Two questions- Brushes and smoothing out clay

[Rion]

Hey hey people~

I'm really not liking the paint brushes I've been using for some time... Most of them seem too big, considering I can't even just re-color the iris of G4 eyes! What would be a good brush to get to help with little things like detailing and eyes?

What's a good method/tool to use to smooth out clay? I've mainly been trying to use my fingers, and it's a huge chore. I only seem to make things worse- leading to messing up my sculpt and making it even harder to get it back to looking semi-decent!

Thanks!

[Zaphy]

You can try to find a smaller brush, 20/0 is the smallest I've found and it is lovely for teeny cutie marks and eye details. For smoothing out clay, you can wet your fingers with just a little water to help you. If you're using Sculpey (I don't know how well this works with other clays), a little rubbing alcohol on a Q tip will work WONDERS to smooth out surfaces. It really is fantastic, just don't overdo it- it smooths by melting the clay down, so you only need a little alcohol. I'm usually okay with just using my fingers though, and sanding it down post-bake. I used to know a great little website with some amazing Sculpey tips, but it's been taken down. :c Anyhow, good luck with your painting and sculpting!

[Maniah]

if you are using Apoxie Sculpt, you can use lotion to help smooth with your fingers. Just be sure to wash it really good, and maybe even wipe it down with acetone before washing to help remove the lotion, or the paint wont stick. Also, apoxie sculpt sands really well. Just remember to use super fine sand paper. The higher the grit number the smoother the finish.

Michaels and Hobby Lobby are two chain stores to find paint brushes at. You can generally get 20/0 there easily enough. But you will notice that the 20/0 brushes still vary from brush to brush so you may look through them all for the ones that seem smallest. I get better control out of the 20/0 liner or spotter brushes, but others love the script liner brushes which have long bristles. A cheap brush will leave streaks, and possibly bristles behind. I like to test the softness of the bristles against my (dry) lips to feel how soft it is. These brushes can be expensive, but after you see how well they perform, price stops being a concern when you are after a particular quality of finish. At least, this is how it was for me!

I think I have seen people report finding even smaller brushes online, but I haven't looked myself.