Need help buying a new brush

[Tabris_]

Hello people, like people who read my topics know for al ong time i need to buy new brushes, i finally have the money to buy a decent one but i'm not sure which one to buy. I don't have money to buy those expensive Raphael brushes and will have to do with cheaper alternatives. Those are some links for brushes on a price range more affordable for me, would like you opinion on what's the best choice:

http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=pro&pre=cda_hob_ptg_pbr_104_000
http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=pro&pre=cmd_hob_brs_ksb_107_000
http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=pro&pre=tap_hob_brs_wgm_201_000
http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=pro&pre=gwk_cit_ptg_brs_211_000

Another question of importance. I really want to take care of those brushes as to avoid losing quickly such an investment. I usually clean them with dish washing liquid. Is it worth investing in Brush Cleaner and Restorers like those:
http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=pro&pre=val_hob_ptg_bra_101_000
http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=pro&pre=val_hob_ptg_bra_102_000

 

[noneedforaname]

get everything you will ever need brush wise from http://www.rosemaryandco.com/ great brushes, great prices for kolinsky sable and great customer service. Brush soap does make a difference to extending a brushes life depending on how rough you are with them. Like I said don't buy from maelstrom buy from these lovely people.

 

[Tabris_]

get everything you will ever need brush wise from [URL]http://www.rosemaryandco.com/[/url] great brushes, great prices for kolinsky sable and great customer service. Brush soap does make a difference to extending a brushes life depending on how rough you are with them. Like I said don't buy from maelstrom buy from these lovely people.

I know sometimes it's a shot at the dark but they ship free internationally so it pays of monetarily speaking, this is why most people here in Brazil buy from Maelstrom even tought there are better web stores out there. I would not recommend it for European or North American residents.

 

[skeeve]

Personally, I was not fascinated by Rosemary brushes, way too soft to my taste, but I am sure it is very individual.
Now, just recently I came accross this review of "high-end" brushes. Take a look you might find it interesting

http://gh-mongo.deviantart.com/journal/10912701/

Keep in mind that while there are objectively mediocre brushes, often things boil down to personal preference. For example, my main brush are Winsor & Newton. At some point I tried Da Vinci and I didn't like them. I know people on this site who a swear by them. So there, take any recommendations with a grain of salt.

 

[Tabris_]

Personally, I was not fascinated by Rosemary brushes, way too soft to my taste, but I am sure it is very individual.
Now, just recently I came accross this review of "high-end" brushes. Take a look you might find it interesting

[URL]http://gh-mongo.deviantart.com/journal/10912701/[/url]

Keep in mind that while there are objectively mediocre brushes, often things boil down to personal preference. For example, my main brush are Winsor & Newton. At some point I tried Da Vinci and I didn't like them. I know people on this site who a swear by them. So there, take any recommendations with a grain of salt.

Those are out of the price range i set for myself, but i'll read it all anyway. Thanks!

 

[Tabris_]

Hello people. I'm back and received some money i didn't expect. You know what that means? RAPHAEL BRUSHES! Now i would like some suggestions of where to buy some of those. What you guys suggest?

 

[Delmont]

Not sure what their shipping to Brazil is like, but this is where I got mine and I love them!

http://www.dickblick.com/products/raphael-kolinsky-red-sable-fine-pointed-round-series-8404/

 

[mickc22]

the Kappel Brushes are nice and designed for mini painting

if you do get any from Rosemary & Co the Series 33 & 22 are good I also have a Squirrel brush I like to use for washes and glazes and a Mongoose for it's soft tip

 

[Einion]

Dick Blick is definitely one of the places to consider if ordering something like this online. It's worth comparing prices across the major vendors when you're ready to order (for the occasional special offer) but generally Blick will be cheapest, has good shipping and returns policies and won't gouge on postage.

See this thread for a bit of info and a link to their own-brand Kolinsky brushes, which are very good.

Einion

 

[Crayfish]

I suggest scout around art supply stores, they usually stock pretty cheap (from my experience atleast, cant say for brazil though) kolinsky and a + is that you can actually see the brush in person and feel it, which for me is why I almost never buy brushes online.

 

[Tabris_]

I suggest scout around art supply stores, they usually stock pretty cheap (from my experience atleast, cant say for brazil though) kolinsky and a + is that you can actually see the brush in person and feel it, which for me is why I almost never buy brushes online.

I've given up finding them here in Brazil. From what i've saw even if i can find them at or eBay equivalent or another site it's just cheaper to buy from USA or UK, even with shipping!

 

[Einion]

Buying natural-hair brushes in person is ideal as they tend to vary more than synthetics and you don't want to pay for one that's not that great.

But as to price... these days few bricks-and-mortar places can compete with the major online vendors, even in a sale, because they're taking off maybe 25% (if we're lucky!) from the full retail price, while the everyday price online can already be 30-50% off!!

In terms of cheap brushes from shops, within reason you do get what you pay for and I've probably never bought a cheap Kolinsky round retail that I'd consider a really good brush; decent yeah, but hardly the great spring + needle point that you want from a premium detail brush. For everything other than that it's best to go with synthetics IME - they can be extremely cheap while still being reasonable quality and they last and last (and hooked tips have their uses too ).

Einion

 

[Tabris_]

Buying natural-hair brushes in person is ideal as they tend to vary more than synthetics and you don't want to pay for one that's not that great.

But as to price... these days few bricks-and-mortar places can compete with the major online vendors, even in a sale, because they're taking off maybe 25% (if we're lucky!) from the full retail price, while the everyday price online can already be 30-50% off!!

In terms of cheap brushes from shops, within reason you do get what you pay for and I've probably never bought a cheap Kolinsky round retail that I'd consider a really good brush; decent yeah, but hardly the great spring + needle point that you want from a premium detail brush. For everything other than that it's best to go with synthetics IME - they can be extremely cheap while still being reasonable quality and they last and last (and hooked tips have their uses too ).

Einion

Sadly i don't know where to buy Raphael brushes where i live, maybe it's not even available. I only know two hobby stores in Rio, i phoned both and both don't sell kolinsky brushes, i couldn't find any art stores here in Rio that sell them. I did find that the manufacturer that makes the brushes i currently use makes Kolinsky brushes but i didn't find them for sale anywhere i know, only the lesser quality ones from the same manufacturer. Actually the only place i find them for sale is a store in São Paulo where i once bought foamcore, there's no way i can get there to take a look at them and if i buy those online it has the same risk of buying in the USA, just doubled because i can't say Tigre kolinsky brushes are good quality. Same goes for imported brushes (mostly Vallejo) i find being sold at or ebay equivalent (MercadoLivre). The difference on price is enormous, it's much cheaper buying from USA..

I think it's better to go and buy a Raphael, Da Vinci or other brush from a more notorious manufacturer in a USA webstore, trusting in the store and my luck to receive a good one than to just go and buy one nationally from a manufacturer i can't trust on (Tigre) or a Vallejo that costs much more. So i'll stick to buying form Brick's Art Store or a similar site.

But there's another question. What size(s) i should buy? can i work with only a 0 or 1? Should i buy a smaller one for detail? a larger for basecoats?

And a totally unrelated question. While i was searching from brushes i found this: http://www.hobbylandia.com.br/product_info.php?cPath=354_355&products_id=2890
Is buying one of those for applying primer and varnish worth? It's really cheap (R$10 is equivalent to about U$6).

 

[Crayfish]

Depends, size sometimes varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. And sometimes it varies from brush to brush. But what I usually use is a 00 and a 2, although having a good variation of brush sizes isnt bad, but if you are having money problems, those are the ones i use anyways. I used to use a 000 but the 00 works well for me anyways. Thats the ones I most frequently use, but I also have 5/0 and up to a 5. Although the 5 is for watercolours and really expensive, so I wouldnt want to use it for painting miniatures/inking which usually tends to be more rough then watercolours.

 

[Noddwyr]

Not to hijack the thread, but I didnt want to start a new one. I am thinking about Rosemary brushes and was debating between the 2/0 rigger or the half-rigger. Which would be better for drawing lines on minis?

 

[Meph]

A good tip to increase the life of your brushes for free. use two water cups when painting. use the first one to rinse off the paint and use the second one to rinse the brush again to get rid of the pigmented water from the first cup. this will keep your brush a lot cleaner during the painting process. i have brushes that are well over 10 years old that are still in pristine condition without any further treatment, just decent and frequent rinsing during and after the painting.

 

[Einion]

Tabris, sorry if it wasn't clear, I wasn't trying to plug the idea of buying locally, it's ideal (IF one has the opportunity) to pick the best brushes from what's on offer but not everyone does have the choice and as for price, there's often no comparison.

I only know two hobby stores in Rio, i phoned both and both don't sell kolinsky brushes, i couldn't find any art stores here in Rio that sell them.

I am surprised at that - there must be artists who use them (or would want to)!

...it's much cheaper buying from USA..

Better variety available to try too.

I think it's better to go and buy a Raphael, Da Vinci or other brush from a more notorious manufacturer in a USA webstore, trusting in the store and my luck to receive a good one than to just go and buy one nationally from a manufacturer i can't trust on (Tigre) or a Vallejo that costs much more. So i'll stick to buying form Brick's Art Store or a similar site.

:good:

But there's another question. What size(s) i should buy? can i work with only a 0 or 1? Should i buy a smaller one for detail? a larger for basecoats?

Size of brush is a very personal thing. You can in theory paint an entire mini (to competition standard) using just one brush; for some that'll be a 000 and for others a 0, and you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart sometimes.

I would generally recommend larger brushes over tiny brushes for most of your painting - since you're paying for a good, sharp tip you might as well take advantage of it My mantra is: use the largest brush you can for any job.

Depending on brush style and the size of the head I think a 1 or 0 Kolinsky round for most of the work (so have two or three) and a 000 for the finest detail if you think it's necessary. I highly recommend a synthetic 2 or 3 for larger work and basecoating, plus a couple of smaller synthetics to do some of the grunt work is a good idea too.

And a totally unrelated question. While i was searching from brushes i found this: http://www.hobbylandia.com.br/product_info.php?cPath=354_355&products_id=2890
Is buying one of those for applying primer and varnish worth? It's really cheap (R$10 is equivalent to about U$6).

I can't see the need, finger fatigue isn't much of a problem unless you're spraying loads of stuff.

Not to hijack the thread, but I didnt want to start a new one.

You should start your own thread for a question that's different enough to be considered separately, plus it's more likely to be seen by people who are familiar with the Rosemary & Co. brushes.

Unfortunately there's no one answer to your question since different styles of painter will prefer longer or shorter bristles for doing the same job - depends a bit on the preferred paint consistency (very thin or just thin enough), paint type (some have better flow than others), the scale of the detail, whether they try to use long strokes or blend together short, choppy strokes.

Their brushes are a little softer than the norm for Kolinsky, so I'd suggest going with the shorter one for easier control.

Einion

 

[Tabris_]

Tabris, sorry if it wasn't clear, I wasn't trying to plug the idea of buying locally, it's ideal (IF one has the opportunity) to pick the best brushes from what's on offer but not everyone does have the choice and as for price, there's often no comparison.


I am surprised at that - there must be artists who use them (or would want to)!


Better variety available to try too.


:good:


Size of brush is a very personal thing. You can in theory paint an entire mini (to competition standard) using just one brush; for some that'll be a 000 and for others a 0, and you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart sometimes.

I would generally recommend larger brushes over tiny brushes for most of your painting - since you're paying for a good, sharp tip you might as well take advantage of it My mantra is: use the largest brush you can for any job.

Depending on brush style and the size of the head I think a 1 or 0 Kolinsky round for most of the work (so have two or three) and a 000 for the finest detail if you think it's necessary. I highly recommend a synthetic 2 or 3 for larger work and basecoating, plus a couple of smaller synthetics to do some of the grunt work is a good idea too.


I can't see the need, finger fatigue isn't much of a problem unless you're spraying loads of stuff.



You should start your own thread for a question that's different enough to be considered separately, plus it's more likely to be seen by people who are familiar with the Rosemary & Co. brushes.

Unfortunately there's no one answer to your question since different styles of painter will prefer longer or shorter bristles for doing the same job - depends a bit on the preferred paint consistency (very thin or just thin enough), paint type (some have better flow than others), the scale of the detail, whether they try to use long strokes or blend together short, choppy strokes.

Their brushes are a little softer than the norm for Kolinsky, so I'd suggest going with the shorter one for easier control.

Einion

I think your advise was a very wise one. Given the option buying localy, where you can really take a look at the brush and get the best one is the best option. I was just explaining it was a option i didn't have.

About the size, i've being using size 0 Condor brushes (They only sell even sizes, at least in all stores i went) as my standard brushes and i think that it's better to stick to the size i used the most. I will them buy a 0 Raphael Kolinsky Brush. For fine detail e always used a 000 Condor or Tigre brush, but sometimes i feel it's not enough. Maybe i'm crazy or not precise enough, but i decided to go for a 5/0 Raphael Kolinsky Brush that i think is one step smaller than the ones i use normally. Those are the only two brushes i'm going to buy.

For basecoating and painting bases i'll still use the local brushes i always used. Those perform very well and i don't see a reason to spend money in new ones.

About the spray gun it was not the finger fatigue that attracted me but the promise of better control, but well... i may be a bit too obsessive in trying to get the perfect undercoat.

 

[Tabris_]

Sorry for double posting but i have another question. I'll buy the brushes at blick's but now i'm thinking about another place to buy paints, static grass and other materials for minis. Somebody knows a good american hobby store? I was going to buy at Miniature Market but while i use Vallejo paints i wanted to buy some GW Washes and they don't ship GW stuff to Brazil.

 

[supervike]

Hi Tabris.

I heartily recomment www.thewarstore.com

They are very quick, customer service oriented, and have some fo the best pricing on the web.

Again, though, I'm not too sure about shipping to Brazil, but an email to them would sort that all out.