Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Brush obsession

As I've begun to actually paint more I've become obsessed with the idea that my brushes just somehow aren't right. When I was just willy nilly buying stuff I bought a couple of packs of cheap brushes and ended op really only using the 0 which is starting to curl at the tip.

The 0, sixth from the left has become my go to brush.
Now as you can see that is a lot of brushed that I am not using. I probably should be using the ones to the right in the picture above, but the length of the bristles is something I don't really like. Also as you can see they look like gold nylon and and some kind of rodent hair.

I then remembered that Big Lee had written a review of the Winsor Newton 7 series here and thought I'd give those a go. Of course I have been unable to find them at the craft stores and hobby shops. So I bought these instead.


I have been using the Loew-Cornell, which is an improvement, but the tip is going flat and square on me. It is made from Gold Taklon and cost me $4.99 at Jo Anne. The two Royal & Langnickel (sounds like a good name for an Imagi-nation general) cost me $4.59 & $3.99 respectively at Hobby Lobby. I have no idea what the fibers are, perhaps Nutria.


Above are my brushes from the 90's. Mostly thrashed. I think the one on the extreme right was my go to brush, especially for picking out eyes and belt buckles.

In my searches I found a couple of good links for info about brushes. For most of you there is no need to look, but for people like me doing a reboot here they are.

Reaper: The Craft
D&D Lead: Paintbrushes
Storm the Castle: Paintbrushes for Miniatures
Awesome Paint Job: Brushes

So, do you have a favorite brush? What size, brand, bristle material is it? Do you have a bunch of brushes for different things. I use cheap nylon brushes with plastic handles from the model section at Hobby Lobby to prime with the glue mix. I also finally invested in some brush cleaner/conditioner.

In the next day or so I should have an actual finished figure to show you all. Only 1.75 years into blogging (god has it been that long?).

Also I'm sad to say that I have lost a follower. I can't figure out who, but I'm sorry you left whoever you are. Well have a good one my friends, off to watch my wife exercise while I am still on doctors orders to sit on my duff.

10 comments:

  1. For painting figures, I'm mainly using the W&N Series 7 brushes. The Size 1 mainly, with the zero and 2 doing a fair bit as well. You probably won't find them in general craft stores - try artists suppliers.

    The main thing is to maintain them properly using products like Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver. Les Burley (Awesome Paint Job) has a good video on brush maintenance on his youtube channel

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    1. Your right about the craft stores. I was just staying in my usual stomping grounds. I'm going to get some use out of these before I buy some more, but I think I will invest in some Winsor & Newton in the future.

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  2. I currently use Premier Red Sable but haven't used the brush cleaner and preserver before!

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    1. I've never cleaned my brushes with anything but water before this either. If the brushes are nothing special I suppose it doesn't matter. I will say that I have shortened the life of many a brush by not getting all the paint out.

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  3. To be honest I use cheap brushes (0 and 00) I purchase at local artist supply store for 1 EURO each, and I consider them to be expendable good. One can be used for 15 to 20 miniatures, then I throw it away and take new one.

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    1. That is also a viable option. For me right now I just haven't found a brush that feels right. I'm sure it's mostly me, but I'm still searching.

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  4. I'm with Aleksandar on brushes, but mine are a bit under 1 euro each :D. When they get old, I use them for "detail drybrushing". I also have some bigger brushes for painting terrain that are either really bad or I just use them too violently, but they lose most of their bristles.

    As for follower, might as well be me, with someone else's blog, I keep "unfollowing" by some weird doings.

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    1. Always save the old brushes for other uses. I probably should have shown the large brushes I use for terrain. I have used a 2" trim brush used for house painting for example.

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  5. Yup, W&N S7 all the way. The slightly cheaper Artist's Watercolour series is almost as good. I'm currently using a size 3 on 10mm figures, the point is that good.

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  6. That is what I hear about the W&N 7's. I am amazed that one could get such a fine point with such a large brush, but many do.

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