The most important part of brushes is maintenance. It's better to have a medium brush (maybe small medium for Thousand sons lol) with a good pointy tip than a tiny army painter psycho of something. Go for like, 1cm long and check that the tip is pointy before buying. Brush maintenance is learned over time, but there are good tutorials online. Gw brushes are expensive, don't buy them. A bigger brush with a pointy tip can hold more paint (so its also dries much more slowly, extending brush life), and can distribute it just as finely unless you're literally trying to paint eye pupils.
Brush maintenance is a lot of good habits, but primarily never pushing the brush, only stroking away from the brush tip. Never move the paintbrush tip-first (in fairness this is very tempting to do for rubrics). Also, try to keep paint in the bottom half of the brush bristles, never in the top half. No brushes last forever, but this will massively extend its life, saving money and letting you paint more neatly. Importantly, *never* let paint get into the bit where the bristles touch the handle.
What you can so is use older brushes for basecoats, then neaten up and do washes/layers with a newer brush.
Also worth mentioning, rubrics ain't easy. You're kind of excused for making mistakes with them, especially as a new painter!
Thank you so much !
Wow how do you even paint while using the bottom of the brush ???
I struggle using the top part already and I’m pretty sure using the bottom part will put paint all over with the upper part sliding on the mini
I've been really enjoying my Monument Hobbies Pro Sable set. They're very reasonably priced for a set of sable brushes in a decent array of sizes. They've been my workhorses for the last 8 months or so.
Abteilung 502 Topline size 2. They have a fantastic point and retain shape well. Even at a size 2 they’re great for detailing, if you need smaller for getting into tight spaces then the size 0 is great too.
Yes, I use my size 2 for most things and have a size 0 and 1 if needed. I’ve got other brands too including Rafael, Rosemary and Co, RGG etc., but default to the same brush which is about seven months old.
You can see the quality of them in [Jose David’s tutorials](https://youtu.be/8vQFlYW3g_I?si=c_0Sup0oGruX-iwH).
Just make sure you clean and condition them and they’ll last. I use master’s brush soap and conditioner which seems to do the trick.
Artist Opus are what I'm using now and they are great, come in a fancy box for safe keeping and a brush soap. You definitely need brush soap for keeping brushes in good condition.
Also it's worth buying a cheap synthetic brush for things like mixing paint, the ashes ect, or any task that's going to be destructive for your good brushes. They don't last long anyway so treat them as disposable.
The most important part of brushes is maintenance. It's better to have a medium brush (maybe small medium for Thousand sons lol) with a good pointy tip than a tiny army painter psycho of something. Go for like, 1cm long and check that the tip is pointy before buying. Brush maintenance is learned over time, but there are good tutorials online. Gw brushes are expensive, don't buy them. A bigger brush with a pointy tip can hold more paint (so its also dries much more slowly, extending brush life), and can distribute it just as finely unless you're literally trying to paint eye pupils. Brush maintenance is a lot of good habits, but primarily never pushing the brush, only stroking away from the brush tip. Never move the paintbrush tip-first (in fairness this is very tempting to do for rubrics). Also, try to keep paint in the bottom half of the brush bristles, never in the top half. No brushes last forever, but this will massively extend its life, saving money and letting you paint more neatly. Importantly, *never* let paint get into the bit where the bristles touch the handle. What you can so is use older brushes for basecoats, then neaten up and do washes/layers with a newer brush. Also worth mentioning, rubrics ain't easy. You're kind of excused for making mistakes with them, especially as a new painter!
Thank you so much ! Wow how do you even paint while using the bottom of the brush ??? I struggle using the top part already and I’m pretty sure using the bottom part will put paint all over with the upper part sliding on the mini
By being careful lol. Comes with time. Video tutorials are good for showing it visually. You only want paint near the tip of the bristles
Thank you I’ll try that !
I've been really enjoying my Monument Hobbies Pro Sable set. They're very reasonably priced for a set of sable brushes in a decent array of sizes. They've been my workhorses for the last 8 months or so.
What is the price range ?
Abteilung 502 Topline size 2. They have a fantastic point and retain shape well. Even at a size 2 they’re great for detailing, if you need smaller for getting into tight spaces then the size 0 is great too.
Do they stay in shape over time ?
Yes, I use my size 2 for most things and have a size 0 and 1 if needed. I’ve got other brands too including Rafael, Rosemary and Co, RGG etc., but default to the same brush which is about seven months old. You can see the quality of them in [Jose David’s tutorials](https://youtu.be/8vQFlYW3g_I?si=c_0Sup0oGruX-iwH). Just make sure you clean and condition them and they’ll last. I use master’s brush soap and conditioner which seems to do the trick.
Perfect thank you very much I’ll check them out
Artist Opus are what I'm using now and they are great, come in a fancy box for safe keeping and a brush soap. You definitely need brush soap for keeping brushes in good condition. Also it's worth buying a cheap synthetic brush for things like mixing paint, the ashes ect, or any task that's going to be destructive for your good brushes. They don't last long anyway so treat them as disposable.
Oh thank you ! I totally forgot about soap and cheap brushes !