Step 4: Softening the Brush Work
Now that the forms are established with bold strokes, it’s time to blend areas and further model the forms. Select the Grainy Water variant of Blenders. The Grainy Water brush allows you to blend, while preserving rich, grainy texture. As you work, blend areas of color, again following the direction of the forms. To blend detailed areas with a thin, tapered brush, try the Real Pointy Blender variant of Blenders. To smooth larger areas on the pears, I used the Grainy Water (see Figure 9), and then I switched to the Real Pointy Blender to blend the highlight details on the stems (see Figure 10).

Figure 9 Hatched strokes sculpt the form of the pears and build values.

Figure 10 Blending with the Grainy Water and Real Pointy Blender variants of Blenders.