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What brushes would you recommend for an inexperienced painter? I don't like the GW brushes, they feel cheap when I paint with them, but not when I pay for them! What about army painter brushes? Synthetic or non synthetic?

Depends what level of painting to you want to go for really. GW brushes aren't actually too bad for what they are, though a little pricey, their drybrushes are actually pretty good.

If you want to paint to a high standard one of the commonest recommendations is Windsor and Newton series 7. These are Kolinsky Sable brushes and very high quality, but usually more expensive than GW. Well taken care of though they will last a long time.

I'd stay away from synthetic as I don't find them as good and I've yet to hear of pro painters who say to use them. Other people may have different experiences though.

I second the GW brushes. They're OK. I use series 7 for very fine detail work (dotting eyes, some freehand) but generally it's just the GW brushes I use.

More important, go to an art store and buy some brush cleaner or soap. Always clean your brush's.

I have some basic art store brush's which work just fine. I just clean them after Im done and they stay sharp.

Expensive brush's like Sable are great for more experienced people who go for very fine detail or blending.

I would go to an art store and try some different brands of brush's. Trial and error is the best way to find what you like.

My advice would be get some cheap brushes for heavy-duty work (e.g. basecoating vehicles) and then GW brushes for more refined work, I find (especially the new brushes) are pretty good at what they do, although they are pricey.

I just went to Michael's (craft store) and picked up a variety pack for 5 dollars, it had about 8 synthetic brushes in it.

I picked up a GW small brush for detail jobs (it sees very sparse use) like eyes, mouths, jewels, etc.

You'll definitely want crappy brushes to drybrush with and/or stir and mix paint.

I strongly second this from OoieGoie..

More important, go to an art store and buy some brush cleaner or soap. Always clean your brush's.

I prefer this..



I use it for all my brushes. I cleans and you can also apply a bit extra after you clean and rinse to condition and help maintain shape. Its great.

As for brushes..I prefer Windsor Newton Series 7 brushes. They hold a point better than the GW ones, release the paint smoother than almost anything out there, and if cared for will last a LONG time.

loomisc wrote:I strongly second this from OoieGoie..

More important, go to an art store and buy some brush cleaner or soap. Always clean your brush's.

I prefer this..



I use it for all my brushes. I cleans and you can also apply a bit extra after you clean and rinse to condition and help maintain shape. Its great.

As for brushes..I prefer Windsor Newton Series 7 brushes. They hold a point better than the GW ones, release the paint smoother than almost anything out there, and if cared for will last a LONG time.

I have heard they can last a long time, but for a beginner? I just feel I would ruin them (somehow) and would rather pay much much less haha. Anyone know anything about the army painter brushes? Asking because at the warstore they're cheap as dirt

Loomisc, I will one up you sir and recommend the brush cleaning tank as well.


as for what brushes to use, I would say go to any art store (stores like Dick Blick, not like michaels) and find the cheapest red sable brushes you can find(red sable is the hair type). You'll pay about half of what you pay for a GW brush, but probably won't find a super detail brush by any manufacturers other than miniature manufacturers.

Rutteger1 wrote:I have heard they can last a long time, but for a beginner? I just feel I would ruin them (somehow) and would rather pay much much less haha. Anyone know anything about the army painter brushes? Asking because at the warstore they're cheap as dirt

I would disagree. I say pay the 10 bucks upfront for some soap and a cleaning tank and make it habitual to use them early on.

What does the cleaning tank do, exactly?

Its just a solution that distills the paint, probably a chemical in there that eats it up and keeps the brush nice and clean

Actually it's just filled with water. the whole ides is that it gives you a surface nearer the surface of the water that you can clean your brush against. There are 2 types the "spring" type (pictured) and a mesh type. The spring type is a lot better for brushes to my experience. It's basically a coil of springy soft wire that you can "Paint" your brushes against under the water to loosen the bristles and get paint out of the brush. It's the natural way to clean a brush as opposed to swishing or twirling it on the side or bottom of a cup. Brush fibers are like real hair, continually brushed against a harsh surface they have a tendency to split like human hair with split ends. this is when brushes mushroom out and are basically ruined.

I have used bigger versions of this before (in conventional painting) but they were fairly rough on the brushes- I'm assuming this is really fine wire?

It's probably about a 12-14 gauge wire. with a couple millimeters gape between the coils. I used them in conventional painting too(god knows I painted enough bottles and cow skulls at SCAD) with the bigger brushes I had a tendency to use the tanks wrong. I would blot the brush against the bottom, or scrub it, instead of holding the brush at a 45 degree angle and painting the surface.

I bought a single GW brush to test it out and it was horrible, the worst brush i've tried in that price catagory, i use Westart brushes now mostly, they are excellent for the price.

When your starting out don't bother with cheap brushes, just get a mid-range one, remember to test them out in the shop first as well, lick the end if there isn't water available and make sure it keeps its point.

Any experience with the army painter brushes?

No comments about the Army Painter brushes, but I second the Windsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable ones.

You can get them through Dick Blick. I recommend going to the store itself if possible so you can look at the sizes and test the ones you want in water to see if they retain their shape.

Lately I picked up the Reaper (gaming company) sable brushes and they are just about as good and don't cost as much. I'm sure you can order those online as well; I picked mine up at FLGS.

Other easy tips to keep brushes clean:
- Don't get paint any further than about 1/3 of the way up the bristles. Unnecessary and bad for buildup of paint in brush.
- Don't wash brushes in warm/hot water. It will breakdown wax/glue that holds bristles in place.
- Keep your brushes covered if you transport them.

- Blackbone

thanks-