“Pull a stroke… make hundreds of them… build muscle memory. Isn’t magic is practice that makes control achievable.”
Whether you’re tapping in to the world of signwriting, searching for beginner sign painting tutorials or courses, steady, confident brush control is the key to creating clean, professional letterforms, and it’s where most beginners trip up. I remember those shaky first strokes all too well!
As someone who started from scratch and now teaches both in-person and online, I know the challenges beginners face and how transformative proper guidance can be.
That’s why I’ve pulled together these five foundational tips that were the backbone of my own learning and that I teach in person and online. Once you’ve grasped these basics, building real skill becomes a repeatable, confident process.
Why Brush Control Is the Best Starting Point
Even before tackling full layouts or lettering styles, brush control sets you up for success. It:
- Builds precision: Smooth curves and crisp edges hinge on control.
- Helps form reliable muscle memory, making consistent strokes feel natural.
- Integrates tools, posture, and paint consistency into one technical baseline.
- Illuminates the difference between shaky practice work and polished final letters.
Beginner sign painting or signwriting students consistently report that mastering these basics scales up their confidence and ability fast.
This essential foundation is what most online sign painting courses and signwriting workshops revolve around, yet learning it well requires focused guidance and practice.
One of the most commun mistakes I see in aspiring and beginner signwriters is that they want to go from cero to paint straight on signs, without dedicating enough time to build strong foundations. Unfortunatelly, there are not short cuts for mastering sign painting. You won’t get good results -even if you have wonderful desing skills – if you don’t develop brush control and muscle memory.
Five Pro Tips for Building Brush Control (Beginner Friendly)
These five tips didn’t come from random online tutorials. They are distilled directly from my years of teaching in-person signwriting and sign painting workshops. I’ve seen firsthand how focusing on grip, angle, pacing, palleting, and paint consistency transforms hesitant beginners into confident stroke-makers with strong foundational skills.
I always say to my students, you need to practicing these techniques hundreds of times to build muscle memory and control. Pull a stroke… make hundreds of them… build muscle memory. One day like by magic, you will get the flick or sharp end you have been looking for, but isn’t magic is practice that makes control achievable.
I also advise my students to keep their practice pages and date them. Because they are really useful to see your progress in time
Tip 1: Grip Smart
Hold your brush at the end of the ferrule (the metalic part of the brush that connects the hairs and the wooden handle) for optimal control and leverage during detailed strokes.
Holding the brush to close to the bristles reduces the hand’s range movility. This makes it harder to rotate the brush when doing curves or flicks.
Tip 2: Maintain a 45° Angle
A consistent angle helps create clean curves and crisp edges. This is key when you are working on some signwriter’s alphabet styles such as casual.
If well not all the signwriting strokes are on a 45 degree, holding the brush on that angle becomes second nature as a signwriter.
Tip 3: Pace Yourself
Rushing invites wobble. Keep your strokes slow and intentional, especially when forming curves or entering corners.
When you slow down you are giving yourself time to plan and think while painting your stroke. You can put the intention on the angle on which your brush will touch the surface, and after the middle of the stroke, you have time to be aware of what you need to do to come out of the stroke (rotate your brush, do a flick, release the pressure, do a transition… you name it)
For pacing yourself I always recommend to check your breathing and body. Be intentional inhaling and exhaling, make sure your shoulders aren’t up and your back tense or contracted.
Remember, not for rushing, holding your brush tighter, holding your breath, tensing more your shoulders and body your strokes will come nicer, rather the opposite. The slower and more relaxed you are the better.
Tip 4: Paletting for Precision
After loading your brush with paint, drag the bristles lightly against the edge/border of your paper cup. This subtle technique is called “paletting” and it removes the excess paint and sharpens the brush’s chisel edge for clean starts and ends to strokes.
Palleting your brush is something you do automatically as a signwriter. It is key for making those sharp angles on Block and keep your brush loaded of paint. You always want to paint with your brush in perfect form. Imagine that paletting is for signwriters what sharping the knif is for buchers.
I always advise my students to palette between each stroke.
Tip 5: Perfect Paint Consistency (Think Melted Chocolate)
Signwriter’s enamel paint is the most common paint used by sign painters. This paint is usually oil based. You need to get the perfect consistency by adding a bit of white spirits to the paint. There is not an exact formula for this. I can’t tell you by every ml of paint add x amount of white spirits.
Your enamel should be fluid, like melted chocolate! Not too runny like water or overly thick like cream. And remeber to adjust continually for smooth, full-coverage strokes.
How Beginners Often Describe the Difference
““Week by week, my brush control improved—and practicing each stroke by hand sharpened my lettering skills too. Plus I learned about paint mix, tools, and posture from the ground up.”
— Fundamentals of Brush Control student feedback style”
Brush control isn’t a secret! It’s built through proper technique, similar to how sign painting masters learned over decades. With these five tips and guided practice in the right format, anyone can start painting neat, confident letters. Whether you go it alone or join a structured course, consistency and patience are your best tools. Happy painting!
Ready to Take It Further?
Level Up Your Practice with a Structured Course
After teaching several of in-person workshops and launching guided online students into brush confidence, I created the Fundamentals of Brush Control course to deliver:
What you’ll get:
- 16 HD video lessons over 3 weeks: covering tools, posture, stroke drills, and paint techniques perfect for sign painting and signwriting learners worldwide
- Exercises designed to build muscle memory so strokes become reliable, consistent, and beautiful.
- A +28‑page downloadable workbook packed with bullet drills and stroke paths. The workbook is printable and reusable.
- Bullet drills and stroke paths on tools, setup, and posture so you can paint comfortably and safely.
- Life time access to all course content, so you can revisit lessons anytime.
Course language is English, with subtitles in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian making it accessible to international learners.
This isn’t just a playlist of tutorials. It’s a learning path focused on brush mastery, backed by the same techniques I teach in workshops across Europe and the UK.
Should You Join the Course?
If you’re a complete beginner or someone who’s tried tutorials and feels stuck, this course is built for you. It’s perfect when you want:
- A structured, step-by-step approach to brush technique
- Clear muscle-memory training and stroke practice
- Guidance on materials, posture, and workspace setup
- Feedback and support from someone who’s been in your shoes
Want to Take the Next Step?
If you’d like to build brush control skills that last, feel free to explore the course page or send me a message. I’m happy to answer questions or help you plan your beginner journey—no pressure, just support.
Learn more and enroll in the Fundamentals of Brush Control Course. Get a 10% discount using this coupon code BLOG10
🎨 Let’s Keep the Craft Alive!
If you love traditional signwriting as much as I do, let’s stay in touch:
💡 Follow me on Instagram for a peek into my studio and daily work.
📺 Check out my YouTube channel for tutorials and behind-the-scenes videos.
📩 Or get in touch to bring a custom sign or gold leaf piece to life for your business.
🌟 Let’s keep the tradition of signwriting alive together!
With lot of love,
Joha Muñe
