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Hey all.

What size brushes does everyone use and why/what for?

I'm trying to refine my brush skills and was wondering what size/type? Does size matter .... 'heh' ....? What are each of your brushes used for specifically?
I have loads of different types but I must admit I probably use either 2 or 3 consistently.

Thanks for your time and for viewing any information very much appreciated.

I mostly use a 1 and a 2. They both have good points and hold a decent amount of paint so I can do almost everything I need to do.

I also have some large flat square brushes (~1cm wide) that I'll often use when I want to put a wash over an entire model or when basecoating a tank (though now I have an airbrush so I don't use it so much for that anymore).

I also have a round 2 brush that I cut the tip off that I used to use to apply basecoats to infantry sized models. Now that I have an airbrush I find myself using that one less, I mostly just use it to mix paint on my palette (to avoid messing up my good brushes) and to mix the paint in the cup of my airbrush as I'm spraying.

Then I just have an assortment of old junky brushes which I use when I don't want to feth up my good brushes.

I currently lack a decent brush for drybrushing, but I don't find myself drybrushing much any more so I haven't bothered looking.

I use a 0 and an 00 primarily. I have a larger brush for general base coating and priming touch ups.

I used to use a range from 3/0 - 2 with 2/0 and 0 being my work horses. Bigger than that never held a point for long, but that's because I was using crap brushes.

Windsor Newton size 1 all the way now. I do use some of the other brushes on occasion for grunt work like base coating.

 sockwithaticket wrote:
I used to use a range from 3/0 - 2 with 2/0 and 0 being my work horses. Bigger than that never held a point for long, but that's because I was using crap brushes.

Windsor Newton size 1 all the way now. I do use some of the other brushes on occasion for grunt work like base coating.

Yeah, once you get a decent size 1 or 2 brush you realise the smaller brushes aren't really necessary. A good 1 or 2 brush will have a point that is just as good as a smaller brush, but because it has a fatter body it will hold more paint, so you'll spend less time going back and forth to the palette.

So you can use a good 1 or 2 brush for both fine detail work and also not-so-fine detail work.

Size 1 for nearly all brush painting.

I also have a stable of specialty brushes for certain tasks (oil paints, dry brushing, working with lacquers, etc.)

Since I got My W&N Series 7 size 2, I use it for 80% of my painting. Except for metallics and priming.

My workhorse brushes are Winsor & Newton Series 7, because they very springy (nearly as springy as synthetic), retain a wonderful point, hold tons of paint, and extremely durable. I keep one set for non-metallic basecoat, one set for metallic basecoat, and a totally separate set for detailing.

Unspecified brush types are Round.

Basecoat:

Cheap Synthetic Flat size 1, 2, 4 (eg W&N Galleria), because I jam them into nooks, they don't last, so I keep these cheap.
Winsor & Newton Series 7, Size 1, 2 - These are good workhorse brushes.
Winsor & Newton Series 7, Size 1, 0 - a separate set with ends of handles painted for metallic paints.

Layers & Detail:

Winsor & Newton Series 7, Size 1, 0, 00, 3/0 - There's just nothing to compare. I rarely use the 3/0, as it holds too little paint for many tasks, and has a body that is too wide for things like writing or eyes.
Raphael 8404, Size 6/0 - Best ultrafine detail brush, IMO.

Blending:

I find Filbert brushes extremely useful for wet-on-wet blending, because of the rounded tip.

DeSerres Flat, Size 2, 1, 0
DeSerres Filbert Size 2, 1, 0
Winsor & Newton Size 1, 0

Wash Brushes:

Army Painter Regiment, Citadel Detail, Citadel Fine Detail - I use distinctive brushes for Washes, so that I can easily spot them.

Other Brushes & Notable Mentions:

Citadel Small & Medium Drybrush - these are great, and cheap
Citadel & Army Painter Stippling Brush
Large Flat Brushes (1/4 inch and up) for vehicles and terrain
Raphael Script Liner, Artist's Loft (cheap synthetic) Script Liner
Tamiya Pro Kolinksy Size 2/0, 3/0 - I used to love these, because of the handle. They get little use now.
Raphael 8404 Size 2, 1, 0 - I have a set of these, but I don't use them as much because the tips are quite bendy.
Ismay Size 0 - this is like, a 6/0 Raphael. A nice brush for ultra details, but I like my Raphael better.

Wow thanks everyone some great information here. Hope this thread helps others out as well

Oki then..
My workhorses, erm brushes..
For non metallics.
Winsor&Newton Series 7 #3 #0 and #00

Metallics
Army Painter Regiment and Insane Detail

Drybrushing
Army Painter Wargamer Small Drybrush (for metallics)
Da Vinci Forte Synthetic #2 (for non metallics)

For paint mixing
Generic craft store sable brush #3

For washes
Generic craft store sable brush #7

For washing mold relase from my minis
Generic crafts store sable #11

For priming and basecoats.
Generic airbrush with 0.3 mm needle.

For detailed airbrushing
HD 103 airbrush 0.25 needle.

My workhorse brush is the #2 flat

I used to use all sorts of brushes and most of my work would be done with smaller ones.

Nowadays, however, I only ever seem to use a gw standard brush (whatever size that is) and a size 0. I have a 0/4 as well but its so small it just doesnt seem to hold the paint to be any use so I just settled for using a 0 for all the detail work.

What a loaded question (see what I did there?)

My primary brush is a Raphael 8404 size 1 round. I find it holds a tight enough point to do detail work and cover larger areas as well.

I have a large dry brush (It's from Army Painter and I believe its called the Monstrous Creature but its been a few years) that I use for terrain and stuff like that.

I have several smaller flat brushes that are synthetic that I use for oil /acrylic washes and a round size1 for Alcohol based Metallics.

I hope that helps. Also please know that not all brushes are created equally. Something like a Raphael or Windsor and Newton are expensive but when maintained will last years. They generally hold finer points and have much larger reservoirs so you will go to the paint pot less often as well.

For a normal 28mm size infantry I mainly use size 0 and 1 and a 00 for tiny details.

My workhorse is a #2 round, with a 0 being brought out for fine details (more for the smaller belly and longer bristles than any lack of point on the 2). Plenty of other brushes see use for specific tasks (I like mops for large-scale washing, filberts for fine and cheap chip brushes for coarse drybrushing, cheap synthetic rounds for dealing with harsher solvents, etc.), but those two see the most use, by far. You're definitely not alone, OP, in having a large collection, but small group of favorites.

W&N Series 7 size 1 and 0 are my primaries

Oh, I guess I missed the airbrush part of it

I have -

One Iwata HP-CS that is my favorite airbrush. It has a 0.35mm needle, and a Grex MAC adapter (on the hose end), but no pre-set handle. This brush is so nice because the trigger requires almost no effort to press down and has a ton of control sliding back. Plus, it practically never clogs up. I can just work forever on it. Major minus is that you're stuck with the 0.35mm needle.

Two Paasche Talon (gravity) with all of the needle sizes from 0.20 up to 0.55mm (or whatever the large size one is... I never use it). These are my workhorse priming/basecoating brushes. I usually use the 0.38mm needle (size 2), to reduce clogging.

One Paasche Siphon Feed -- I forget the model, but it's the internal mix one; I never use it, because I just don't airbrush large enough things to need a siphon bottle, and I dislike how the jar is in the way of my hand.

I purchased and returned a Grex Tritium, (trigger style), because it just felt like I had way less control. However, detachable cup and magnetic crown (no thread) was unbelievably awesome. I'm not sure I would buy a Grex pencil-style airbrush, as I really like the Iwatas.

I would really like to buy another Iwata, but I don't know if I would prefer an HP-CS or HP-BS (CS comes with a 0.3mm needle and 1/3 oz cup, BS a 0.2mm needle and a smaller cup).

I use a 2" wide synthetic for trim, a 4" for general use and a 12" roller for walls and ceilings.

4/0 for super details, 2/0 for everything else. For large diorama bases i have bigger brushes but i just play by eye. I only really paint humanoid size minis but anything bigger gets airbrushed

xraytango wrote:
I use a 2" wide synthetic for trim, a 4" for general use and a 12" roller for walls and ceilings.

man, i do not miss those days of painting houses!!!
1-1 is not my prefered scale...

for brushes, i use a DaVinci #5 for tanks, and 54mm or 72mm models...
i use a W&N #2 for basecoating 28mm stuff...
detail work is done with W&N 2/0...

i use my old GW Tank Brush as a duster...
it's never seen a lick of paint in 15 years, but is an essential tool to use before the night's work can begin...

for metallics, i use GW brushes, Standard and Fine Detail...
they are cheap, and easy to distinguish from the other brushes, with the colored ends on the handle...

that's it...
6 brushes cover all my needs...

i did just buy a couple of cheap Reaper brushes to try out...
their Large Drybrush is tiny (a #4), but may come in handy for all the large based models GW has been releasing, or it may just be too small...
the Reaper Masters Series Sable 2/0 is a long-haired brush, and feels like it soaks up too much water for my taste...
overall, i'm not impressed....
i'll stick with my W&N and DaVinci, but am interested to try Raphael and Rosemary & Co. in the future, as i've heard good things about them...

cheers
jah

I use a wide variety of brushes... of unfortunately irregular sizes. One company's 10/0 is another company's 00.

So I really have no idea what size brushes I use.


Having said that, I've got a couple really tiny brushes (roughly 10/0 to 20/0) for painting eyes and lenses, a handful of small brushes (00 or 0, I guess) for general work, and some larger ones (1 to 3) for larger areas, bush priming, and brush varnishing. A couple flat brushes for drybrushing, and that's about all I use.

I used to use regular round brushes for drybrushing, but have just seen on some tutorials that citadel have their own range of flat-headed drybrushes. Hoping to find something similar (& cheaper)from a local shop, so just wanted to know what consistency should be like. Can anyone tell me are those Citadel drybrushes soft-haired, or bristly / course /stiff?

I use a #0 for pretty much everything.
I do have a 10/0 that I use for ultra highlights but barely ever use it.

Thing is with the #0 is I paint skaven mostly lately so its harder to get away with say a #2.
Might pick up a #1 or 2 though when I start my empire army more surface area to cover on knights and things like that