The quest for THE MAGIC BRUSH

Just some random thoughts on a topic that comes up occasionally when speaking about digital art. People often go after their favorite artists in order to learn which brush they use on a specific piece. I used to side with the 'it's just a tool, who cares' group, mostly because I usually work with the most standard tools available in the painting software of my choice at the time, tinkering a bit with the settings, but not much more than that. But...after some more experience with drawing 100% digitally I came to the conclusion that yes, indeed, the brush you choose does matter quite a bit.

Truth be told, it's just about the same with drawing traditionally, you have your preferred paper stock, your preferred pencil hardness and brand, the same goes for ink, brushes, quills, etc; basically as you experiment and learn how to handle these materials, you begin to browse between the ones you find more comfortable to work with. And I believe, this way, the artist does build up it's inventory of helpful tools. 

So asking an artist you admire for it's weapon of choice or even buying an inspiring digital brush or brush pack might be really awesome for your workflow!

In my own experience, I found myself in 2020 using the same 'Stumpy pencil' brush by Mike Foran from 2009. I love how easy it is to control at just the lightest touch, I love the textured strokes, giving me a very visually pleasing result with drawing with it. I get inspired and can't simply put it down when I begin to work with it.

So when this feeling happens to you, I do think it's a hint that you might have found a tool that you can rely on.