Getting Back Into Miniature Painting - What Brushes Do I Need?

[Olaf the Stout]

I'll just add this to what others have said:

Have one extra brush you can afford to "wreck" for drybrushing.

I know, the experts here will probably pooh-pooh the drybrush technique, but for anyone who is not an expert, drybrushing goes a long way to getting your minis table-quality.

And-- no offense intended, believe me-- I assume if you were an expert you wouldn't be asking advice on what brushes you need.

Oh, I'm so far from an expert painter that it's not funny so no offense taken. I don't have much idea when it comes to brushes, apart from knowing that sable tends to be best. That's why I was asking. Having said that, I do know the basic techniques like drybrushing, shading and highlighting. I have never heard anyone say that drybrushing is not the way that "experts" paint though. In fact, I thought it was just another technique that they used.

As for drybrushing, I know how much it can kill your brushes so I have a flat acrylic brush I plan to use for precisely that purpose.

Olaf the Stout

 

[WhatGravitas]

Oh, I'm so far from an expert painter that it's not funny so no offense taken. I don't have much idea when it comes to brushes, apart from knowing that sable tends to be best. That's why I was asking. Having said that, I do know the basic techniques like drybrushing, shading and highlighting. I have never heard anyone say that drybrushing is not the way that "experts" paint though. In fact, I thought it was just another technique that they used.

Some painters are almost allergic to drybrushing - ask Anne Foerster on the Reaper forums!

The reason is simple: Almost everything you can do with drybrushing you can also do with sufficient patience. But drybrushing can easily go awry - doing it a bit wrong and *bamm* you have a splotchy, streaky mess (though good painters shouldn't make mistakes! ). Another reason is: It's effective and gives you good results very easily - but this may hinder you, if you want to increase your skill - because it's too easy and too tempting to use (at least sometimes).

Though only experts have the time (and patience) to dismiss it. It's useful - and painting fur and feathers without drybrushing is probably only viable, if you're getting paid for it! Plus, if you're just wanting to do a bunch of orks/zombies/statues - you don't care for high quality.

Cheers, LT.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

My main brush is a 0 (1/0), I use a 00 a fair amount also. I use the largest brush I can. For me larger brushes hold their points and wet paint longer. I have not used a 5/0 or 10/0 in years.

Can you, or someone else explain brush sizes to me. The Kolinsky Series 7 Brushes have sizes that range from 000, 00, 0, 1, 2, 3, up to about 9. At the same time I have seen people talk about 1/0, 5/0, 10/0 and even 20/0 brushes. How does one scale equate to the other?

Olaf the Stout

 

[pogre]

Can you, or someone else explain brush sizes to me. The Kolinsky Series 7 Brushes have sizes that range from 000, 00, 0, 1, 2, 3, up to about 9. At the same time I have seen people talk about 1/0, 5/0, 10/0 and even 20/0 brushes. How does one scale equate to the other?

Olaf the Stout

0 = 1/0 (small)
00 = 2/0 (smaller)
000 = 3/0 (smaller yet), etc.

Size 1 is larger than size 0, size 2 is larger than size 1, etc.

I never use anything larger than a size 1, and that is a lesser quality brush for me. Some of the finest painters in the world do use 1's a fair amount though.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

0 = 1/0 (small)
00 = 2/0 (smaller)
000 = 3/0 (smaller yet), etc.

Size 1 is larger than size 0, size 2 is larger than size 1, etc.

I never use anything larger than a size 1, and that is a lesser quality brush for me. Some of the finest painters in the world do use 1's a fair amount though.

So a 20/0 is equal to a 00000000000000000000?

What does it have, 1 solitary hair? I thought that 00 might be equal to 2/0 but when I saw that there was a 20/0 brush I thought the sizing scale must be different between the two.

Olaf the Stout

 

[pogre]

So a 20/0 is equal to a 00000000000000000000?

Supposedly. 20/0 are ridiculous and rarely true 20/0s. Honestly, most 3/0s will hold points, and allow for finer detail work than so called 10/0s.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Supposedly. 20/0 are ridiculous and rarely true 20/0s. Honestly, most 3/0s will hold points, and allow for finer detail work than so called 10/0s.

I know how small the 3/0 brush I saw was. I can't imagine what a 10/0 would look like, let alone a 20/0!

Olaf the Stout

 

[Doug Sundseth]

One point on brush size: IMO, the drier the air, the larger the brush you should use. Larger brushes hold more paint, so they dry slower than smaller brushes. If your relative humidity is low, very small brushes can dry out in the distance between picking up paint and trying to put it on the figure.

Note that the important number is the relative humidity in your painting space. If you paint in a damp basement, that might be higher than what your local news stations report; if you paint in a cold climate, the relative humidity indoors can be very much lower than that outdoors. For reference, I live in Colorado, where indoor relative humidities in the winter can go well below 10%, so I use a wet palette and the largest brush that's convenient.

From what I can find, Adelaide seems to be relatively humid, so brush size is perhaps a bit less critical there than it is here. Still, well-thinned paint with as large a brush as you can manage to control is the best way to avoid visible brush strokes and chalky surfaces on miniatures.

Edited to add:

I've used 10/0 brushes. I can get better detail with a good #2 brush than I can with a 10/0 brush.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I've decided to go with Windson & Newton Series 7 Brushes. I plan to buy size 2, 1, 0 and 000 brushes. I may get the size 000 brush in the Miniature series rather than the regular series.

To clean the brushes I'm also buying the Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver as well as the Windsor & Newton Brush Cleaner and Restorer.

Am I missing anything? Have I gone overboard in anything?

Olaf the Stout

 

[Doug Sundseth]

It looks like you have plenty of brushes. (You probably won't need all of them, but you'll probably not know which ones you don't need until after you try them.)

I would also consider getting a palette if you don't have one, either dry or wet.

If you like dry palettes, I prefer a porcelain "flower-petal" palette. They're easy to clean and inexpensive, and they work quite well as long as you don't drop them.

If you like wet palettes (and people seem to either love or hate them), you might want to pick up some palette papers as well.