Recommend a good paintbrush

[Belisarius]

I,ve been intending to buy some better brushes , for some time , and with that in mind i,ve been checking out the blogs for some recommendations. Rosemary Brushes series 33 watercolour have had some good reviews. Sizes 0 ,1 and 2 seem to be popular and sell at under a £5,er each.  The other contender is Windsor and Newton series 7 watercolour  brushes same sizes which on Amazon retail at £7.20 - £9.50 post free . Having no experience of either make can any of the members share their views or offer alternatives.

[cram]

I can highly recommend the Series 7, fantastic brushes! They ain't cheap but look after them and they will last ages. Bought a few sizes myself six months back and have used them regularly, they are still as good as when I first had them, whereas the other brushes I've used in the past would be knackered by now. They also always hold their point. I'd never use any others now.

I started using Series 7 after watching the following: fast forward to 16:50 which is when she starts to talk about the Series 7's.

[westwaller]

I think 0,1 and 2 are a bit big for figure painting personally.

 I use 003, 004 and 0010 although different manufacturers versions of these sizes can differ.  you are going to buy a series 7 brush, I recommend that you go to an Art shop to get it if you can then you can make sure that it has a good point- I've had sable brushes from some internet sellers that have not had good points. If you can't get to an Art shop then at least find a specialist online art shop who know how to care for brushes and who should protect be able to get them to you in premium condition- mind you no 7s come in a special tube I think.

Rosemary brushes are good too, and a bit cheaper. Maybe buy a few different brushes from different suppliers and see what suits you.

[Eric the Shed]

bought these recently...they are not brilliant but the price is great

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111501479765?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

you can afford to throw them away after each session..

[cram]

Bought my series 7 via Amazon, they do come in a tube. Like I said in my last post the cool thing with these brushes is that they always form a really good point. They may cost more than most others but like I said they seem to be very long lasting if not abused, so in the long run they will work out more economical in my opinion.

[sundayhero]

Raphael 8404 series or Winsor and Newton series 7, depanding availability and price (raphael is easier to find in France, for instance). Both are the tools used by pro painters and artists.

But if you want to invest in new "pro" brushes, it's better to already have good habits with brushes cleaning and maintaining. If you respect them, they will last for years (litterally).

Concerning size, people using "high end" pro brushes like the 8404 or the serie7 brushes will often say that you can paint 10mm scale with a size 1 or 2. Personaly, even if the point tip is perfect even on the big sized brushes, I think pressure control still can be easier with smaller brushes, depanding the work I'm doing, so no "one for all" brush for me. I have size 5/0 to size 0 Raphael 8404 brushes (and a few other cheaper brushes for specific jobs, like primering, varnishing, drybrushin, etc...).

But I believe it's all a matter of skills, personal preferences and habits.

[grant]

I use Winsor & Newton Series 7, sizes 1, 0 and 000. Those are my go-to brushes. Mine are many years old, and I keep them in great condition with brush soap and restorer.

I also have some Rosemary Kolinsky brushes - quite good and easier to find.

[Major_Gilbear]

Concerning size, people using "high end" pro brushes like the 8404 or the serie7 brushes will often say that you can paint 10mm scale with a size 1 or 2.

I use W&N Series 7 - they (along with matte medium) are responsible for the biggest jump in painting results I've had for a long time.

I originally bought three sizes of W&N (0, 1 & 2), but found very quickly that I use size 1 for everything - even painting pupils on eyes.

This is because the sharpness of the point and the "snap" of the bristles means that I can still paint very small details, whilst the bigger brush means that it holds enough paint for me to take a few seconds longer to paint tiny details without the paint drying on me.

With any good artist's brush, you are generally looking for certain qualities:

- Bristle material. Red Kolinsky Sable is widely regarded as the best for fine paintbrushes, but is a restricted material in some countries like the US.

- Bristle length. Generally longer bristles have better paint flow. If you have a good bristle material, then the long bristles will have a nice firm flexibility and still form a sharp point naturally. If you have a poor bristle material, the brush will be hard to control and the tip will have to re-formed regularly (making fine detail work tricky). Short bristles are more forgiving in terms of material, but require more "manoeuvring" to get the bristles where you want on the model and need dipping in the paint/rinsing off more often.

- Point. You want a brush that comes to a sharp point naturally. Constantly having to re-form a point is very distracting when working, and makes accurate placement of paint more difficult than it needs to be.

- Barrel. This is the girth of the brush tip - a fuller barrel holds more paint and dries out more slowly.


Popular brands of Kolinsky sable (often red Kolinsky sable, but not always) brushes are Raphael, Rosemary's and Winsor & Newton. However, there are lots of other brands too, and a good idea if you have a local artists' supply shop is to pop over in person and try a few out with some water and a piece of paper (they normally let you do this - it's pretty usual). In the end, everyone's painting styles and preferences are slightly different, and getting a brush that you like is the important part!

Finally, whatever brush you buy, get yourself a small cake of The Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver. It cleans all the paint out of your brushes and keeps them in good condition - this is really important for the long life of natural bristle brushes. However, even if you have cheapo synthetic brushes, a twirl in the soap after painting will leave them at their best for next time.
A small 2.5oz/75g cake of the stuff will last you forever BTW - I've had mine for years and years, and I can see it lasting me at least another decade!

[Nysse]

I use W&N Series 7 for most painting and some cheaper synthetic brushes for metals. Can't recommend the Series 7 enough. Far better than anything else I've tried and the cost really is mitigated by the fact that they last a long long time.

I've heard a lot of praise for Rosemary and Co as well, but I wasn't too happy with them. The few brushes that I bought to test out didn't hold their point very well and there were multiple hair sticking out in all directions. Might have been just a bad batch, but I decided to stick with the Series 7 after that.

[Charlie_]

Thanks for this thread, I was meaning to ask the same question sometime soon!

[Captain Blood]

Alas, this question (quite understandably) gets asked a lot.
A quick search will reveal numerous, previous near-identical discussions...for instance: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=70090.0

Mr Workbench Moderator Bibbly... Has the time come perhaps, for a single 'paint brush recommendations' sticky?

It is surely one of the fundamental things anyone will always want to know about the wargames hobby. And having the same conversation over and over, where the W&N 7series-istas and the Rosemary-ites duke it out time after time, is quite wearing 


Just a thought 

PS. Rosemary for me, all the way.

[Malebolgia]

Simple: Raphael 8404
The best brushes you can get. Excellent points, rigididy and paint reservoir.

http://www.sceneryworkshop.nl/penselen/raphael-8404/

[sundayhero]

It is surely one of the fundamental things anyone will always want to know about the wargames hobby. And having the same conversation over and over, where the W&N 7series-istas and the Rosemary-ites duke it out time after time, is quite wearing

You're forgetting the "Raphaelans" 

[Captain Blood]

Are they related to the pre-Raphaelites? 

[The Mystic Spiral]

It is surely one of the fundamental things anyone will always want to know about the wargames hobby. And having the same conversation over and over, where the W&N 7series-istas and the Rosemary-ites duke it out time after time, is quite wearing 

I use Rosemary and Series 7, both excellent brushes. I think the W&N S7istas and Rosemaryites should join forces and kick the crap out of those Pro-Arte* rapscallions.

In my exhaustive tests - I paint as a full time job and wear through brushes like mad, I have found that Rosemary wear out a lot sooner than a good W&N but are half the price. 2 Rosemary last longer than 1 W&N though.

W&N have a stiffer tip than Rosemary so you need thinner paint to not destroy the brush.

Also Rosemary are way bigger than W&N, so pick a size down from what you need.

J

* Pro Arte are really good too, especially Series 3. As are Da Vinci.