Are Expensive Brushes Worth It for Warhammer?

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Testing Synthetic and Kolinski Sable brushes:

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I am painting miniatures for warhammer 40k, age of sigmar, marvel crisis protocol, D&D and much more! Whether it is superhero miniatures, heroic characters or space marines, I will paint them! If you are looking for some sweet miniature painting tutorials or warhammer hobby content in general, this is the right channel for you!

Chapters:
0:00 Do you need expensive brushes?
0:33 Testing the Premium brush
2:35 Testing the Mid-range brush
3:34 Why you don't need very small brushes
4:25 Testing Mid-range brush
5:22 Testing the Cheap synthetic brush
6:58 Unexpected Synthetic brush performance
7:28 Testing the Cheap synthetic brush
8:41 So do you need expensive brushes?
10:09 So...Synthetic brushes?
11:02 Which brands to (not) get

[Haunting_Hyena]

3:05 You saying "All about holding the tip" while wearing a shirt that says "I love edging" is great

[koz]

The killer for me with synthetic brushes is the hooking. It feels like some of them can't maintain a straight tip for more than a few brushstrokes.

[anhyates]

I use both the cheapest and premium. Cheap synthetic for base coating and rough handling, then my nice ones for sharp detail finishes. That way my nice ones live longer. Also giving both types a good wash with brush soap really helps.

Use the right tool for the right job.

[RequiemWraith]

So to conclude, we all just need to get as good as you and then we can paint really well with whatever brush we grab. Easy!! 😅

[schlitzie]

great video. I've found that the cheap brushes do just fine for most applications, and for tabletop quality, will do the job well enough. Keep the synthetic cheapos as your workhorse brushes and save the nice expensive natural brushes for more detailed and delicate work

[AndrevwZA]

Artis Opus are made by Rosemary & Co. Obviously to their specs but I'm sure you can get something similar from their stock range for much cheaper.

[TheSilentW]

Unsurprisingly, an excellent and helpful comparison video about brushes made of hair comes from a chap with such an impressive beard. You obviously know, what you are talking about. ;-) Thank you very much!

[craigknights]

"But if you live in a country without universal healthcare..." 😂😂😂 I slammed the like button as soon as you made that joke 🤣

[jackobatgaming]

It's useful to say, if you do go the natural bristle route, do not get paint deep into the brushes belly and let it dry in there. That will 100% have the brush start splitting as the dried paint is literally keeping the bristles from returning to shape. Rinse your brushes often and try to keep them relatively clean even during a longer paint session, to preserve their quality and extend their lifespan. Also, at the end of your painting session take the time to more thoroughly wash your brushes. Use soap and water, clean them and repeat if there is any color left on the paper towel as you pat them dry. Only when there is no trace of color left are you done washing your brushes. Take care of your brushes like this and your natural hair brushes can last a really long time, making them WELL worth the added cost compared to cheap brushes.

[scottboyer]

I settled on some decent Rosemary and Co Red Dot Synthetics along with some Princetons. Very good brushes without paying absurd amounts.

[jorgemontero]

A non-trivial part of the problem of the Da Vinci series 35 is availability: Here in the US, they aren't in many places, and when they come in, they can go for $25 buckaroos instead of the 10 Euros I pay in my trips to Spain: More expensive than getting a Winsor & Newton series 7! But it's not brushes that limit us: See how the newest vallejo Xpress color series 2 is still not available to US distributors.

So yes, it's not just that we need to go to Spain for Universal Healthcare, or extremely high quality Spanish Water, but all kinds of painting supplies at a sensible price

[myrandomstuff]

Literally just bought three Rosemary & Co brushes for highlighting and details because my cheapish brushes frayed and dumped paint most unceremoniously. I’ve done the chest eagle and highlighting of one Raptor Space Marine today and the results are leagues ahead of what I’m used to.
In my amateur opinion, most sets for £20 or 30 freedom dollars will do fine for most things but a good tip for one or two brushes is worth the expense, just be sure to WICK IT OFF!

[Valandar]

I have been saying for YEARS that the best brush is like the best paint - it's the best FOR YOU. For me, I prefer the stiff throw of a synthetic brush over the softer natural brushes.

[noahjwhite]

I like Hobby Lobby brushes for synthetic. They cost $2 on sale. I do REALLY like my Windsor and Newton size zero. I only use it for highlights and small details (so like 2 hours a week)... But Ive had it for a year and it's like new.

[GoufinAround_]

The cheapest brushes that I use are a synthetic from Michael's craft stores. The princeton velvet touch brushes. They're like 8-12 dollars for sizes that are usable on minis. I use those and the artis opus series s. I prefer those princeton velvet touch ones for base coats and I use similarly cheap ones like that for metallics. Artis opus is for details

[guybeckett]

Something to help stray hair and splitting for me has been dip in boiling water then message conditioner into the hair and leave till you next use it or even hair wax that you normally use to style with works well then just rinse off before use again

[grapetonenatches]

I have brand name brushes from the game companies and gallery art companies, sable brushes, other natural hair brushes and a horde of cheap brushes. The ones I always use and love can be bought at Hobby Lobby for $2 on sale and they are taklon.

[sonicwingnut]

I definitely use cheap synthetics or even makeup brushes for drybrushing and stippling, but I found Rosemary and Co. Kolinsky series 33 sable brushes are pretty cheap but really nice quality. I'm not a great painter or anything but I just find the kolinsky ones are so much less frustrating to paint with, so I'd recommend them even to beginners because you spend so much less time fighting your brush.

[vargaresa]

I use Faber Castell Soft Touch brushes. 3€ per set in my nearest supermarket(Germany).
They got a really consistent quality for that price, even though they're made for Kids and last about two weeks, depending on how much I paint.

[vintageswiss]

For the Freedom painters out here...

Monument Natural Sable brushes are excellent options. ~$14/brush...

And if you don't want to pay for imported mink/sable... squirrel is an awesome alternative.

Yes... squirrel...