Painting Foliage | Fan Brush Technique 

A generous and kind gentelman artist sharing his knowledges with us. Thanks Mr. James.

Finally!!! This is the kind of video I’ve been searching for. Can you do this for more brushes and more specific things in landscapes?? Nobody does lessons like this, explaining the actual brush technique. If you could do a series of these, it would be so so useful! Thank you

"how to paint with Fan brush" I was searching for a nice video from some expert but I did not find a suitable and when I saw Michel's I became so happy. I am extremely thankful to him for this teaching. I want to say that I really learnt this technique from him. God bless him.

This video has always been missing on how to paint foliage, despite several other videos here on the subject. A precise explanation on how to achieve the results you usually get. Thank you!

Hello, i’m come from Viet Nam, my daughter like your video, she said that you are her best art teacher

That’s great.You teach professionally 👏👏👏

This particular episode, on using fan brushes, has to be one of the very best. Seeing the technique in real-time has built up my confidence in attempting to master the fan brush. Excellent video Michael. Thank you so much for this invaluable lesson.

The Hog Rider card is unlocked from the Spell Valley (Arena 5). He is a very fast building-targeting, melee troop with moderately high hitpoints and damage. He appears just like his Clash of Clans counterpart; a man with brown eyebrows, a beard, a mohawk, and a golden body piercing in his left ear who is riding a hog. A Hog Rider card costs 4 Elixir to deploy. Strategy His fast move speed can boost forward mini tanks like an Ice Golem in a push. At the same time, he can also function as a tank for lower hitpoint troops such as Goblins as he still has a fair amount of health. Most cheap swarms complement the Hog Rider well, as they are nearly as fast as him and usually force more than one card out of the opponent's hand. The Hog Rider struggles with swarms, as they can damage him down and defeat him quickly while obstructing his path. Barbarians in particular can fully counter him without very strict timing on the defender's part, though be wary of spells. A Hunter can kill the Hog Rider in 2 hits if placed right on top of it. However, if you place something in front of the Hog Rider, the Hunter's splash will damage the Hog Rider and hit the card in front of it more. The Hog Rider in conjunction with the Freeze can surprise the opponent and allow the Hog Rider to deal much more damage than anticipated, especially if the opponent's go-to counter is a swarm, or swarms are their only effective counter to him. Skeletons and Bats will immediately be defeated by the spell, while Spear Goblins, Goblins, and Minions will be at low enough health to be defeated by a follow up Zap or Giant Snowball. However, this strategy isn't very effective against buildings as the Hog Rider will take a while to destroy the building, giving the opponent ample time to articulate another counter. Against non-swarm troops, it can deal a lot of damage during the freeze time, but this can allow the opponent to set up a massive counterpush. For this reason, players should either only go for a Hog Rider + Freeze when they have other units backing it up from a counterattack, or if the match is about to end and they need to deal as much damage as possible. It is not a good idea to send in a Hog Rider simply to destroy a building, especially if it is the only building targeting unit available, as defeating Crown Towers becomes substantially more difficult. Spells or simply waiting out the lifetime of the building are more effective. The exception to this is an Elixir Collector placed in front of the King's Tower. If a Hog Rider placed at the bridge, he can destroy the Collector for a positive Elixir trade, though the damage from both Princess Towers will usually mean he does not survive to deal any damage to them. However, if the opponent sends in defending troops, it can be an opportunity to gain spell damage value. In a deck with several low-cost cards, it might be worth it to simply send the Hog Rider against one building. These decks shuffle their card rotation quick enough, that they will arrive to their next Hog Rider before the next building arrives in the opponent's card rotation. Long-ranged troops like Musketeer and Flying Machine can snipe those buildings, preserving some of the Hog Rider's health, possibly allowing it to get some Tower damage. When there are buildings placed in the middle to counter the Hog Rider, understanding the placement of the Hog Rider and the type of building placed can help the Hog Rider to bypass certain buildings. Passive buildings such as spawners and Elixir Collector have a larger hitbox than defensive buildings; which means that if a passive building was placed 3 tiles away from the river in the middle of the opponent's side, then it is impossible for the Hog Rider to bypass that placement as the Hog Rider will get pulled to that building. Defensive buildings have a smaller hitbox than a passive building, which means if that if a defensive building was placed three tiles away from the river in the middle of the opponent's side, a Hog Rider placed at the very left or right side of the Arena may be able to bypass it due to its smaller hitbox. If the player has a building already placed down in the center of the arena, and the opponent tries to bypass it with a Hog Rider at the edge of the arena, they can use certain air troops to push the Hog Rider towards the building as it jumps over the river, effectively denying the bypass attempt. They must be already hovering over the correct placement, as very quick reflexes are required to correctly perform this technique. For Bats, Skeleton Dragons, and Minion Horde, they should be placed right in front of the Hog Rider as soon as it is deployed. For Minions, Skeleton Barrel, Mega Minion, Flying Machine, Electro Dragon, Baby Dragon, Inferno Dragon, Balloon, and Lava Hound, stagger the above placement one tile to the right if the Hog Rider is placed on the left side of the arena, and vice versa. They can also use ground troops to achieve the same result. Something like an Ice Golem deployed at the Hog Rider’s landing spot will obstruct his path and force him to go around the unit, which causes him to be closer to the building instead of the Crown Tower. The Hog Rider can kite Very Fast non-building targeting troops due to his own Very Fast speed and building only targeting if he is placed on the fourth tile from the bridge, slightly into the opposite lane. He can also stall grounded units when placed right at the bridge. He will pull them towards him while deploying, and then be untargetable by them when he jumps over the bridge. After landing, he will pull them back. This can be useful when the player needs to deal damage in the same lane they are defending. It will also help separate troops behind a tank in a large push. A Tornado placed on the second tile front of the player's King's Tower and staggered two tiles towards the Princess Tower will activate it without any damage dealt to the Princess Tower, helping them in defending future pushes. This can also be a method of mitigating all damage dealt to a Princess Tower, but doing this more than three times may result in the King's Tower's health being low enough to be targeted directly, opening up the possible threat of a back door three crown. A better alternative is to pull the Hog away from the Princess Tower into the attacking range of all three Crown Towers, which will negate all damage as long as none of them are already distracted A very powerful combo is the Hog Rider, the Musketeer, and the Valkyrie, typically referred to as the Trifecta. The Musketeer will defend against most troops, while the Valkyrie can protect her and the Hog Rider from swarms or high damage units. The Hog Rider is used to deal damage to the tower. - [ ] This can be effectively countered by Lightning, one-shotting the Musketeer and severely damaging both the Valkyrie and Hog Rider. The Minion Horde is also effective, but the enemy can Zap them and the Musketeer will one-shot them all. Even if the Musketeer is defeated, the Hog Rider and Valkyrie will have enough time to severely damage the Tower. The Hog Rider should be placed behind the Valkyrie to give it a boost so that it stays in front of the Hog Rider, protecting it. A Hog Rider combined with a Goblin Barrel can be awkward for the opponent to defend against. Timing it so that the Hog Rider is tanking the tower shots for the Goblins is the most effective way to deal damage. However, a Barbarian Barrel can shut this down with minimal Tower damage for a positive Elixir trade, as long as the Goblin Barrel was placed directly on the Tower. Pairing the Hog Rider with the Balloon can deal devastating damage. If executed properly, the Hog Rider will act as a tank while the Balloon threatens to deal massive damage. The Hog Rider can also destroy any buildings attempting to slow down the combo. However, this combo is very vulnerable to swarms and anti-air cards as neither of the troops target anything but buildings. Additionally, they are easy to separate, due to the disparity in move speeds. Alternatively, the Hog Rider and the Balloon can be played in different lanes to spread the opponent's defenses thin. However, a building or Tornado can bring them back together for an easier defense. The Hog Rider can be paired with the Lumberjack as both a swarm bait and damage combo. It is a very fast combo with an extremely high damage output potential, so the enemy will likely try to counter it with a swarm. If this happens, use a spell like Arrows to render the opponent defenseless. If they manage to defeat the Lumberjack, the dropped Rage will make the Hog Rider even more dangerous than it normally is. A fast and deadly combination is the Hog Rider and Mini P.E.K.K.A. combo. Both units are fast but the Mini P.E.K.K.A. does much more damage and does not attack only buildings so the Mini P.E.K.K.A. can deal with troops like the Executioner and Musketeer. However, this combo can be defeated with swarms like Skeleton Army, which will defeat both of them since neither of them can deal area damage. They are also unable to target air troops, so the Minion Horde can stop this easily. A risky play is to deploy the Hog Rider at the bridge as soon as the match starts. If the opponent does not react fast enough, the Hog Rider will deal a significant amount of damage to the Princess Tower. This can also allow the player to quickly scout the opponent's deck if they happen to react to him fast enough

Mr. Smith thank you very much for this tutorial. I have been struggling with trees and foliage. I was experimenting with different brushes and thinners. I do know to hardly touch the canvas. Basically let the canvas take off the amount of paint it wants to but until I seen this video of yours I was not happy with what I was producing. I did purchase a couple of petite fan brushes 20/0 and I used this technique on a fishing pond piece I’m doing. To push and extra load paint onto the brush and keeping the correct angle. I couldn’t be happier. Thank you again.

very nice

I've been thinking about this tehnique for few days now, even experimented by trimming angle brushes, thinking they must have a lot of teeth and strayed hairs....and voila, this video pops up. Thank you so much! I like your work and vibe. Best wishes!

The god of oil paint

Amazing as always. One of my favourite artists who I keep following regularly.

It's a wonderful day when Michael uploads a new video !!! ❤️

Thank you for your generosity to give us tips Michael

Hi, I'm from indonesia. I'm 14 years old, and i like all your video. That so awesome art. You are my inspiration. Btw my English so bad, I'm sorry. 😅

Excellent teaching sir....thanks a lot....

I get in a peaceful and relaxed state of mind watching you work and explain a part of its miracles. Thank you.

I love tree descriptions

Awesome ❤❤❤

😀Your video is beautiful and amazing.❤👍 Your video will make people happy.🦊

Thanks Mchael James Smith.

Great lesson, thanks!

Thank you so much Michael for your kindness . Wish you have a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year.xo

What a wonderful tutorial. thank you so very much for this!

Thank you 😊

What a great,great artist!

I look to your instruction regularly, but this vid is especially helpful in that you have shown and explained several of your foliage techniques in detail...big thanks from Colorado!

Thank you! This is exactly what I need to improve my trees. Can’t wait to paint tomorrow.

Thank you so much for your help. I bought into your lessons but like many others was struggling with my brush usage. This really helped. Thank you again!

Started working on his “Blake Woods” tutorial and I’ve been looking for this exact lesson!! Thank you MJS for generously sharing your knowledge.

Thank you for the demonstration. Your paintings are awesome!

Thank you Sir! Impeccable work!!!

How to make cool leaves.. man. I could learn a lot from this tutorial

Thank you- a wide range of various applications is quite helpful!!!!

Thank you so much Michael. The basics are so important if we are going to learn how to paint well. Thank you for this video. Learned much!

Thank you so much for this. I was never able to get my fan brush to behave this way.

Whatever you are getting paid for this, it isn't enough. So helpful!

Me encantan sus vídeos, he aprendido mucho con ellos, el realismo es grandioso. Mil gracias es usted extraordinario.

I spent all day yesterday trying to figure this out on my own and then saw this today. Thank you.

Thank you Michael

What fabulous content in your channel! I love every video and have learnt a tremendous amount! Thankyou 💙

Your painting looks like a photograph. I think that's absolutely amazing. Great work and wonderful tips.

This was fantastic. Thanks so much for this tutorial. Tomorrow I’m putting it to work!

Thank you so much for this very clear lesson!

Thanks sir for shearing your Technics and experience with us.

Thanks very much and I am loving the online lessons. Al

Thank YOU MUCH for your Gift of Mastery. Your videos are absolutely fantastic in every aspect.

Thank you for giving this tutorial.

This is helpful. I find the fan brush really tricky, so the detail on the angle to hold it etc. is great.

That is exact explanation, thank you 🙂

Phenomenal tip! Thank you Micheal

Thanks so much, great explanation and demonstration.

Love your brushes, they are great for detail work.

This is exactly the perfect video which I want. Thank you so much!

It takes a special understanding to be able to teach at this level.

You're amazing .. thank you 💛

Thanks for another amazing lesson, and for detailing your incredible fan brush technique.

Your works are all very nice and amazing

Thank you so much for sharing your expertise! I work with acrylic but still your techniques are so precise, easy to understand and invaluable!

your painting is so dam real looking .. so amazing! i inspire to create realism

Absolutely superb lesson on this fantastic technique. I've been watching this again and again lately, working up the courage to try it myself haha

This is one of your best videos that explains the process. Thank you!!!

You are good teacher....thank you very much

Thank you very very much I am been struggling with this area. I know now I will be able yo make great improvements.

Bonjour and tks you very mutch. God bless you and happy New year from santo Domingo.

Very helpful video for learning. Thank you!

That was great. Thanks.

'am from India , just a beginner ... But I have been very much benefitted with your lessons . It will always work as a great teacher for my paintings . Can you please let me know some realistic water colour technics , sir ?

I was surprised that you own so many fan brushes👀💦. I know you use this technique to represent trees🎨, but you're amazing👍.

many thanks for giving your time.. appreciated. Bill

This is just what I needed! After my first attempt with this method my marks were awful. Looking forward to trying this out. Thanks!

I really appreciate the way you teach thank you very much

Best channel and an amazing artist

That was super helpful, thanks so much!

Thank you.This is so helpful

Incredible🎨vive la peinture

Thank you for sharing the skill.

Very useful lesson, thank a lot !😊

Thanks for sharing this valuable information.

Thank you so much for this 😊

Love your work thank you very much for your videos on brushes and techniques. I am just starting out painting and it is hard to figure out what to do with all of them. Now my scenes look more realistic. Hope you won't be offended but your teaching reminds me of Bob Ross and is one ofy favorite things to watch every day 😃

Thank you so much for this video. I had a problem with Fan Brush too. I will try to do it again. I will practice

u r the best mjs

Its really awesome drawing.... Such a beautiful drawing.. ❤

Thank you for making this video I really appreciate that you explain how and when this method is used. I can hardly wait to try this out. Also when you create these videos is our way of knowing that you are ok. Stay safe and healthy you are very important to us in so many ways in this current day and age. How is your family?

Thanks for your tutorial 👍👍

Wow, that's amazing. ~~♡★☆♡♥♥

It looks great！

I think alot of people here are making same mistake as I do : too much dark glaze dots shade underneath then immidetly start with making leaves with fun brush , too wet underpainting will make your leaves to start dissapearing and leaves marks wont be sharp ! :) Anyway thanks alot to Michael for His time and Effort learning us how to improve our skills , super appriciate ! Rarly people are so kind :P

Michael James Smith...great lesson ...looking at this piece you've done ...could you give a lesson like this for the "tree trunks" as seen on the right of this piece? Thank you

Agradeço por transmitir tantos conhecimentos sobre o tema que adoro:pintura.Estou aprendendo com você informações maravilhosas e colocando em prática principalmente nestes momentos da Epidemia, isto faz bem e a sua generosidade em repassar esta arte maravilhosa que é retratar a beleza que existe na natureza, não tem preço,faz bem para a nossa alma. Obrigada

I’d pay for more lessons like this on other items in a landscape and on different brushes

very helpful to me!

Thank you !!

thank you so much for this video..

Thankyou ,Master !

thank you mjs :)

I had issues keeping the sissors from cutting my fan brush just right. I decided to use one of my electric beard trimmers and it worked quite well.

Sometimes I feel as if RU-vid is spying on me. I have been working on the Autumn tree demo from your TV app. I got frustrated as I could not get the paint to stick, or come off my brush. I gave up on the painting then in the suggestions for today this video was here. Gave me more motivation to try again tonight.