paint onto it and soldiering on. then I got to wondering if I was wrong and I was missing something fundamental that would help me improve. so, at the risk of people realizing what I total noob I am (and just to be clear, I most definitely am :p), can someone break down the how and why for me?

cheers,

v

I've never really heard the term either, but pretty sure its safe to assume keeping the bristles moist. After a bit, you start to notice some paint drying and clumping up on the bristles, thus affecting paint flow (for me anyways)

Wetting the brush is like how he said getting it damp.
Which is good to do before using a wash,I notice when I dip a bone dry brush in wash it sucks up all the way to the metal.
Quick tips see the metal collar(ferrule) that hold the bristles on.
Never let paint touch that,if it does rinse your brush immedately.
If paint drys in there it stops the brush from getting a good point
A wash the brush with brush soap or shampoo after the session.
You stick to that rule your paintbrush will last a couple years as opposed to a couple months.

Any other tips feel free to PM me, if you want to hide youyr Noobieness
Happy Painting,Enjoy the Hobby

The pro-painter at my local GW shop touches her brush to her lips, not sure if that is the best plan to be honest.

Thanks for the tips Eisenhorn, duly noted on my part. I didn't know about the ferrule part, I knew you shouldn't get paint up there but not why.

@Varl, please keep displaying your noobiness so those of us who are crap don't feel quite so bad when we see your excellent work. Those Salamanders are a treat.

I wet my brush with... a water pot. It's the same as putting water on your paints/thinning your paints, just in this case the water is transferred from brush to paint and not directly. Usually when I basecoat I dip the brush ever so slightly on water before touching the paint so that it helps reduce the texture of using paint straight from the pot. With washes i wet the brush then mix the water in it with the paint on my palette.

ok, so it doesn't sound like I'm really missing anything then. I generally thin my paints with a bit of water/flow-aid on the palette, so I guess that works out to the same end result. good to know that there's no compelling reason for me to start licking my brush (bleh!) :p

@magpie: you can definitely count on me to keep asking noob questions