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Hi Guys, need some recommendations, due to my personal beliefs on the use and consumption of animal products, I'm looking for some high quality synthetic or plant based brushes for painting my minis, brushes that are comparable to the best sable brushes if possible.

Any help would be most appreciated, thanks

Unfortunately, there is no synthetic brush that is truly as good as a natural hair brush. That being said, there are high quality synthetic brushes on the market. Try Raphael Kaërell, series 8394; they seem to come high recommended by talented painters.

Good luck!

If you're using acrylics, there is no good synthetic brush. Acrylics lead to a very short life span. You'll end up with "hook end" or "fork end" in a pretty short amount of time. No matter how meticulous you are about cleaning them, acrylics will destroy them. For oils, synthetic are fine. For acrylics, natural bristles are the way to go, unless you have the financial resources to replace brushes often.

ScootyPuffJunior wrote:Unfortunately, there is no synthetic brush that is truly as good as a natural hair brush. That being said, there are high quality synthetic brushes on the market. Try Raphael Kaërell, series 8394; they seem to come high recommended by talented painters.

Good luck!

Thanks, I'll look into them

Ultra Grey wrote:If you're using acrylics, there is no good synthetic brush. Acrylics lead to a very short life span. You'll end up with "hook end" or "fork end" in a pretty short amount of time. No matter how meticulous you are about cleaning them, acrylics will destroy them. For oils, synthetic are fine. For acrylics, natural bristles are the way to go, unless you have the financial resources to replace brushes often.

Well again my personal ethical views means natural bristles (unless plant based) are out

The only other option is to go for cheap synthetics and just treat them as disposable every few months

You can get some alright Golden Taklon brushes at any arts and crafts store for a fairly low price. They do not last forever, and that's why you should just keep buying the student level brushes instead of forking out for top of the line. They do, however, work fine as drybrushing brushes or what have you after the point goes to hell. Fork end can be prevented with thorough cleanings, but after a few times of hard cleaning, even the best brushes tend to bristle out into puffy ends, and have to be either restored or doomed to being hardworking disposables. I use my old brushes to brush on primer, as well as the forementioned drybrushing.

Munga wrote:
You can get some alright Golden Taklon brushes at any arts and crafts store for a fairly low price. They do not last forever, and that's why you should just keep buying the student level brushes instead of forking out for top of the line. They do, however, work fine as drybrushing brushes or what have you after the point goes to hell. Fork end can be prevented with thorough cleanings, but after a few times of hard cleaning, even the best brushes tend to bristle out into puffy ends, and have to be either restored or doomed to being hardworking disposables. I use my old brushes to brush on primer, as well as the forementioned drybrushing.

Sounds good, I'll try that, thanks

I've heard that the Cotman line of brushes from Winsor & Newton are decent for synthetic brushes but don't have any personal experience with them.

The polymer prolene is being used to make synthetic brushes, and I've been impressed so far with one I bought last year. Pro Arte are one manufacturer making them

Thanks for all the helpful replies guys