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What sort of brushes do people find good to use? I've only ever used gw ones mysekf

I buy my brushes from Hobby Lobby. I don't know the exact price, but it was likely $1-$2 for a pack of 5 or 6 brushes.

I see a lot of people using the Windsor & Newton sable brushes. They seem to be the go-to for good brushes, but they're not cheap. Personally I mostly use GW ones, although they're kinda crap for the money, so I won't be buying more of them. I also have some cheapo ones I got from a friend, they're pretty damn good but don't stay good for long.

Probably going to be picking up some sable brushes soon, especially if I can find some locally.

I think a decent brush setup would be to have some W&N ones as main brushes with a bunch of cheap brushes for stuff you'd rather not use your good brushes for.

My favourite brush are the insane detail and psycho brushes from Army Painter for, well detail, and for other stuff I like to use ProArte brushes.

I'm sure there will be callouts to all of the various major manufacturers sable brands They're all decent, but different. My suggestion, really, is to try some and see how you like them.

My favorite is Winsor & Newton Series 7, but that's not to take away from other brands that are great in their own way. At the end of the day, ** if you take care of them ** they will remain useful for, far longer than synthetics.

That's a huge if, though, as a lot of people find brush care tedious or forget; in which case, you have relatively expensive, gunked up brushes that aren't useful for much.

I use a GW brushes for some things, and Army Painter brushes for others. I have trouble keeping mine in good shape, probably because I'm too lazy to take good care of my brushes.

I just got some very nice Vallejo brushes for Christmas which I am super excited to use. They look like excellent quality and the one very old Vallejo brush I own has stood up to many years of use.

Additionally, I have some of the older blue GW brushes and found them to be rather excellent; holding their tip and not fraying over the years. I can't comment on their new line, however.

I've used some Reaper brushes and have had very poor results with them. Some of the cheaper brushes from art stores have also proved to be rather useless as well. Also, I have some Army Painter ones which I, for the most part, strongly dislike. I use them for additional nonsense that requires the use of old shoddy brushes.

I highly recommending doing some research on brush care as well. A few extra minutes at the end of your painting session can significantly extend the life of your brushes.

I use a combination of different brushes. I use some GW brushes, such as the wash brushes and layer brushes for well washes, base coating, and layering. I use kolinsky sable brushes (W&N Series 7 and Jerry's Artarama store brand) for detail and highlighting. I also use cheap synthetic brushes for base coating from Hobby Lobby ($4.99 for pack of 4 shaped brushes). I splurged and bought some GW dry brushes and I like them, but not sure if i would spend that amount again given that using "retired" brushes has worked well for my dry brushing needs.

As said, the trick is to use them right (no paint in the ferrule, use the right brush for the right job) clean them (master's brush soap FTW), and store them right and they will last a long time.

Sizes vary, but I notice that I use size 0 and 2 a lot for details and highlights.

One tip is when buying "quality" brushes, inspect the tips, regardless of brand or if they have a protective sleeve or packaging, making sure they come to a good point.

Got to give a shout out to Talys. He is the type of painter I aspire to be and has done some great write ups on brushes, so search some of the older threads he has contributed on for more good info.

A big part of brush longevity and usefulness is cleaning it.

I used to buy packs of brushes and used them until they wore out which was quick. I bought a couple of Raphael Kolinsky Sable brushes along with some Masters brush soap/cleaner. Even after 2 years of constant use, the sable brushes are as good as new. The soap has also helped keep my other cheap brushes going to.

Rosemary and co get a lot of good reviews, I'd try them.

I use W&N S7, they're brilliant - and they take a lot of abuse.

All my GW brushes are buggered