The tools and materials of Chinese painting are mainly the traditional Chinese "Four Treasures of the Study" - pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, plus Chinese painting pigments, alum, palette (palette), pen holder, and brush washer ( (or water bowl), felt, etc. Generally, before painting, you need to prepare a variety of satisfactory tools and materials. "If you want to do your job well, you must first sharpen your tools." The choice of tools and materials will directly affect the mood of painting. and performance effects.
1. Brush (brush):
Chinese painting brushes are divided into three types according to the softness and hardness of the bristles: soft hair, hard hair, and mixed hair. Most of the soft pens are sheep, followed by chicken. Soft pens generally have weaker elasticity but more water content. Hard pens are mostly wolf pens, followed by purple and badger pens. Hard pens generally have strong elasticity but low water content. Jianhao is made of two or more different materials. It combines the advantages and disadvantages of soft and hard hairs. It is moderately soft and hard, suitable for drawing lines and rendering. For example, Baiyun pen is a combination of wolf hair and sheep hair. The Wuzi Wuyang pen is made from purple hair and sheep hair.
According to the length of the brush hair, it can be divided into three types: long tip, center tip, and short tip. The long tip pen has a long tip and contains more water. It is suitable for expressing various ink color changes, but it is difficult to master. A short-edged pen has a short edge, less water content, and is easy to write thickly. The center pen has a moderate edge, between long and short, suitable for drawing lines and rendering.
The criteria for choosing a brush are: sharp, flat, round, and strong.
Point: The tip of the pen is sharp and remains sharp after being dipped in ink.
Flat: The brush bristles are trimmed neatly, and the brush hairs are spread out and flattened. The brush hairs are all neat and neat, and there are no long or short hairs.
Round: The belly of the pen is round and full, like a newly unearthed bamboo shoot, without any unevenness.
Healthy: The pen edge is elastic, the pen edge converges as usual after lifting the pen, and has good recovery after bending.
Wash the brush with clean water promptly after use, straighten the bristles and straighten the tip, dry it slightly with absorbent paper, insert it into the pen holder or hang it on the pen holder, or roll it up with a pen curtain.
2. Ink
Ink occupies a unique position in Chinese painting. There are three types of ink: oil smoke ink, lacquer smoke ink and pine smoke ink. Generally, oil fume ink and lacquer fume ink are commonly used for painting. When choosing the ink, it is better to have a fine, moist texture and a blue or purple color. Pine smoke ink is matte and warm in tone, making it suitable for writing.
The inks currently on the market include "Zhonghua Ink", "Yidege", "Cao Sugong" and so on from real estate companies in Beijing and Shanghai. The ink is easy to use, dark in color, and has a good and delicate rhyme. However, due to the excessive colloid content of the ink, the ink flow is unstable and it is difficult to bring out the changes in strokes and the interest of the ink color levels. You can use an inkstone to grind the ink.
There is a method for grinding ink. Grinding ink should be done gently, slowly and straightly, that is, when grinding ink, you should not be too fast or anxious. The ink ingot should be held in a straight, impartial, vertical position, and should not swing from side to side. Grind slowly and steadily in circles until the ink is thick. The water required for grinding ink should be clean and not turbid. When adding water, you must add it little by little. When the ink is thickened, add water and grind it again. Repeat this until the amount of ink is required for the day. Do not grind too much until the amount of ink is enough. Grind as much as you use on the day to keep the ink color clear and fresh.
3. Paper:
The paper used for traditional Chinese painting is mainly rice paper and silk. There are three types of rice paper: raw rice paper, cooked rice paper and half-cooked rice paper. Raw rice paper is characterized by its water permeability and good water absorption. Cooked rice paper is made by adding vitriol water to raw rice paper. Its characteristics are that it is impermeable and does not absorb water. Half-cooked rice paper means that the penetration ability is between that of raw rice paper and cooked rice paper. There are two types of silk: raw silk and cooked silk. The characteristics of raw silk are the same as raw Xuan, and the characteristics of cooked silk are the same as cooked Xuan. In gongbi paintings, cooked Xuan and cooked silk are generally used, but the price of silk is much higher than that of rice paper. The time is not as long as rice paper. It is better to use cooked rice paper with a high cotton content, no leakage of alum, and no lint. Modern Chinese paintings also use vellum paper, kraft paper, raw edge paper, Korean paper, etc. The choice of paper depends on the needs of the picture.
The types of rice paper can be divided into three categories according to raw materials: cotton, leather and grass. According to the size of the format, it is divided into three feet, four feet, five feet, six feet, eight feet, one foot, two feet, six feet, etc. According to the original thickness and processing of the paper, it is divided into single Xuan, sandwich Xuan, three-layer Xuan, thread, jade version, cicada wing, mica, antique Xuan, which Xuan, tiger skin Xuan, clay gold Xuan, etc.
4. Pigments
The pigments used in Chinese paintings are divided into plant pigments and mineral pigments. Plant pigments are also called water colors, and mineral pigments are also called stone colors. Plant colors include garcinia, cyanine, phthalocyanine blue, rouge, scarlet, eosin, etc. Mineral colors include azurite, stone green, ocher, cinnabar, cinnabar, stone yellow, etc.
The characteristic of mineral color is that it is not easy to change color and has covering power. The characteristics of plant-based colors are that they are easily oxidized and discolored, transparent, and have weak covering power. The coloring of gongbi paintings is usually done with ink or water color as a base, and is made after multiple renderings and superimpositions. In gongbi heavy color painting, after adding stone color to ink or water color, brush with alum glue, then add stone color, and then brush with alum glue. After many overlays, the color is satisfied. "Three alums and nine dyes" in Chinese painting refers to the many times of overlapping.
5. Alum
Alum is commonly used in Chinese gongbi paintings. Alum has three functions: one is used to leak alum from paper, and the other is used to fix colors. Third, it is used to prepare colors for fine brushwork and heavy-color paintings and to make alum liquid.
Glue: Most of the glue used by modern painters is gelatin. Gelatin is made from pig skin and has the characteristics of good transparency, light color, easy dissolution, strong adhesiveness and low price. Generally speaking, a good glue is one that has high transparency and melts quickly after adding hot water. When using gelatin, you should pay attention to the following points: (1) The water temperature when making gelatin should be 70-80 degrees. If the water temperature is too low, the rubber particles will not melt; if the water temperature is too high, the collagen in the glue will be destroyed and the glue will weaken. (2) After pouring hot water, use a small spoon or stick to stir the rubber particles with the hot water to accelerate the dissolution of the rubber particles. To prevent the hot water from cooling too quickly, add a bowl of hot water outside the glue container to maintain the temperature. (3) If the soaked glue cannot be used up on the same day, it should be covered and stored in the refrigerator to prevent it from going rancid and deteriorating, and the adhesiveness will be lost after deterioration.
Alum: Alum is a colorless, translucent crystal that can be soaked in warm water. Alum plays the role of isolation in painting. The traditional technique of "Three Alum and Nine Dyeing" uses alum to fix the color. However, alum is very damaging to paper. If too much alum is used on paper and silk, it will be corroded and become brittle and brittle, which will affect its long-term preservation. The ancients said that alum can "bite paper", so you should pay attention to the amount of alum when using it. system.
The production of gelatin water has been in China since ancient times. The ratio of gelatin to alum is generally "two gelatin, one alum, two and a half pounds of water", that is, 60 grams of gelatin, 30 grams of alum, and 1250 grams of water. This ratio should also be adjusted appropriately according to the cold and warm weather and cloudy and sunny weather. "Six glue and four alum in summer, eight glue and two alum in autumn, three alum and seven glue in autumn", which should be flexibly controlled during deployment.