Starting with less: why a simple brush set up makes sketching easier
Whether you sketch out in the street or from a photo at the kitchen table, a smaller brush set up has a way of revealing what you actually need. Fewer tools mean fewer decisions, and fewer decisions often lead to more confident marks. You reach for the brush you know rather than the brush you hope will solve the problem.
For some sketchers the advantage shows up outdoors. Travelling lighter makes setting up quicker and keeps your attention on the scene rather than your bag. For others working indoors, the benefit is mental rather than practical. A small kit keeps the process uncluttered. You sit down to sketch and begin without second guessing which brush might be better.
Most of us have gathered brushes over time, some useful, some rarely touched. That is part of learning. But urban sketching rarely rewards complexity. When you carry or keep less on the desk, you spend less time deciding and more time painting. The result is usually marks that feel more direct and relaxed.
Using the same brushes repeatedly also builds familiarity. You begin to understand how they hold water, how they release pigment, and how they behave on your paper. That familiarity strengthens water control whether you are working from life or reference. For most urban sketchers, three brush types cover nearly everything: a rigger for line and detail, a flat for washes and soft transitions, and a round for shaping smaller areas. It is a small set up, but it offers plenty of flexibility.
The rigger brush: line work and expressive detail
The rigger often becomes the brush people did not realise they needed. It looks delicate, but it carries far more water and pigment than expected. That length allows a line to travel across the page in one go, which is perfect for describing structure without breaking it into hesitant strokes.
In practice, the rigger sits somewhere between drawing and painting. It is ideal for rooflines, railings, branches, distant wires and shadow edges. The line has variation, it feels alive, and it avoids the overworked look that comes from repeated small strokes. A slightly uneven rigger line often adds character rather than distraction.
Ian’s use of synthetic riggers shows how effective this brush can be. Synthetic acrylic riggers are strong, springy and capable of holding heavier pigment loads. They behave almost like a pen when needed, which supports the layered approach where lines and washes interact rather than sit separately. This reliability is helpful whether you are sketching outside in changing light or slowly building a drawing from a photograph.
If rigger marks start to feel scratchy, it is often just a water balance issue. A slightly wetter mix allows the line to glide. Holding the brush a bit further back can also help, as it encourages movement from the arm rather than tight finger control. That small adjustment can change the feel of a line more than switching brushes ever will.
Riggers are great for more specific line work when you want to capture individual shapes or take a line for a walk and draw in paint. That is essentially what I do as an Urban Sketcher, the painting stage is very much a continuation of the drawing.
The flat brush: washes that feel connected rather than filled in
A flat brush can feel unfamiliar at first, especially if you learned watercolour with rounds. Once you use it for a sky or background wash, its value becomes obvious. Flats carry pigment across space quickly and encourage thinking in larger shapes rather than individual objects.
This shift is helpful in urban sketching. Instead of colouring each building separately, a flat brush allows a wash to link them, giving the scene cohesion and atmosphere. When working from photos, this can prevent the tendency to over describe every detail. When sketching outdoors, it helps capture the overall light before it changes.
Using flats well often comes down to restraint. Place the wash, allow it to settle, then respond rather than scrubbing back and forth. Scrubbing tends to create mud, while a confident pass keeps colour fresh. Many sketchers notice that their washes improve simply by touching the page less often.
A medium flat and a smaller flat usually provide enough flexibility for everyday sketching, with larger flats reserved for bigger scenes if needed. Over time, the flat becomes less of a novelty and more of a dependable way to establish light, mood and depth without fuss.
Another advantage of flats is how naturally they help with edge variation. By adjusting the angle of the brush or the amount of water on the page, you can create both crisp and softened edges within the same wash. A slightly drier flat will leave a defined edge, while a wetter pass allows pigment to feather gently into surrounding areas. This small shift can suggest distance, light, or atmosphere without adding extra detail.
Many sketchers notice that using a flat brush encourages them to watch the page more closely as the wash settles. Instead of immediately adding more paint, you pause and see what the water is doing. That pause often leads to more subtle transitions and fewer muddy passages. Over time, this becomes less about technique and more about observation. You begin to recognise when a wash needs support, when it should be left alone, and when a second layer will add depth rather than confusion.
Flats are great for building up layers and glazes, and really letting the colours have a play on the page.
The Round Brush: Useful When Shape Clarity Matters
Rounds remain dependable, especially when you need contained shapes to sit cleanly within a sketch. Small figures, signage, or specific shadow shapes benefit from the pointed tip and controlled application a round offers.
The key is not to let the round take over the whole painting. When every wash becomes a careful fill, the sketch can lose its energy. Treating the round as a supporting brush helps maintain balance. It handles moments where clarity matters, while riggers and flats carry the expressive and atmospheric work.
A small and medium round usually suffice. Holding the brush slightly further back, even with controlled shapes, keeps strokes from feeling tight and helps maintain that balance between precision and looseness. Many sketchers find their rounds most useful right at the end of a sketch, adding small accents or adjustments rather than leading the painting.
Rounds often come into their own at the final stage of a sketch. After washes have settled and rigger lines have established structure, the round can introduce small adjustments. A figure, a darker window, or a subtle shadow edge can be added without disturbing earlier layers.
Thinking of the round as a finishing brush can help avoid overworking. Instead of using it to fill large areas, it becomes a tool for refinement. This small change in mindset keeps the painting process layered and prevents the sketch from feeling heavy.
Natural vs synthetic brushes: why reliability matters
Natural hair brushes can be beautiful tools, known for their water holding capacity and smooth feel. However, urban sketching often involves varied conditions, quick sessions and repeated layering. Reliability becomes important.
Synthetic brushes offer resilience and predictable behaviour, which suits the layered and expressive approach used in urban sketching. Ian’s preference for synthetic riggers reflects this. They maintain their shape, carry generous pigment loads, and tolerate repeated passes across the page without losing their point.
Synthetic flats and rounds also support reliable water control while being easier to maintain. For many sketchers, starting with good quality synthetics provides a practical balance between performance and longevity without feeling precious about the tools.
Brands such as Pro Arte, Winsor and Newton, Da Vinci, Escoda and Rosemary and Co all produce reliable synthetic brushes. The best choice is usually the one that feels comfortable and predictable in your hand.
A smaller kit: fewer tools, clearer thinking
Sketching already asks for observation and decision making, whether you are outdoors or working from reference. A smaller kit keeps those decisions manageable. You spend less time choosing tools and more time responding to the sketch, which helps you stay in the flow.
Working with the same brushes repeatedly builds familiarity. You learn how much water they hold, how they release pigment, and how they behave on your paper. That familiarity improves water control and reduces hesitation. It also helps you recover quickly when something goes slightly wrong. If a wash spreads further than expected, you know how to soften an edge with your flat. If a line feels too heavy, you know how to lighten or break it with your rigger without scrubbing the page.
A simple set up might include a small and medium rigger, a medium flat and a small round. This combination handles washes, detail and shape control while staying compact. One easy way to use it is in stages. Start with the flat for broad washes and atmosphere. Use the rigger for line work and small accents. Keep the round for the final touches, when you want a couple of controlled shapes or darker notes without disturbing earlier layers.
This is not about limiting yourself. It is about removing noise, so you can focus on light, value, and the few details that make the sketch feel like that place.
How brush choice affects confidence
Confidence in watercolour often grows from predictability. When you trust your brushes, you place marks with less hesitation. The result is not perfection but clarity. Washes settle more naturally, lines feel intentional, and the sketch develops with a sense of flow.
Over time, the brushes themselves fade into the background. They stop being objects you evaluate and become extensions of the process. That shift is subtle, but it is often when sketching begins to feel more enjoyable and less like problem solving.
At the start, a lot of us treat brushes like they are the answer. If the wash went wrong, we assume we needed a different brush. If the line wobbled, we assume the brush was too soft. Usually it is not the brush, it is that we have not spent enough time with it yet. Familiarity is what creates control.
A flat you trust encourages you to place a wash and leave it alone. That simple restraint often prevents muddy colour. A rigger you trust helps you take a line for a walk across the page without stopping to correct it. A round you trust gives you a way to add a small accent at the end without disturbing everything underneath. None of that is fancy. It is just predictable tools reducing hesitation.
The more you use the same small set, the more you recognise what is normal. How wet is too wet. When to reload. When a wash needs a minute to settle. That is when confidence grows. Not because every sketch becomes perfect, but because the process stops feeling like guesswork.
Final thoughts: brushes that support painting, not perfection
Brushes should make painting feel easier, not more complicated. A rigger, flat and round offer a balanced toolkit that supports expressive line work, atmospheric washes and controlled accents without unnecessary complexity.
Understanding how each brush behaves allows you to make clearer choices while still painting freely. Improvement tends to come from familiarity and observation rather than expanding the kit. A smaller set up helps you focus on the scene, the light and the story you want the sketch to tell, whether you are sketching from life or from a photograph.
If you are curious, try a sketch using only a rigger and flat, then repeat it allowing the round for a few specific shapes. Noticing how the brushes influence your decisions often reveals more than any list of recommendations.
The goal is not to find the perfect brush. It is to find brushes that feel reliable enough that you forget about them and simply get on with painting.
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