Choice of brush for acrylics

[wotan]

I am another one of the brush destroyers and almost never buy anything expensive. As well as painting figures I also paint in oil, acrylic, gouache, and alkyd oils in the traditional sense. Producing paintings for sale and for commissions.
One rule that I have found to be useful is to use the biggest brush you can get away with since it will carry more paint. I find many figure painters get carried away with 00 and 000 sized brushes when in fact a well pointed 1, 2, 0r size 3 brush will do the job. I tend to buy nylon brushes for detail painting in all mediums and rarely pay more than $5 - $10 (3 - 7 pounds per brush). A brush called a Rigger for me will do the best job of painting the smallest details. This is a brush which is made up of longer fibres than is typical and therefore carries more paint and facilitates smooth lining. I find mine usually on Amazon and the set below is one example that I use.



These are chinese, of course, and come from a company called XDT art supplies. Everyone has their own preferences but, as my golf pro says to me, "it is less to do with what is at the head of a golf club and more to do with who is at the other end"

John

[Guest]

This is an interesting thread. I got some brushes from my local shop for £4.99 and they are utterly crap (can I say that here?)
So I'm looking for a nice set of brushes that aren't too expensive.

after some looking around I found these, which of these would you grab?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B089NBY2YQ

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09XJZ46LL

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07T23TTRF

Thanks.

[JR]

This is an interesting thread. I got some brushes from my local shop for £4.99 and they are utterly crap (can I say that here?)
So I'm looking for a nice set of brushes that aren't too expensive.

after some looking around I found these, which of these would you grab?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B089NBY2YQ

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09XJZ46LL

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07T23TTRF

Thanks.

Some nice brushes in there Steve. Don't think you would tend to use all of them for figures. I tried the very small sizes from another company, the problem is they don't hold much paint, so end up going for a bigger brush Rosemary and Co , an English company.

Tim Tim Marlow is the man to put you right .

[Tworrs]

Some nice brushes in there Steve. Don't think you would tend to use all of them for figures. I tried the very small sizes from another company, the problem is they don't hold much paint, so end up going for a bigger brush Rosemary and Co , an English company.

Tim Tim Marlow is the man to put you right .

I too am a fan of Rosemary & Co, I use their brushes extensively.

[Tim Marlow]

There is quite a bit on brushes in my figure painting SBS here.

https://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/small-scale-figure-step-by-step-sbs-a-1-48-freebie-paul-hicks-sculpt-is-the-victim.40600/

It’s just my way of working. Ron and John both get superb results with a completely different philosophy to me…….and Ron has done at least one SBS on brush painting models that is well worth the read.
Rosemary and Co are a great company to deal with, reasonable prices and very fast supply, but their web site can be a bit overwhelming because they have so many ranges. I have posted pictures of my brushes to make life a little easier in that respect and to hopefully show the differences between them. Of those sets you’ve posted I seriously think you would get more for your money by buying a select few brushes from someone like Rosemary. There are a lot of tiny brushes there which will not last long in service. Equally, don’t go for the top end Raphael or Winsor and Newtons until you have the basics nailed down. They are an expensive learners tool that will not improve your painting until you develop the skills and brush control to make best use of them. You are likely to kill them fairly quickly until proper brush care is second nature as well.

[Guest]

There is quite a bit on brushes in my figure painting SBS here.

https://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/small-scale-figure-step-by-step-sbs-a-1-48-freebie-paul-hicks-sculpt-is-the-victim.40600/

It’s just my way of working. Ron and John both get superb results with a completely different philosophy to me…….and Ron has done at least one SBS on brush painting models that is well worth the read.
Rosemary and Co are a great company to deal with, reasonable prices and very fast supply, but their web site can be a bit overwhelming because they have so many ranges. I have posted pictures of my brushes to make life a little easier in that respect and to hopefully show the differences between them. Of those sets you’ve posted I seriously think you would get more for your money by buying a select few brushes from someone like Rosemary. There are a lot of tiny brushes there which will not last long in service. Equally, don’t go for the top end Raphael or Winsor and Newtons until you have the basics nailed down. They are an expensive learners tool that will not improve your painting until you develop the skills and brush control to make best use of them. You are likely to kill them fairly quickly until proper brush care is second nature as well.

Thanks for that! I did check their site out and oh my word so many brush sets and some of the prices are eye watering.
So I think you're right, I'll just buy 2-3 rather than a set and thanks, very helpful!

[Tim Marlow]

Thanks for that! I did check their site out and oh my word so many brush sets and some of the prices are eye watering.
So I think you're right, I'll just buy 2-3 rather than a set and thanks, very helpful!

It is always worth getting a pack of cheaper brushes for rough work and dry brushing, but I would go for something like this….

https://www.jacksonsart.com/royal-brush-watercolor-brush-set

or this….

https://www.jacksonsart.com/royal-brush-3pc-golden-taklon-variety-brush-set

Otherwise might be worth giving the Rosemary and Co red spot range a look as a first quality brush.

[Guest]

Thank you!

[Dave Ward]

I use the Royal & Langnickel Golden Taklon brushes for detail work, they hold their shape well ( that says a lot, 'cos I'm a serial brush abuser! )
Dave
[HEADING=2][/HEADING]

[Guest]

When it comes to brushes it's quite astonishing how many different makes and types there are. for someone like me just returning to the hobby, it's quite baffling what to buy. :smiling3:

I've been checking out the brushes at the scalemodelshop too, wow there's so many! There is one set there that caught my eye though, Brush starter set by Greenstuffworld. it has a variety brushes and even the stuff that repairs them. that's interesting (£34.99)

[stillp]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned https://www.abcbrushes.com/
Pete

[Tim Marlow]

Just looked at the Greenstuffworld set. Seems a heck of a lot of money for what you get to be honest. They will only be repackaged from another supplier so you get the GSW mark up on them. I really would go for a couple of sets of the Royal Langnickel sets and try them initially. Once you find the shapes and sizes you like to use, replace them with better quality ones of the same shape and size when they wear out. Invest in some Masters brush cleaner as well, it really is as good as it gets.

[Tim Marlow]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned https://www.abcbrushes.com/
Pete

I’ve just mentioned ones I’ve used Pete. Never tried ABC brushes? Could you do a review on them? I for one would be interested.

[stillp]

Tim, I don't know enough about brushes to write a sensible review, so all I can say is that they're good enough for me, at a bargain price. I don't think they manufacture brushes themselves, but buy surplus stock from others. At the last Cosford show I bought a mixed pack of 50 brushes for £20. They seem to be better than the ones sold by The Works and similar shops, and at that price they have to be worth trying.
I'd love to see a review by one of the forum's more experienced hairy stick users - how about you Tim?
Pete

[Andy T]

I'm pretty sure ABC are more of a reseller than a manufacturer. I bought one of their variety packs some years ago and there were several different brands & types included.

Good if you want to try different brushes and see what suits you. I got a couple of the proarte 202 acrylix in my pack and really liked them so I've stuck to those for most things, with a few posh sables that I save for "best"

Edit: One thing I will add; when I started I was always trying to use the smallest possible brushes as I thought that was the way. After practice and reading the sage advice of our brush experts including Ron & Tim I'm now using the largest brush I can get away with.