i needs help...oils

[Reptile]

i just got some oils and im a begginer and have 2 questions i hope you guys can help me out with.keep in mind im a begginer and have no idea what im doing
do i need to use some kind of solvent to take the oil paint off from the brush before switch to another color or can i just use water?
what are linseed oil and paint thinner and are they essential?

[Flake]

do i need to use some kind of solvent to take the oil paint off from the brush before switch to another color or can i just use water?
No water, oil and water are not chums.. Unless it's those "water cleanup" oil things. Wipe it on an old cut up t-shirt or sock or something.

It may be easier to just use another brush for very different colours then clean them all up at the end of the day with soap.

what are linseed oil and paint thinner and are they essential?

Linseed oil is a vegetable oil, it's what your oil paint is ground up in. Adding more changes the consistency and drying time of your paint a bit, that's all.

Paint thinner could be anything really, be more specific.

Neither are essential. Straight tube paint will work fine.

[Irishdrunk]

Wipe it on an old cut up t-shirt or sock or something.


I'm no oil painter, but I saw someone use an old phone book to wipe off their paints. Might last longer than a sock.

[Flake]

Good point, plus phone books fall through your letterbox for free every few months.

It would be weird if socks did that.

[Elwell]

Search function, please.

[Ninjerk]

Search function, please.

It DOES exist! :O

[Line]

Search function, please.

I don't think it hurt that he asked.

[FraserMcT]

I don't think it hurt that he asked.

No, but the place is cluttered of threads with the same questions, getting the same answers. This makes the storage of these threads pointless if no one looks at it, meaning that Conceptart.org is throwing away money. And I dunno if you were here for the big breakdown, but money isn't something this site has to throw away.

[Line]

No, but the place is cluttered of threads with the same questions, getting the same answers. This makes the storage of these threads pointless if no one looks at it, meaning that Conceptart.org is throwing away money. And I dunno if you were here for the big breakdown, but money isn't something this site has to throw away.

You are perfectly right friend, but you must also aknowlege that it may be hard to find threads on what one might need sometimes (hell I can't find stuff sometimes even after hours of search!), the information essentially being dispersed in so many threads, which is why I think we should also support Sepulverture's idea of organising everything and putting it in the tutorials thread but there's some difficulty at that. So, this is maybe the next best thing when one can't find what they are looking for I suppose.

[Black Spot]

Turps is the best for cleaning your brush but you will get some residual left on it while still damp. Using a clean bush is best if the colour is radically different (you should have at least half a dozen of them, if not more), if not use the same brush, load it up and enjoy the happy accidents.

Turps cleans and thins, also quicker drying. Linseed slows the drying time and gives you the ability to paint over dried paint without mucking it up.

You also need to consider whether you're painting wet into wet or letting the work dry and painted thin layers on top. Just experiment and have fun.

[Elwell]

Even if one didn't want to search here, in far less time than it takes to (a) write a post, and (b) wait for a reply, one could easily google the answer to this question. Seriously. This is "which end of the pencil do I use" territory.
Teach a man to fish etc etc etc.

[Line]

Even if one didn't want to search here, in far less time than it takes to (a) write a post, and (b) wait for a reply, one could easily google the answer to this question. Seriously. This is "which end of the pencil do I use" territory.
Teach a man to fish etc etc etc.

You have a valid point, I don't think he didn't search tho. Anyway he got the answer so, all's done.

[Shinji2821]

Hey, I only browse this forum from time to time and coming across this post I learned about the possibility of using a phone book as an object to use as a way to clean your brush. Useful bit of information that I will try to use in the future, but it is not something I am going to learn by google searching. Even simple "which end of the pencil posts" can yield interesting things :)