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So somewhere along the line of building up my technique and abilities I seem to have switched to using small brushes exclusively. I use an airbrush to basecoat, but there are still places on a model where you don't truly need a 3/0 or even a 0.

Nonetheless I just sort of fell into this pattern. Probably because my brain said "well, the small brush is superior for those bits and boops, so it must be better overall". Also probably because I am a grade A brush destroyer, so using a smaller set of brushes is kind of like damage control But it seems to me now that it's a slightly backwards way of thinking. Using an artificially tiny brush on surfaces that call for something bigger causes a lot of problems. It seems to me:

- You end up with a much less smooth surface. All those little brush strokes just sort of mar the surface.
- You end up with more crud buildup on the surface. Your small brush will tend to dry out more quickly because you're depleting it more often. This causes the little dried bits to flake off and mar your otherwise nice surface. This seems particularly bad with metallics.

When you make sure you use a nice big (or at least, size-appropriate) brush, you cover surfaces more quickly, evenly and with less putzing around. Seems like this is a good rule of thumb. Thoughts?

It depends on a number of factors, including (but not limited to) the type of paint you're using, the consistency of the paint you're applying, the quality and type of the brush...

Yes, a bigger brush covers more area more quickly... but gives you less control over paint flow. A smaller brush takes longer to cover, but brush marks are minimised by using thinner paint in more layers... and using a bigger brush doesn't automatically eliminate them, and can potentially just magnify the problem.

high quality size 0 or size 1 is all you really need. big enough to put down some paint and small enough to do detail work.

the tiny brushes are pretty useless in my opinion as i dont have a desire to paint a scratch into a scratch onto a smaller scratch then highlight the scratch with an even smaller scratch.

The user matters more than the tool....

That being said, as others indicated it depends on;
* what you are painting
* the detail you require
* the paint you are using
* the effect you are going for
* the quality of your brush.

Since I invested in really good brushes a while back, I have found that my size 0 kolinsky brush is my go to brush for about 90% of my work.

best of luck!

I think paint consistency is more of a factor. You can still get nasty brush strokes and streaks with a big brush, and you can do smooth flat areas with a smaller brush. it really depends on the consistency.

Generally speaking you need fluid retarder for very small brushes, otherwise the tiny amount of paint just dries on the brush the moment you lift it out the pot. You end up having to almost wipe it off dry, which isn't nearly as accurate as smooth free flowing paint.

I used a GW Standard brush for everything I paint, aslong as it holds a good point I can use it for flat surfaces of tiny details with similar ease. Trying to used smaller brushes just ended poorly for me in the past and led me back to my standard brush of choice.

In general, I use the largest brushes I can get away with. For the most part, I use either #4 or #2 flat/filbert brushes. The flat allows me to lay down quite a bit of paint on larger surfaces and the edges let me get nice crisp edge highlights.

I mainly use 2 brushes : a size 4... and a size 2. No joking.
Size 4 for most basecoats and washes, size 2 for details and freehands.

The size does not really matter, only the tip does.

I find a GW Large Brush (the red tipped painting brush, not the wide, purple tipped Large Drybrush) to be my go-to. Big enough to handle most areas, pointy and accurate enough to detail.