Brushes

I had a question on a PM about brushes but I'd thought I'd post the answer here so if there were other interested parties they could see it.

I'm a big fan of good brushes. I'd paint with good brushes and craft paint before I painted w/ poor brushes. A good brush will last several years if cared for properly.

What is a good brush? A good brush keeps its tip when loaded with paint and doesn't "curl" or "fluff" out.

For most work I use Windsor and Newton Series 7 minaiture brushes.

These brushes have a shorter bristle length to allow more control in small spaces.

Windsor and Newton Series 7 (regular) work as well. They actually hold more paint and as the brush gets smaller (0 to 000) I tend to use the regular series 7.

The majority of my work is done w/ a #1, SN series 7. I have a 1, 0, and 000 for almost everything. I buy these at Dickblick on line for a good discount. This is a Kolinsky Sable brush. There are other manufacturers but this is what I know and like (I actually have used a couple daVinci #1 for a while). Trust me I've tried them all. I've got a reaper master series brush that looks like Bob Marleys hair after 2 uses. It was a $10 brush.

Here are the Series 7 Regular



Here are the Series 7 miniature - notice the shorter bristle length.




I use a liner brush for some things but it's rare (long thin bristles).






Drybrushing large areas I use cheap ass craft brushes.

http://www.michaels.com/online/product/DisplayEnlargedImage.jsp?imageName=cp0297.jpg

I buy the big handle kids brushes too for terrain and use craft paints. These were used on the Ork bikes. I mean they are retard brushes seriously w/ the bristles falling out they are so cheap.



I also demote my brushes that are getting worn for small drybrushing spots. generally it is the #1 brush as the others just don't hold enouch paint nor have long enough bristles.

The last Drybrush technique is what I call "fine Drybrushing". Which you want just the slightest layer w/ an extreme highlight. I use something like a makeup brush called an Oval Wash brush.





This puts some nice fine lines. Good on colored tanks etc for quick but delicate highlights.

Cleaner - this is what I use. great at getting paint out of the bristles and metal. The studio cake will last you forever and I believe is available at michaels.

http://www.dickblick.com/zz057/02/

thanks for the tip!!!! I just started using these brushes myself!!! They rock!

Here is an article on CMON.

I believe this is what I used when I started picking out better brushes to improve my painting.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/35

John,

Where do you purchase such brushes?

I too use Windsor and Newton brushes.

I have used them ever since my color theory studios. Can't recommend them enough.

Thanks for posting this, alot of people aren't aware of these kinds of things.