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Hello all,
I need some guidance with finding some affordable brushes. I went to 2 different art stores and they are actually the same price as GWs and look like less quality. Im willing to buy online too so I don't mind that. Im basically looking for a fine detail, standard, and dry brush.

They average between $6-9, is that just the standard everywhere? im asking because I know how GW overcharges on like everything so im hoping their cheaper elsewhere.

A good quality kolinsky sable brush will usually cost $10 - $15, but if you take care of them they will pay for themselves over time. Some of the more popular brands are Winsor & Newton Series 7, Da Vinci "Maestro", and my personal favorite- Raphael Series 8404. There are more out there of course, but what ever brand you go with, be sure to get some brush cleaner/conditioner to take care of them.

Rosemary and Co aren't bad. I have one in the same size as a W+N S7 I own, and it has a smaller belly and doesn't quite have the same snap in the bristle, but the difference in quality is substantially smaller than the difference in price. Plus, a slightly finer brush is sometimes useful.

But, frankly, if you're balking at the price you mention, you're not going to get anything with real quality.

Oh, and don't spend much on a drybrush, the cheapest you can find to suit your needs will do, as its destined to be abused there's no point in spending much on one.

ok that's basically what I wanted to know. I cant go cheap on the brushes. Thank you for the info

Note that while top-quality brushes are great, you don't need very many of them. Almost all of your technique-intensive painting will be done with a 0 and either a 1 or a 2, depending on taste. So I'd invest in those two and plan to buy the third eventually - the first two should only cost about $25-$30. Tiny detail brushes (like 3/0's) are good investments too, since there's only a couple dollar price difference between mediocre and top-tier (less sable hair = less money). Bigger brushes, primer brushes, drybrushing brushes, and similar things you can go cheaper on and pick up as you go.

In the USA, www.dickblick.com will have the best prices for brushes. For the price of a mediocre brush at your local place, you can get a great quality brush at Dick Blicks.

+1 on Blick. I don't understand why people consider Kolinskys or even Red Sable expensive. They really aren't. There was a time I used to spend $20-$30 a year replacing good quality synthetic brushes, which don't have much life span with acrylics. Spend $15 or so on a Kolinsky, take proper care of it, and you won't spend a penny on another brush for several years. Plus, the control, flow, and paint holding capacity you get from a high quality natural hair brush will make painting a pleasure.

+1 for Blick as well.

You can always use amazon in a pinch, but their prices are a tad higher.

Like everyone said and you acknowledged... Don't go cheap on a brush. I'll paint with Walmart craft paints before I give up my WN7 and DaVinci brushes. I do 98% of my work with a #1 long and #0 miniature. You can go cheap on a drybrushes though. I get the 5 in a pack synthetics for $5.00 for those.

dickblick is awesome, but if you want Raphael 8404's go to secretweaponsminiaturescom. They sell them a bit cheaper (IIRC) but the shipping is much cheaper.

I've always enjoyed army painter brushes.

I've got Raphaels and W&N Series 7s, but my Blick Master 0 gets the most use by far. Under $10 for any of the sizes that you would use regularly. Been using this particualr one for several years now and it looks and works like new.

Count me +1 for store brands over top-shelf art brands.

Over the last 30 years or so, I've tried just about every brush that can be bought at an art supply store in NYC or North Jersey, which is to say I've tried quite a few. My favorite at the moment is Master's Touch, available at Hobby Lobby, #1 Script Liner Golden Taklon. I like Golden Taklon, I like liners, I think this brand is well constructed and durable, and these are available walk-in for me - no trip to the Big Apple required.

FWIW I don't like W&N 7's at all. When I first started out, I had to have them - that is what Sheperd Paine recommended in his "Building and Painting Scale Figures"! Didn't take long to figure out that I didn't like them at all and that artist's oil paints were a pain in the a** that never dried ;->

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/size-1-golden-taklon-script-liner-brush-148353/

helotaxi wrote:
I've got Raphaels and W&N Series 7s, but my Blick Master 0 gets the most use by far. Under $10 for any of the sizes that you would use regularly. Been using this particualr one for several years now and it looks and works like new.