Dry brushing loads a brush with paint, wipes almost all of it off on a paper towel, then flicks the nearly-dry bristles across a surface. Only the raised edges and texture catch pigment, so highlights appear exactly where light would.
It is the fastest way to make mechanical detail pop — a silver dry brush over dark metal reads as worn steel in seconds. Use a beater brush, never your good sable; the technique eats bristles.
See it in context in our brush painting guides, or explore the tools hands-on in The Bench.