How To Cut Your Brush To Paint Multiple Strokes For Grass, Fur, OR HAIR

I hope you enjoy and learn a little, if you have any questions feel free to message me!
Here is my facebook as well, I post a fair amount of my work here.
10MinutePain...
Instagram: / ryanorourkeart
In this video tutorial I show you the basics on how to cut your brush to look like a rake brush. This allows you to paint multiple streams of paint per single stroke. It speeds up the process and makes painting grass, fur, feathers, animals, and hair much more convenient. We go over the materials and process required to teach you how to paint multiple quick strokes in acrylic paint.

[@resadeldelossantos9140]

I really smiled and even laughed ... because I thought I was the only one cutting my brushes coz I couldn't find any in our local market and when I tried to purchase online it doesn't support my address... I'm so happy for coming across your channel because now I know that cutting paint brushes is not a violation of the artists' ethics and standards. .. I only said to myself that it would only be me who would know what I'm doing hahaha .. Thank you

[@Debbyiamme]

Thank you, Ryan; I have been thinking of doing this but was hesitant. Now that I know that I'm not the only one AND I've got instructions on how to do this, I'm no longer afraid to start cutting. Thank you again. I love your work. PS: I introduced my brother to your videos and he loves them. He's a better painter than me but tells me that it's because I've only just started recently and he's been at it for 25 year in the sign business. He also recently, just started painting with oils and acrylics. He likes acrylics better. He said oils take so long to dry and they stink. He's doing a great job, though. He did one of your paintings in 30 minutes. It was one that you just did a couple weeks ago that you allowed yourself 15 minutes to paint instead of your normal 10 minute paintings. It takes me 2 weeks to do your 10 minute paintings. LOL But you inspire me. Thank you for that, too.

[@Jennifr1966]

Don't feel badly. It takes me a couple months lol

[@WillSmith-ys5zc]

Thanks Ryan for the great tip about cutting my brush for grass, fur, or hair. I really enjoy painting birds, and your tip will save me time and make my painting look better.

[@mfcabrini]

It's so simple and effective. One of those "why didn't I think of that" ideas. Thanks for sharing. Really love your work.

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

Thank you! Best of luck with the technique!

[@CoralReeves]

YOU are the person I've been looking for! I love your resourcefulness! Not to mention your insane talent. Thank you

[@susanburns276]

Brilliant Young man! I'm just a Nanna who's taken up art, this has helped so very much. I knew there had to be an artistic genius out there that would come up with time saving idea! And it's you 🎊at my age I don't have Time to paint grass a stroke at a time! What with arthritis, and the eyes not as good, you've made my day ✨👵🇭🇲

[@barbarajarreau9037]

Thank you so much for these tips. I had a lot of brushes I wasn't using, so I got them out and trimmed them into various shapes, not just for painting fur or hair or grass, but also for other textures. I'm looking forward to trying them out. Thanks again!!!

[@sueslone7180]

Thank you so much, I have the perfect brush to cut. Great video. Sue

[@sacredhoop2936]

OMG THANK YOU! ( and yes I was shouting) I painted all the time in childhood and as a young adult but stopped for many years (almost thirty). I just recently picked up my brushes again. I remember painstakingly painting fur one stroke at a time. The brush I made with your assistance is better than any one I could buy. Please keep making your videos. I cannot say enough positive things about all you so generously share! Many thanks again!

[@ladydi54822]

I cut my brushes as soon as I finished watching your video they work great ,,I have a few of them now with different cuts,, thank you

[@sherrysherrynelsonnelson9531]

Ohhhj yesss Ryan ....sooo smart...iv been painting for a very long time...I have so needed a brush like this...im getting my scissors right now...thank you an God bless you

[@terrydelord761]

That did helped me. I'm trying to paint some fur and having trouble with the hair. This looks so interesting to try! Thank you!

[@elliemerc01]

You rock Ryan, woot woot. Thanks so much.

[@southerngirlsrock2799]

Great idea, going to go do me some brushes now, thank you for this idea!

[@danbailey8182]

I am so trying this. This will hopefully make my paintings more realistic.

[@junimondin]

hi ryan, thank you so much for your tutorials, they are very helpful. i am happy that i found you here :D sunny greetings from southern bavaria

[@judylehman7997]

would love to see more painting techniques.And thanks for this valuable information.

[@bijou144]

love this tip, used it to make highlights in hair in a portrait, thanks Ryan

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

+bijou144 Great use for the technique, I'm glad it helped!

[@dell4277]

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY GENIUS..THANKS SO MUCH RYAN...ID LOVE DIFFERENT IDEAS YOU HAVE ABOUT HOW TO PAINT WITH "DIFFERENT"THINGS..LOL..VERY INTERESTING!!!!

[@Lachri]

Great tips :D

[@Nancy-ii5yo]

Thanks for the tip. I never thought of this. Will surely try it out.

[@ruthmoore601]

Would appreciate tissue or sponge teaching!! You are clear, easy to understand. Thank you.

[@lindalaisure987]

I'm a beginner painter and going to try this technique. Thanks!

[@connieflanigan5045]

I am very new to painting and really appreciated this help! Thank you. Blessings.

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

So happy to hear it, thank you!

[@sarayoung5485]

this is so clever!! thank you for the amazing video!

[@artmixpics449]

Brilliant! Thank you.

[@AngelineMarieArt]

Super helpful! Thank you! Your explanation is well done. A closer look of the brush while you’re cutting it would be helpful. I took a chance on some unusable brushes and viola! I can use them again! Thanks, again! ❤

[@doublehelix1185]

Thank you Ryan for your experiences that you gladly share with us!! You are a beautiful person. 🍀💕🍀 Wow, I have had a pair of the foldable scissors packed away a long time. I started to throw them away. Glad I didnt!!

[@marthaakamartiwhipple7093]

That is amazing Ryan!!! Wish I had found you earlier. Just finished painting feathers which was a real pain!!!! Thank you SO much!

[@valipafos]

martha whipple n

[@rosemaryburton175]

Yes tissue and any other brushing tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[@HeatherMBC]

Great video, thanks for sharing your experience!

[@isobeller1]

This is an absolutely brilliant idea cutting the brush. I have painted all my grass and pampas grass with fluffy tops, thank you so much for that great idea.Pam McKinnon (Australia)

[@racheltania4498]

I'm chopping all my brushes now. Brilliant idea.

[@kjojar3808]

I'm sooo late to the party, so THANK YOU!! For leaving this post up, because I love it. My favorite part is how it gives uniformity to the strokes, which can get out of whack when doing a gazillion one by one. The multi-stroke mod looks more natural overall, even if I drift or find myself reaching too far. Some people know what I'm talking about, lol.

[@suzyryan3986]

Thank you! Very helpful. Mother wanted me to paint an owl for her. I used the trick, but on a larger brush. I'm going to get a smaller one for more detail work.

[@marywhite7051]

Ryan!! You are the bomb!! I absolutely love all of your "10 minute" tutorials. It takes me a little more like 30 minutes.. but it's still sooo much faster and simpler than doing the usual 3 hours paintings. Those are nice too.. but sometimes I just get in the mood to paint, and love to have a finished product so fast. You do such a wonderful job demonstrating all the techniqes and short cuts you have developed. Thank you so much for taking the time to do all of this,, and offering it at NO Charge!!! I am truly soooo grateful. Keep producing more paintings.. You have a dedicated fan in me! :) Blessings and joy, Mary

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

That was a really wonderful message to read, thank you for taking the time out of your day to comment :) I'm glad you find the new series enjoyable!

[@jerzeyzgirl03]

Wow I never learned abt this technique until now! Thanks I will definitely try it

[@jillianlilliehawk1543]

Thank you for sharing this awesome video. This is super helpful.

[@ytbow1554]

Would love to learn more techniques - thank you!

[@ayeshashahid4153]

Thanks for the video. I got similar brush in soft. It's good idea with firm bristle brush

[@josegomez2143]

thank you great idea it helps me on my painting its great.

[@FiveandCook]

thank you for this tutorial and it really made a big difference in painting my magical birdl thanks!

[@lillianburton362]

Thanks for this video, I will be using this tip.

[@bzxshor67mpts]

scratching and sandpaper does a great job as well

[@AlabamaAGI]

Would love to see more of your "unorthodox" paint methods.

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

Thanks for the input, I will begin planning some!

[@charliefoxx81]

i just bought one of these brushes at Michael's - thanks for the info on how to use them =)

[@angelamaxwell59]

Great idea thank you!

[@lauraquiogue9236]

Hi Ryan! Thanks for the tip. Will definitely try this. Can you also please show us how we can trim a brush good for tree leaves and foliage? Thanks.

[@genevieveplowman6845]

Thanks very much your tips are very good.

[@jlhh767]

Great idea!!

[@jackiegarroutte8970]

Awesome thank you ryan

[@AWalkngContradiction]

your video's are awesome .. so informative and helpful with how much info you give .. i love your channel ...

[@LuisNgchongJrArt]

nice video I am glad I learned some thing new

[@stephersthomas]

What excellent tips and really practical! Thank you!

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

I'm glad to hear you found it helpful!

[@MrGolddust47]

Great stuff, thank you.

[@melh1030]

Thank you for this video!

[@castrovarghese9863]

thanks Ryan nice hack, i am gonna try it out

[@annegreechan6030]

Great idea

[@soledadoliva1914]

great tips!! thanks

[@arneilliloan7805]

Wow! i like it very much,

[@greenmacaroni8872]

What a great idea. Thank you for sharing😊 Julie

[@hela6208]

New subbie..so happy to have found you! wonderful tips and awesome results!

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

Welcome to the channel!

[@sarahcosta4882]

Good idea! Thanks

[@loriebeaton4609]

Thank you Ryan, great tip

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

+Lorie Beaton My pleasure!

[@lorressiaeakes4748]

this is amazing thanks

[@crisbycris4012]

I have always done this ever since I started painting

[@anilakuntawala4958]

It was amazing, I want to learn how to paint in long stroke, example painting curtains in background of the still object

[@stacymatejovic2164]

this is fantastic...thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@carlconnor5173]

Never would've thought to do this.

[@aciddreamin]

this is wonderful thanks so much it'll help a lot!! p.s. I love your voice

[@lucillejodoin3602]

Brilliant!

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

Thank you! I hope it helps!

[@suetoft8677]

Thank you Ryan, is is a great tip, I'm going to make one right now to paint grass on my forest floor! I would also love to know how to create effects with a sponge.

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

+susan toft I hope you're satisfied with the results! :)

[@suetoft8677]

+Ryan O'Rourke - Artist Well, not really but it's not the brush that's at fault. I'll keep on trying - what I lack in talent I make up for with enthusiasm! :)

[@baljeetdham]

Thank you so much for nice tutorial and nice trick. I am biggner. I want to practice birds but I have hard time doing furs. This video helps me. I will try it. Also I would like to know how you get couple of highlights can do with one brush. Could you help me out. Thank you again giving your precious time to make a videos.

[@andersnilsson532]

Thanks, excellent tip

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

+Anders Nilsson Thank you sir!

[@debeern1]

That is a great tip. I bought some brushes today... cheap ones. So I'll experiment with the stiffer ones. I would like you to offer tips on sponges. The one I have is natural but started leaving little pieces on the canvas. I've subscribed to your videos. Really nice!

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

+debeern1 I'm very happy to hear it, I hope these brushes render you the results you desire. Also, welcome to the channel, it's wonderful to have you!

[@Skippy66]

Thanks so much 🌹

[@debrapolenz4962]

You could also clip the brush holding scissors at end and snipping on same angle as the bristles are, like when they thin bangs girls. You could use an exacto scalpel, or razor. Protect your surface and be careful. So holding brush up you would point scissors at the end of the bristles, or lay down and cut with scalpel carefully into bristle ends, going the same as the hairs go.

[@Jennifr1966]

Thank you so very much. I NEED a grass comb paint brush but can't afford $18 for a single brush! So this will be much better, at least once I find a hard bristle brush :) I'm so used to looking for brushes made for acrylic! Any suggestion for finding the one you're talking about?

[@janicecompas7202]

I bought hair shears, for thinning human hair, to notch my fur and grass brush unevenly. It works great! I found hair shears at the Dollar Tree.

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

Thank you for sharing your tip!

[@esthermosher105]

Great job and idea. Thank you. Would you show a picture of the grass you made with the brush?

[@anthonydandrade361]

always a good idea to save money

[@lisasternenkind6467]

I know this is an old video. Still I wanetd to share here what I did. I went to the 1-Euro store, which is simply a store, where they have a bunch of stuff for small prices, and bought a bunch of cheap fan brushes, which are actually meant for cosmetic purpose. I then cut them, each differently, to have several possibilities when painting. I only needed an embroidery needle and embroidery scissors. I then sort of wove my embroidery needle through the bristles from one side to the other and so parted the bristles, that where going to stay long from those, that were going to be cut. Then I simply made a clean cut. I now have 15 different rake fan brushes. Some of them have long bristles, that are quite evenly spread, some that aren't. Some have very few long bristles, that go together, and others have many. This way I can paint fur, gras, foliage, etc even on different sizes of canvas.

[@judithaffatato3930]

Very informative. I am an animal artist so this will be very helpful, How about painting with cloth as you suggested?

[@joebeard7387]

Have you used a 'rake' brush to trim further Ryan, or do you find better results from cutting flat brushes, please. Very interesting video, presented in a pleasant way. Thanks and regards, Joe.

[@veronicagreen6180]

Thank you very helpful

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

Glad it could help :)

[@mozhiyath]

nice..

[@brightonbeadsmore9260]

Thank you, ty, ty ...... Nancy

[@hadeelbaghdad485]

thank you

[@dell4277]

omg!!!!! finally a person after my own thinking,,,,I don't know how many brushes I bought trying to get right textures etc,,,,,What a great idea!!! Now can you please tell me how I can cut a brush that is called[foliage brush] but never does the job I want. I want a brush that's uneven to make bunches of leaves on tees etc,,,,its not the one sold as foliage brush!!!! THANK YOU,,THANK YOU!!!!!!

[@jasonfella265]

I've been wanting to figure out the same thing in my paintings, and it seems like I saw a video a couple of years ago, where someone said you could actually take a match to the tip of your brush, and partially burn away some of tips of the bristles, or scrape it on cement, to prematurely wear it down haha.

[@karenrichardson6767]

Thank you! Glad you told us what kind of brush to butcher, lol

[@Gordito158]

No need to butcher a brush or take the time to do so, if one buys a brush called a "rake" brush. Then you are just butchering your bank account. lol

[@cindychambers1588]

Thank you Ryan.. I've seen one of the Artists on here saying he created a Rake Brush and I was going to buy it from him but I think I have to buy the whole packate. YOUR way sounds better.. IRREGULAR is the way to go!

[@susanbradford4543]

You might like to read a book by Roy Hendershot called "Texture Techniques for Winning Watercolors" published 1999. He cuts watercolor fan brushes into irregular textures similar to those you cut and calls them "scary brushes" using them for foliage, weather wood, grass, undergrowth, etc. For watercolors, bristle brushes would be a disaster & scrub off the paint, but watercolor fan brushes are perfect for watercolors.. I have cut a number in every size fan brush I can find and use them often. For these soft brushes, hair cutting scissors work best.

[@sy2.083]

Interesting and useful but I kept waiting for you to show us a sample of the strokes the brush would create🧐

[@verajerome5041]

I've used thinning shears to do this!

[@birjeeshussain6106]

So what would you suggest for watercolour brushes

[@RyanORourkeArtist]

I’m not sure, I don’t work with the medium. I would assume a softer flat headed brush

[@hollyhudson6540]

Ooh I just commented on a different video 😂 I was asking how you did this.

[@elliemerc01]

Yes tissue please, I saw a guy paint with it years ago so it would be great!

[@mrscgreid1]

Thank you! I won't have such a hard time with hair.

[@DressedForDrowning]

Life of a paint artist is full of fears to overcome. I have had the fear of the first brushstroke. I have had fear to cut my brushes, so I gave them to my wife to do so. Now I've overcome these fears and can do it by myself, because I have seen, nothing terrible happens. What could be the worst scenario? To throw the brush away. Yeah, now I like to cut brushes the way I need them :-D

[@geralyn2011]

Can you do this to paint animal fur in acrylic paint?