There are a variety of watercolor brushes available on the market, each with their own unique benefits. Round brushes are the most versatile, and can be used for a variety of techniques, from washes to detailed lines. Flat brushes are great for creating even washes of color, while filbert brushes are perfect for soft, blurred edges. If you don’t spend the full value of the gift card, the remainder stays as a balance on the gift card for you to use another time. Each student group in Assistant Professor of Biology Andrew Mountcastle’s class made a brush modeled on a real cat tongue, as well as a brush with a modification. Eve Cinquino ’19 of Bethlehem, Pa., and Erin Murphy ’21 of North Andover, Mass., chose to change the angle of the papillae. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

Noel now has plans to study the tongues of larger cats including tigers and lions to understand how tongue spines scale across the rest of the cat family. “The flexibility of cats' tongue spines may have broad-reaching applications from an easy-to-clean hairbrush to wound cleaning within the medical field,” said Noel.Kinematics of cat grooming. ( A) A domestic cat grooms its fur. ( B) Close-up view of its tongue showing the anisotropic papillae, which point to the left toward the throat. ( C) The four phases of cat grooming. ( D and E) Thermal images of a cat grooming its leg. White colors are hottest and dark blue colors are coolest as shown by the legend on the right. During the groom ( D), fur is separated by the motion of the tongue, exposing the skin. Heat from the tongue and the skin are indicated by the white color. After the groom ( E), evaporation causes a temperature drop of 17 ° C as shown by the dark purple.

Grab the right tools for the right spot. “Make sure to choose the right tool for the area you are working on,” Paollilo said. “Tiny flea combs are not appropriate for body or tail combing. But large, wide-tooth combs won’t be very effective on legs and faces.” Brushes will always have their ‘size’ number printed on the side of the handle. Most brush ranges will offer different brush shapes in a number of sizes. In the UK brushes are normally sized with a numerical scale that starts at ‘0’, although tiny ‘Spotter’ brushes sold within watercolour ranges may start at size ‘000’, which is known as ‘triple ought’ and will literally just contain a few hairs. Not all brush shapes within a range will be available in every size. For example a ‘Wash’ brush may only be available in size 2 or larger, because you’d be unlikely to want a smaller brush for applying washes of paint. A few ranges may categorise their brushes according to their width measurement – given either in millimetres or parts of an inch – instead of using a numerical scale. I recommend regular brushing for every cat,” Matthes said. “Five to 10 minutes daily is ideal, but at least three times a week [is sufficient].” Dr. Hess agreed, specifically stating that long-haired cats should receive daily brushings. In this study, we highlighted one function of the papillae, but it is possible that there may be others. Previous studies suggest that papillae shape may help the cat with gripping food during eating ( 30). The sharp tip may help with tissue deformation and penetration into meat. It may also play a role in stimulating the cat’s own skin during grooming. Manufacturers may also make up new, modern descriptions for brush shapes: for instance traditional ‘Bright’ brushes are now sometimes rechristened more descriptively as ‘Short Flats’ by the companies that produce them. Sometimes a brush shape may also be named differently depending on what sort of bristles or hairs it contains. For example the ‘Flat’ brush and ‘Wash’ brush are identical in shape, but a brush is only called a ‘Wash’ if it is designed for watercolour painting and is made from very soft hairs.The Bichon Frise is, predictably, a French breed. As you can glean from the root word “Bich,” the name of the dog has its root in quite literal and old French translations. Like the Maltese, the different Bich breeds came from the Mediterranean area and have a long history throughout the Europe and European trade. Sailors would bring similar breeds around with them and, thanks to its cheerful personality, these dogs would be a hit, especially in locations like Spain. Later on, Italian nobility found these breed types to be very enjoyable and no doubt gave them plenty of lap time. We found that for all of these different animals, from tiger to bobcat to snow leopard, the minimum fur height that you can compress to is always going to be less than the height of the papillae,” said lead researcher Alexis Noel, PhD. “Which makes us think that the papillae height and the papillae shape is actually optimal for a whole bunch of different types of fur.” This means cats can lose around a quarter of the total heat they need to lose per day through the tiny bit of saliva in their tongue spines. (We lose heat through liquid by sweating when we’re hot.) Cool for cats An ideal guard dog for anyone with experience in handling and training dogs, the Dogue de Bordeaux – also known as the French Mastiff or the Bordeaux Bulldog – has the versatility of being a strong, fearless guard but also having gentleness around the house, including with children. Like other guard dogs, it will need to be raised in a way that socializes it with other dogs and with people so that it understands who represents a real threat and who does not. Use a painter’s brush to make your painting look more painterly. A standard brush has a tuft that is wider and bristles that are per inch wider. They work well for detailed work and require little color to be applied at once. Which Brush Is Best For Watercolor?