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Hey so i am currently using the standard gw brushes (as in the standard range bit just the one standard brush! )But am looking to take my painting up a notch. What brushes do you guys recommend? Not looking to pay stupid money but not foolish enough to want it for free either!

Thanks in advance! !

http://www.rosemaryandco.com/watercolour-brushes/pure-kolinsky-sable

these
Very good price on a good quality kollinsky sable. Cant fault mine, I've got some Windsor and Newton series 7's aswell, which are awesome like everyone says, just 2 Rosemary and co for the price of one series 7

When comparing to the Citadel brushes.. everysingle one of the round pointed brushes holds a better, sharper tip than all of the citadel brushes Ive got. Size on artists brushes is more to do with how much paint you need to hold in the brush, theyre all good for detail work. I suggest a size 0 and a 2, if you find your self needing smaller than a 0 then skip right down to double or triple 0.

If you dont want spend to much I recomend muckasky red sable brush for size 1 and 0, they are cheaper then winsor and newrons but still good. For more detail (now everyone gonna laugh) I have nail brushes also red sable. I bought set of 3 brushes 0,00,000 for 5£ just to check and I was more then suprice how good they are

I have been using Raphael 8404 series for about a year now and love them. They hold a great tip and can take a good beating.

I just got a Scharff and so far its about the same as the Raphael but only cost me $17. We shall see how it holds up though.

I will also vote Rosemary & Co. I recently gave up the debate between W&N series 7 and raphael both for the same price of about $12.00 a brush on amazon. I bought sizes 0, 1, 2 from Rosemary & Co. and used the 0 and 2 so far. They are pretty great compared to the taklon brushes I was buying at hobby lobby which only held a point for a week. I've used these two brushes to paint only a few models so far but they really keep their point well. Sometimes while painting my size 0 will lose its tip but I'll dip it in water and the tip reforms immediately. I think that was caused by getting the ferrule wet, which I now try to avoid.

I'm used to using only one brush and it is usually a size 0 or 1 so to me the size 2 is huge and holds a lot of paint which is great for basecoating several minis. Again, the point on the size 0 is fine enough for me to do all my edge highlighting and fine detail work. Maybe I will buy the smaller sizes in the future but not for a while.

I have not tried these brushes with metallic paints yet as I was told a while ago that metallic paints can really damage higher quality brushes, so my old taklon brushes now have metallic duty. I use cheapo brushes from my very first brush set to do washes, apply glue, and dry brush.

Are you using a cleaner for you brushes? For real hair brushes it is very important. I use it at the end of every session to make sure there is no paint left on the brush and to reform the tip for storage. I haven't used conditioner on them but that's something I've never done before anyway.

I really went all in with these brushes because of shipping to the US. That said, an extra brush doesn't do anything to the shipping cost, so I ended up buying three of each of the three sizes. Worth it.

A decent quality sable brush. Yes the initial cost of it is expensive but in the long run it will save you money and improve your painting. If you look after them they last for ages( I have two brushes now just over 2 yrs old which is a record for me). Usually brushes last me six months and by then even the dog won't chew them. Both sable brushes after 2 yrs are as good as new

All the recommendations here are excellent. Any will deliver the quality which you seek.

You will likely develop a preference for one brand, given the opportunity. For me, I love the "snap" on the Rosemary and Co., which is similar to the snap on the W&N brushes I own but do not have the propensity to immediately fishtail.

I've had bad luck with the quality of the 3 W&N brushes I've purchased - all have fishtailed right out of the tube, so it wasn't due to neglect or lack of cleaning. That said, you can tell they are great brushes. I just think I've had terrible luck - most are able to enjoy their W&N brushes for years with proper care.

Since you are in the States, you might be interested to know Rosemary delivers in about 10 days and cheaply (quite reasonable if buying more than 3 or so), in case the international shipping makes you reluctant.

As has been said, all of these are good brushes. However, they are a bit on the expensive side. If you want to save just a little bit more, go for the Army Painter Mega Brush Set. You get an enormous range of brushes and even their Kolinsky Masterclass brush for under $50 USD. The brushes meant for heavy duty work such as the drybrushes are synthetic, for bristle strength and durability, while all the fine brushes are good quality sable (I don't think they are Kolinsky, but for the Masterclass).

A really good option if you want a full collection of 9 or 10 different, quality brushes for the cost of 4 or 5 of the premium ones (which you may graduate to in some years when your skill has gone up).

Also the triangular grips are quite comfortable.