Choosing a Brush
For the painter, choosing the right brush out of thousands of artist paint brushes can be an overwhelming task. Below we try to guide you in giving you some direction in finding the right brush for the right job.
Artist paint brushes – Their qualities and purpose
Your choice of any artist paint brush is going to be determined firstly by what you are going to do with your brush. The shapes and sizes of the brushes you choose to work with will depend mainly on how large you want to work, and how detailed you want to get; are you going to paint fine lines or broad sweeping strokes, are you going to be using a heavy paint such as oil or acrylics or very light thin paints such as watercolors?
Brush selection is best determined by evaluating the brush’s ability to work with the following:
- the properties of your PAINT/MEDIA (composition, viscosity, and cleaning solvent required)
- the properties of your SURFACE (texture, firmness, absorbency)
- the TECHNIQUE used and the desired final effect
The Brush
The two primary qualities to consider in artist paint brushes are:
1 The shape of the brush and
2 The type of hair the brush is made of.
There are many secondary qualities of brushes to consider also: like comfort while holding the brush, length of the handle, overall quality of the brushes construction and more but for now we will concentrate on the primary qualities.
Anatomy of a Brush
HAIR
Just as they were in the past, artists’ brushes are still crafted by hand. Brush-makers hand “cup” the hair to shape, so that each strand falls into place, giving the brush a fine tapered point or a clean, straight edge.
Hair is the most important and expensive part of the brush.
Most hair types vary in quality. For example, all bristle hair is not the same; there are many different grades. The better grades offer unique properties, which enable them to hold more color and retain their shapes. A better quality hair makes a far better brush, and a better quality tool makes painting easier and more enjoyable.
FERRULE
This is the metal band, which holds the hair to the handle.Metal ferrules are either copper, brass or aluminum. Brass, an alloy metal, is the strongest of the three. Though sometimes left plain or with a clear or gold coloured coating, copper and brass ferrules are usually nickel-plated for appearance and corrosion resistance. Most good brushes have nickel-plated, seamless ferrules, so they will not rust or split. The cheaper brushes will use a ferrule made of aluminum. which is much weaker but cheaper to produce.
Quality brushes will feature a seamless ferrule, regardless of the metal type. Ferrules with seams tend to pull apart and allow paint, solvents, and water to accumulate, thereby causing loosening or damage to the handle.
HANDLE
Different hard woods are used, depending on where the brushes are manufactured. Handles are proportioned to balance in your hand and to give you more control. Usually two to three layers of lacquer and varnish are used to protect the wood from swelling and to shield the finish from cracking.
Hair is positioned within the ferrule to give maximum snap or responsiveness without going limp. This often means that as much as twenty five percent of the hair falls inside the ferrule or is trimmed at the back end, to allow secure fastening of the handle. The hair is thoroughly glued to the ferrule. The glue “seals” the ferrule, preventing any seepage of water or medium into the brush. Gluing the hair to the ferrule also prevents shedding of the hair. In addition, the ferrule is crimped to secure its hold on the handle.
HANDLE LENGTH
Traditionally, manufacturers have provided artists with two lengths and tapers of brush handles. Short-handled brushes are the choice when holding the brush close to the tip just as you would manipulate a writing instrument. Watercolor, tole and decorative, and craft and hobby brushes all have short handles, as paint is generally applied while working on a table or on a slightly slanted table, such as a drawing board. Long-handled brushes are usually reserved for easel work, so the artist may distance himself from his work.
Generally the long handle, about 9” / 22-23cm in length, is for easel work/traditional oil and acrylic painting. A short handle, 5” to 6” / 13-16cm in length, is for watercolour and other painting done at a table.
SIZE
Using an appropriately sized brush head will save painting time and premature wear. Use of smaller size brushes, below size 4, are usually for detail work, medium sizes, 4 to 6, are for small areas, and large size brushes, above size 6, are for broad spaces.
NUMBERING AND SIZE OF BRUSHES
Numbering brushes provides order for brushes within a series. The order is determined by the size of the ferrule opening and in many cases, the number on the brush is in fact the size of the ferrule opening.
In the United States, the English or the metric system of sizing is commonly used, depending upon the type of brush. Natural bristle brushes are measured using the English system, which means a size 12 is equal to 1 inch. In turn, a size 6 is 1/2 inch, a size 18 is 11/2 inches, and so on. Long handle synthetic filament brushes designed to be used as an alternative to bristle brushes are also sized this way.
Natural soft hair and other synthetic brushes are measured using the metric system. One millimeter is equal to a size 1, 3 mm to size 3, etc. This standard is effective, except that it is difficult to measure and assign a value to any measurement less than 1 mm. So, when a brush is sized 10/0, 3/0 etc. it becomes quite hypothetical. Roughly translated, 3/0 means 3 units less than a millimeter and 10/0 is 10 units less than a millimeter.
You may also find that many flat brushes in the U.S. are simply labeled in inches and fractions, regardless of their hair type.
Although we have discussed two of the most logical and more common systems of sizing, it is important to note that there is no industry standard that manufacturers must follow. Sizing for various types of brushes is often rooted in tradition and the country of origin, or set for any number of reasons when a particular brush line is first created. The best standard of measurement a consumer can use is to compare similar lines from various manufacturers size for size.
Brush Types by Media or Technique
BRUSHES FOR ACRYLIC
Finding the right brush can make all the difference to your work. When choosing a brush to use with oil colour and heavier applications of acrylic colour, consider a brush with hair that is able to move thick, viscous colour, such as hog hair or a stiff synthetic equivalent. If using thinners to alter the colour properties for a more fluid consistency or for a greater focus on detail, brushes with softer hair can be used.
Synthetic hair brushes provide a smoother stroke than natural bristle, retain their stiffness, and when used with acrylics and other water based media, clean easily with soap and water. Most synthetic hair brushes are also more durable. When used with acrylics, natural bristle brushes tend to lose their stiffness, though natural hair brushes often carry more color. It is a matter of preference: synthetic or natural hair.
BRUSHES FOR OIL
Natural bristle brushes are not all alike. Yes, all hairs come from hogs or boars, but many factors affect the performance of the brush. The stiffest and the most desired bristles come from Chungking and Shanghai in China. The best bristle has long, soft split ends called “flags,” which increase the brush’s color-carrying capacity. Generally speaking, the more flags a brush has, the more color the brush holds. Control is further enhanced when the hairs curve inward and become interlocked. A good interlocked brush will maintain its original shape, help you to control the placement of color, and add textural qualities. Some artists who use acrylics prefer natural bristle, while some oil painters choose synthetic brushes. Again, it is your choice.
Natural hair is available in both stiff and soft varieties The quality of natural hair brushes is superb, especially Kolinsky sable brushes which continue to retain their spring over time. Sable is also used for blending and for fine detail in oil color. Unlike bristle, sable does not show brush strokes. Although natural bristle brushes can be used with acrylics, sable is not recommended.
Hog hair is the most commonly used hair for oil painting brushes. It is a stiff, strong and durable natural hair, stout enough to pick up oil or acrylic colour straight from the tube. The best quality hogs also wear down gradually, maintaining their shape but getting smaller, so the initial investment will pay dividends.
Stiff synthetic brushes made for oil and acrylic paintings also offer good flow control and a well-defined tip or edge for detail and blending work. An additional benefit is that they are resistant to damage from acrylic resin and won’t soften in water.
BRUSHES FOR WATERCOLOUR
When choosing a brush for use with water colour, gouache and fluid colour, consider three things:
1. A great point which can be held to create edges and fine detail.
2. A perfect ‘snap’ or spring enabling the brush to spring back into shape during use.
3. Even flow control so that the colour flows evenly and consistently from the point of the brush.
Selecting the right watercolour brush can be both challenging and confusing. Water colour brushes can be made from both natural hair and synthetic fibres. The highest quality natural hair brush comes from the Kolinsky sable from Siberia. Other types of natural hair include squirrel and goat. Both of these make good mop brushes because they are naturally soft and have good colour carrying capacity. Natural hair, synthetics and combinations of the two offer seemingly endless choices. For example, sable hair is often recommended for watercolor painting. However, there are many different grades of sable. Even within the finest grade of sable, Kolinsky, there are variations in hair quality. In synthetics, two brushes can have the same hair colour, but that may be where the similarities end. A good selection of water colour brushes is available made from superior synthetic filaments. They are affordable and the fibres have excellent colour carrying capacity and much improved spring, thanks to the possibility of combining different filament thicknesses in the same brush. Inexpensive synthetic brushes often use a single diameter filament while better quality brushes are a blend of filament sizes. Multi-diameter filaments hold more color and are designed to simulate natural hair. Synthetics are often more durable and usually less expensive. The best synthetics and synthetic sable blends are indistinguishable in performance from many natural hair brushes.
DECORATIVE BRUSHES
Decorative artists have very specific needs related to the limitless techniques and mediums they employ in their art making. For that reason, companies like Princeton Brushes offer decorative series which come in the broadest range of shapes and hair types. Their signature line, Select™, comes in 29 different shapes, includes 7 different types of hair filament and now features Petite brushes for fine detail painting.
Learn more about Select™ and other Princeton decorative series at inspiredbywillow.com
Brushes by Hair Type
Hair for artists brushes can be divided into three categories: Natural soft animal hair, Bristle, and Synthetic (manufactured hairs).
Natural Hair
Natural or animal hair is a by-product of the food and fur industries, no animals are destroyed for the purpose of brush making. It has superior paint-holding ability because of tiny, microscopic “scales” along the shaft of the hair. Price and performance of a natural hair brush is determined by the “grade” of animal it was taken from, and the availability of its hair. Shorter-length hair is more readily available, making the longer lengths more expensive. Natural hair may be used alone (pure) or blended with other hairs or synthetic filaments to achieve a combination of performance and price
Synthetics
Synthetics are man-made of either nylon or polyester filaments. They can be tapered, tipped, abraded or etched to increase color carrying ability. Often, synthetic filaments are dyed and baked to make them softer and more absorbent. The common name for this filament is “Taklon.” For painting on rougher surfaces, white synthetic bristle is also available. Although not a substitute for a good natural bristle brush for oil painting, synthetic bristle offers stiffness and some flagging of the tips. They are ideal for fabric applications, stenciling and unique effects on hard surfaces.
Natural and Synthetic Mixes
In the search for the best brush, natural and synthetic hairs are also being used in combination. The natural hair increases the softness and absorbency, while the synthetic hair maintains the spring and point of fine natural hair and keeps the price down. This combination of qualities makes this brush especially desirable for watercolours.
Red Sable
DESCRIPTION AND USAGE
Red Sable is obtained from any member of the weasel family with “red” hair, not at all from the animal known as the sable. It is found in a variety of brush styles for many varied mediums, with quality and characteristics varying greatly. A good quality pure Red Sable is a good alternative to the more expensive Kolinsky, with similar performance and durability. The finest soft brush hair is that obtained from the Kolinsky, an animal found in cold regions of Russia and China. Each Kolinsky hair has a fine point, and its overall structure ensures that the hairs cling closely together when wet. More specifically, the guard hairs from the tail of a male Kolinsky make the best brushes. These hairs, unsurpassed for spring and strength, are the standard by which all other soft hairs (synthetic or natural) are judged. Often, weasel hair is blended with ox hair to make a more economical brush, but the fine point is sacrificed.
Because of their strength, spring, and absorbency, high-quality red sable brushes are considered to be the best for watercolor, an art which requires that a brush hold liquid the longest and retain a fine point when wet.
Oil painters use red sable for producing smooth, flat, precise strokes, subtle blending, or if the artist is working with thinned oil paint.
MEDIA
Oil
Watercolor
Sabeline
DESCRIPTION AND USAGE
Sabeline (imitation sable) is actually select, light-coloured ox hair that has been bleached and then dyed to resembled red sable. Most sabeline brushes do not contain nay genuine sable hair. They are easy to spot from real sable because the dye is not consistent along the length of the hair. Lettering and watercolor brushes often use Sabeline mixed with Sable to lower the cost of a brush.
MEDIA
Lettering
Watercolour
Ox Hair
DESCRIPTION AND USAGE
Ox hair, generally taken from behind the ears, is silken and durable in strength, but lacks a fine tip. Light colored ox hair is often dyed red and used alone in the production of moderately priced watercolor and stroke brushes. It is most useful in medium gradewash brushes, or flat shaped brushes. Frequently, ox hair is blended with other natural hair to increase the resiliency of a brush. These brushes are often marketed under the name sabeline. A brush labelled red sable may also include ox hair mixed with weasel hair. Other hairs are sometimes given the illusion of being red sable when marketed under names such as “brown sable,” “black sable,” or simply “sable.”
MEDIA
Lettering
Watercolour
Pony
DESCRIPTION AND USAGE
Pony Hair is soft but strong, from mature animals at least 2 years of age. It is primarily used for scholastic grade brushes, but often blended with other hairs for inexpensive watercolor and touch-up brushes.
MEDIA
Acrylic
Scholastic
Tempera
Watercolour
Badger
Description and Usage
Badgers are native to many parts of the world. China is the main producer of badger hair, the bulk of which is used for making men’s shaving brushes.The best and most expensive varieties are white-tip badger or high-mountain badger, which come from the Pyrenees Mountains. For blending oil paint on canvas, Badger Hair is an age-old tradition. The quality varies greatly. Badger hair is thickest at the point, and relatively thin at the root, so it has a distinctive “bushy” appearance. Traditionally used for making blending brushes.
Media
Oil
Hog Bristle
Description and Usage
Hog Bristle is a stiff hair obtained from hogs in several parts of the world, the most sought after coming from China.Two characteristics of a quality bristle brush are flagged tips and interlocked construction. Natural bristle has a split tip called a flag. This flag helps the brush hold maximum paint and acts as an extra “paintbrush” during application. The lack of flags on a bristle brush indicates a brush which has been cut, not hand shaped.
The bristle desirable for a good artists brush has a natural curve. In a quality brush, this curve is turned inward for “interlocked construction,” which provides superior spring and shape retention.
Its resilience is ideal for oils and acrylic painting on canvas (heavy paint, slightly textured surface) and is a far less expensive alternative to good-quality softer hairs.
Media
Acrylic
Oil
Camel Hair
DESCRIPTION AND USAGE
An all encompassing term for a variety of animal hairs none of which are camel, used alone or in combinations to create brushes. Camel hair is found in watercolour and lettering brushes and usually is made of squirrel, goat, ox, pony or a blend of several hairs, depending on the desired softness and intended cost of the brush.
The least expensive camel hair brushes are made of pony hair cut from the back or mane. Mane hair, because of its long length, can yield many brushes when cut into short pieces, but this eliminates the natural tip on the hair necessary for good performance. Soft hair brushes categorized as “school grade” are quite often made from this long pony hair and utilize production methods where the brush maker can make multiple brush heads at one time.
Generally considered to be inferior to red sable brushes, camel hair brushes are desirable for specific applications. For example, camel hair mop brushes can be perfect for blending oils or doing watercolour washes; squirrel hair for lettering and china painting. These hairs can also be blended into synthetic brushes to soften the brush and increase its absorbency without a large increase in cost.
MEDIA
Lettering
Tempera
Watercolor
Weasel
DESCRIPTION AND USAGE
Weasel tail hair is commonly used to manufacture most medium and low-priced red sable brushes. The weasel is a small member of the family Mustelidae, and is native to North America, Europe and Asia, but only weasel tail hair from Asia is long and fine enough to be suitable for brush making. The hair can be distinguished by their reddish brown color were Kolinsky is golden brown. Weasel hair is also shorter than Kolinsky.
MEDIA
Oil
Watercolor
Mongoose Hair
DESCRIPTION AND USAGE
Kevrin/Mongoose Hair is strong, resilient, and makes a good long-wearing, medium to professional quality brush.It is ideal for the manufacture of brushes for oil and acrylic painting. It is not fine enough for watercolor brushes. Mongoose is native to a number of different countries but the tail hair from India has proven to be the best quality for artist brushes.
MEDIA
Acrylic
Oil
Goat
DESCRIPTION AND USAGE
It is used mainly for making cosmetic brushes and is not very good for brushes that are to be wet. Some very special types of of single-drawn goat hair is carefully dressed for the making of Oriental calligraphy brushes. In the West, black goat hair is used to make watercolor mops, and is often mixed with pony hair to make school-grade camel hair watercolor brushes.
MEDIA
Watercolour
Squirrel Hair
DESCRIPTION AND USAGE
Squirrel hair is often simply categorized among camel hair brushes but also merits individual mention because it is used in so many styles of good quality brushes for a variety of tasks. These include lettering quills and stroke brushes for sign painting, large round watercolor wash brushes, and china painting bushes. Gray Squirrel (Talayoutky), most highly in demand for lettering brushes and quills, is native to Russia and nearly always fell in short supply. Brown squirrel (Kazan) is more readily available, and is used mainly for medium quality and scholastic watercolor brushes. A very fine, thin hair, taken from squirrel tails, it points as well as Kolinsky, but has very little “snap” because the hair is not very resilient, so are best used in lighter mediums. It works best with liquid paints and inks.
MEDIA
Lettering
Watercolor
Synthetic Hair
DESCRIPTION AND USAGE
Synthetics are man-made of either nylon or polyester filaments. They can be tapered, tipped, flagged, abraded or etched to increase colour carrying ability. Often, synthetic filaments are dyed and baked to make them softer and more absorbent. The common name for this filament is “Taklon”.
Advantages of synthetic brushes are:
1) They are less prone to damage from solvents, insects or paints.
2) They are easier to keep clean than animal hair brushes because the filaments don’t have animal scale structures to trap paint.
3) They are less prone to breakage and are durable on many different surfaces.
4) They are better suited for painting with acrylics because a synthetic filament will withstand the caustic nature of acrylic paints with less damage.
MEDIA
All
Brushes by Shape
The material that the paint brush hairs are made of, how they are bunched together, their length and shape all affect the characteristics of the brush.
Here is a list of the duties of some of the most popular brush shapes:
Angle Shader
Description and Usage
Flat ferrule, short-length hairs, set with longer hairs at one end. A versatile brush used to paint both sharply defined edges and contrasting softly shaded areas like foliage. Useful for tight shading, precise strokes, and for lines and curves, with thick or heavy colour.
They are used in decorative painting such as flowers and other details requiring curved and blended strokes of varying widths. Popular rose petal brush.
Media
watercolor
acrylic
decorative
Fibre
bristle
synthetic
Bright
Description and Usage
Flat ferrule, short-length hairs, usually set in a long handle. Width and length of brush head is about equal. Flat brushes are used for covering large areas, flat strokes as well as blending. Bright brushes are useful for short, controlled strokes, and with thick or heavy color. Provides better control than flats for details; produces short, crisp paint strokes.
Media
oil
acrylic
decorative
Fibre
sable
mongoose
bristle
badger
synthetic
Fan
Description and Usage
Flat ferrule, spread hairs. Natural hair is more suitable for soft blending, and synthetic works well for textural effects.
Useful for smoothing and blending the edges of other strokes, special effects and textures. Fan brushes are generally used for blending and feathering colours but are also used dry brushing for painting trees, branches, grasses and that sort of detail. It is popular for painting hair for it’s ability to paint multiple flowing strands of hair in a single stroke.
Media
oil
acrylic
decorative
Fibre
bristle
badger
synthetic
Filbert
Description and Usage
The Filbert paint brush, sometimes referred to as a Cat’s Tongue, has a round outer edge. Thick, flat ferrule and oval-shaped medium to long hairs. Long handles. Natural hair is more suitable for blending because the hairs hold together when wet. Filbert brushes are sometimes considered a more advanced artist paint brush because it can take the place of Flats or Rounds depending on how the brush is held. You can blend broad strokes into fine strokes by turning the brush as you paint. This of course takes more control but has the advantage of not having to switch brushes as often.
With its soft rounded edges, the filbert is suitable for blending and figurative work.For edges and tight areas. Gives a rounded look to a flat stroke. A natural flower petal shape.
Media
oil
acrylic
decorative
Fibre
sable
mongoose
bristle
badger
synthetic
Flat
Description and Usage
Flat ferrule, square-ended, with medium to long hairs. Provides lots of color capacity and easy maneuverability. Brush length usually twice as long as width.
Use for bold, sweeping strokes, or on edge for fine lines. Use for backgrounds and details. Use for covering large areas and blending Use heavier filling for heavier paint. Blocking in color, shading, blending, highlighting, and stroke work.
Media
all
media
Fibre
sable
mongoose
bristle
badger
synthetic
Flat Shader
Description and Usage
Media
Fiber
Grainer
Description and Usage
Media
Fiber
Hake
Description and Usage
Media
watercolour
Fibre
squirrel
goat
ox
bristle
synthetic
Highliner
Description and Usage
Media
ink
sign paint
Fibre
sable
squirrel
synthetic
Mop
Description and Usage
Media
watercolour
Fibre
squirrel
Mottler and Spalter
Description and Usage
Media
watercolor
acrylic
oil
decorative
Fibre
bristle
squirrel
pony
badger
synthetic
One Stroke
Description and Usage
Media
oil
ink
decorative
sign paint
Fibre
sable
squirrel
ox
synthetic
Oval Wash
Description and Usage
Media
watercolour
Fibre
squirrel
ox
bristle
synthetic
Quill
Description and Usage
Media
ink
sign paint
Fibre
sable
squirrel
Round
Description and Usage
Media
all media
Fibre
all hair
synthetic
Sash
Description and Usage
Media
oil
acrylic
decorative
Fibre
bristle
Script/Liner
Description and Usage
Media
watercolor
decorative
ink
sign paint
Fibre
sable
ox
synthetic
Wash/Glaze
Description and Usage
Media
watercolour
Fibre
squirrel
ox
bristle
synthetic
