Like my last Tools of the Trade post this one will be discussing one of the important tools painters use, brushes. I'd like to believe that what kind and brand of brush a painter uses is a matter of personal preference. If you've painted minis before you'll know what I'm talking about, if your really new then you still have no idea what brush to use. Well I'll be discussing the basic brushes and where you can get them and give you my own personal preference in the end.
Brush Hairs:
Brushes can be categorized in two based on the type of hair they have. Synthetic or natural hairs, synthetic brushes are cheaper than the natural once but they will have a tendency to "curl". This means that after several uses the tip of the brush is not longer a point. Natural hairs don't have this issue but are more expensive, so if you plan to stick with this hobby get natural hair brushes. Likewise if your unsure if painting your own mini is really your cup of tea and just want to test it out, get synthetic hairs.
Brush Size:
I'll be honest, I have no idea what size of brush I use (more on this later) but I do know that this is one of those personal choices things. I've seen different painters use different brush sizes to do the same thing and both do it equally well. Now personally, I believe that you will only need 2 maybe 3 different brush sizes. You'll need a "workhorse" brush and maybe one or two "detail" brushes.
Your "workhorse" brush is the brush that you will use 90% of the time, to apply base coats, washes and highlights. The "detail" brushes will only actually be used to add detail to your mini, like eyes, belt buckles and other small things that your "workhorse" brush may be too big to paint accurately with.
Brush Shape:
There are actually quite a number of brush shapes out there, the most common used for miniature painting would be, flats and rounds. Rounds are used for general painting, the flats well I use these for the dry brush method actually.
Personal Choice:
Alright, I've been injecting my personal opinions on this post from the start so I'll get right to discussing what I use personally. I use Army Painter brushes, this should explain why I have no idea what size my brushes are. Army Painter's naming convention for their brush don't follow the standard numbers, instead the name them based on what they're suppose to do.
I bought my Army Painter Most Wanted Brush Set about 2 to 3 months ago, before that I used a mix of cheap synthetic brushes I buy at out local art store. The set did cost me a bit but I have no regrets, the comes with three brushes. Regiment, Insane Detail & Small Dry Brush.
The regiment brush is the workhorse brush of the set, I use it 90% of the time. Its made of natural Sable hair, its a round shaped brush.
The Insane Detail brush is for, well details. Just like the Regiment, its also made of natural Sable hair and is round. I use this about 5% of the time. The reason is that the Regiment's tip is pointed enough for me to do some detailing with it. One thing to note about it however is that I tend to use it with paint that's thinner than my normal composition, not sure if I'm doing something wrong that I can't get good paint flow on it otherwise.
The Small Dry Brush is used for dry brush, unlike the other two, its made of synthetic hair. No point in giving a brush that will be abused expensive hair after all. The shape is also different that its a flat brush with an angle. This is suppose to help you dry brush small areas without making too much of a mess, I've personally not felt a major difference.
Well, that's it for now. With all of the tools discussed (except the paint), I think I can proceed with the Lazy Painter post. Specifically the one for base coating, if you have comments questions or suggestions just let me know.
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