

Some painters will get 2 years or more out of their Winsor & Newton brushes, a more expensive brush. While you do have to replace miniature paint brushes eventually, a high quality brush you spent a little money on will be the best economical choice you make. Some painters feel that buying a pack of brushes for a few dollars is the smart play because you have to replace brushes eventually anyway. It very much matters no matter if someone tells you otherwise. I do also want to say that brush quality matters. I’ll break down the miniature paint brushes into quality/cost, so you can jump to the section that suits you.

Recommendations for Miniature Paint Brushes That’s a lesson I learned the hard way, often to the detriment of my brushes. The point is to use what you need instead of trying to make a brush do something it wasn’t intended for. Plus, you’ll get really good at brush control.Įven still, you’ll need to bust out a size 1 or size 0 from time to time. If you get good with a size 2 then you’ll paint quicker as you won’t need to constantly rotate brushes for different jobs. A good size 2 brush can do most everything with some practice. I personally recommend learning with a size 2 brush. Fine point or not, a size 4 is just too big to work on that small of a scale. You will be at it for hours if you try.Īlso, don’t use a size 4 brush to paint eyes. You don’t want to base coat a model with a size 0 brush. Make sure you’re using appropriately sized miniature paint brushes for the task at hand. The Right Miniature Paint Brush for the Right Job Getting yourself a size 2, size 1, and size 0 should cover everything you need for typical miniature painting. Having some isn’t a bad idea, but they are very situational and not top priority sizes to have. Some painters do like having brushes that small. Now, you can go even smaller by getting size 00, size 000, etc. You would use a size 0 for things like eyes, pupils, teeth, and other very fine detail work. The size 0 is the smallest brush I use and recommend. A size 1 is a good mid-range miniature paint brush that’s good for fine highlighting, edge highlighting, and also detail work.

I wouldn’t recommend anything larger than a size 2 for miniatures unless you’re painting a lot of larger vehicles or something.įrom there it only gets smaller. You can use this size for layering and detail work, at least if you have a pointed round. If you have a good brush, then you’ll find a size 2 is a good all-around brush size.

So, you’ll need to know about normal sizing for buying brushes otherwise.Īlso, the sizes listed are for pointed round brushes or round brushes, what I recommend for a shape for miniature painting. While the Citadel style of labeling miniature paint brushes is convenient, it’s only common to them. Some companies, like Citadel (Games Workshop), don’t list their brushes by traditional sizes but by general size and type of brush, like Medium Layer Brush. Traditional paint brushes come in numeric sizes, like size 2, size 1, size 0, etc. The Kolinsky Sable brushes are some of the most expensive brushes you’ll find in miniature painting and are highly regarded. This makes a great brush in miniature painting because of it’s bristle strength, flexibility, and ability to hold a fine point. This cute little weasel makes some amazing paint brushes.
