Stippling

By Michelle Roberts

Stippling is a technique commonly used to create fur, and other 'fluffy' items using a special brush called a Stipple, Deerfoot or Badger Blender brush. Matisse Flow Formula colours are ideal for all stippling projects, as the intensity of colour will give you a great range when blended on your brush.

Basic technique

I like to firstly 'block in' the area I'm going to stipple. This is a good idea to get you used to the brush, without risking your project.
Load your brush with the base colour of your choice, making sure that the brush is dry. Hint: If you have washed the brush out, simply press it down gently on an old towel, or a piece of absorbent paper. Do not put too much paint in your brush, it will stop the fur from becoming 'fluffy' as the bristles will become clogged.
When stippling, pounce the brush in an upright position up and down, moving the brush to fill in the space required. Hint: Use a small circular motion to stop lines forming. Overlap brush stipples.
To create highlights or shadows, the same technique is used, however the brush should be double loaded with two colours, the main colour to the heel of the brush, and the highlight / shadow to the toe. Blend on your palette until you can see a third colour between the original two colours.
Always apply the shadow colours first, and then add the highlight colour. Hint: As the brush runs out of highlight paint, lightly stipple into the shadow areas to blend in.

Would you like to try this technique? Then have a go at the Memory Box Teddy or the African Daisies projects.