Nail Art Brushes - A Great Set of Tools for Painting Details on Rocks

It has been suggested to me that nail art brushes are wonderful when painting details on rocks. You know what? It makes sense! Fingernails are a tiny canvas, so it follows that brushes used for nail art would work on rocks too.

I purchased this inexpensive, 15-piece nail art brush set to give them a try.

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There were other sets available but they shipped from China and I was willing to pay the extra shipping cost to have it originate in the U.S.

(I've been told that nail art brushes purchased on Ebay and shipped from China take approximately 10 days to receive and you're able to track the package (if it states the item is shipped via "epacket"). I have not verified this information for myself.)

Contents of My Nail Art Brush Set

• 3 Drawing Tools
• 7 Painting Tools
• 2 Liners
• 1 Dotting Tool
• 2 Fan brushes
• Plastic storage case

The Tests

I started off with this small rock for my first test of the brushes...

...and used a design from "The Chinese Brush Painting Bible" and 3 of the brushes - a liner, flat painter, and pointed drawing tool. I was quite happy with the results.

  

Design Painted with 3 Nail Art Brushes Only

For my second test, I used an even smaller rock...

 
...and chose another design from "The Chinese Brush Painting Bible." This time I used only 2 brushes - the flat painter and a longer drawing brush. Once again, I was quite pleased with the nail art brush results.

Design Painted with 2 Nail Art Brushes Only

Here's a side-by-side look at the two rocks I painted using only 4 of the nail art brushes.

Alternative Use for the Nail Art Dotting Tool

I already have several dotting tools and the one included in the set is quite tiny. Instead of dots, I use this tool to secure small rocks when they're being sealed. (In the past I would use toothpicks to hold the stone in place while I was sealing it.)

Dotting Tool Used to Secure Rock While Sealing

My Conclusion

Nail art brushes ARE a great tool for rock painting details. Even if I never use all the brushes in the set, the price is low enough to justify the purchase based on my results. And, you can never have enough brushes. Right? 

  
Videos - How to Use Nail Art Brushes

I found these two videos very helpful explaining how each nail art brush/tool can be used.

Click here to purchase this nail art brush set

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As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

Rock Painting Tip: Use Paint Pens Instead of a Brush for Detailing

Sometimes my rock is too small or my hand too unsteady to paint fine details with a brush. Regular Sharpie markers smeared and changed color when a sealer was applied. Micron pens scraped the paint off my rock and dried up quickly.

Update: Monday, October 24, 2016

Since the date of the original post, I have discovered the Uni Posca marker and consider it the best pen/marker for rock painting. This post has now been updated to include the Posca pen. (Click here to see my experiments with the Posca Pen.)


Four pens suitable for rock painting are the: 

• Uni Posca Marker (extra fine tip)
• Elmer's Painters Pen (fine tip)
• Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Marker (fine tip)
• Sakura Pigma Brush Pen (brush tip)

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As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
 

While only one of these pens is my perfect solution, they all enable me to add details to my painted rocks without using a brush.

I drew a simple kitty using each pen to illustrate how they perform on a rock. (FYI: Smooth stones are easier to draw on than pitted stones.) 

Uni Posca Marker (water-based paint filled)

Uni Posca Marker - My Perfect Rock Painting Pen

 Pros

• Available in various colors
• Many tips available from extra fine point to extra broad
• Can be used on unpolished and polished stones
• Dries quickly
• Does not blur or change color when sealer is applied

Cons

• None

Elmer's Opaque Paint Marker (acrylic paint filled)

Elmer's Painters Pen

 Pros

• Available in various colors
• Fine tip available
• Dries quickly
• Doesn't smear or change color when sealer is applied

 Cons

• Fine tip is not as fine as I'd like

Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Pen

Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Pen

Pros

• Available in various colors
• Fine & extra fine tips available
• Dries quickly
• Glossy
• Doesn't smear or change color when sealer is applied

Cons

• Fine tip is not as fine as I'd like (I have not tried the extra-fine tip)

Sagura Pigma Brush (archival ink)

Sakura Pigma Brush

Pros

• Available in various colors
• Dries quickly
• You can control the thickness of the line by amount of pressure used when drawing

Cons

• The kitty drawn with the Pigma Brush smeared when I applied a polyurethane varnish (Delta Ceramcoat)

Polyurethane sealer smeared my kitty design

Tip

• After redrawing the kitty with the Sakura Pigma Brush, I carefully sealed the rock with a thin coat of Mod Podge first, then I applied the Delta Ceramcoat  

Apply Mod Podge first then polyurethane sealer when using Pigma Brush

I previously used three of these pens interchangeably but my new favorite is the Posca marker.

How to Prevent "Sharpie" Permanent Markers from Blurring When Sealed

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© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks