Watercolor Brushes for Beginners

This video looks at the more common watercolour brushes that beginners can work with when starting out. Getting the most appropriate brush is better than getting the best brush.

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[HgoArt]

That Escoda Ultimo is synthetic not natural squirrel hair. One of my favourites though. ;)

[PositivelyNice]

Thank you for the advice and super scientific method of testing.

I just got my first set of sable brushes after 6 months of playing with Watercolour. I enjoy them so much. I paint flowers and patterns quite a lot so the sable is a true life-saver; makes my life so easy now. Absolutely worth the price. If I knew sable will make painting flowers so much easier, I would have bought them straightaway instead of spending a small fortune on so many synthetic and water brushes.

The "holding-water feature" also makes a LOT of difference to me. I enjoy painting so much more with a brush that holds water well.

[DavidLorellHoskins]

Thanks Teoh. I spent all my art budget on one #6 round Escoda Kolinsky-Tajmyr and six tubes of Daniel Smith. I'll master these before investing more. _Thanks_ _for_ _your_ _guidance._

[Skinnychelle]

As a beginner I love the Princeton Heritage 4050 Line. Affordable, easy to find, just enough snap, super comfy handles that are just the right size & length (prefer shorter handled brushes), no shedding at all, just the right point for me, holds their shape very well, synthetic and attractive.

[fruit]

I also would recommend Kolibri brushes. They have synthetic and natural hair ones and are very affordable for a "not-professional-artists" like me. Made in Germany, of course.

[NerudaNut]

Thank you for such a helpful video, Teoh Yi Chie. I scanned comments and don't think this has been said, so just want folks to be aware that the hair in animal hair brushes is often obtained through some pretty awful means. Some manufacturers are trying to find kinder alternatives these days. (I know this won't matter to everyone.)

[PositivelyNice]

It is so interesting how you almost push for collapsible brushes for travel like how I insist on a collapsible brush for applying lipstick. I just like how similar working with art brushes and working with makeup brushes can be. There is a sense of familiarity. (Not sure if this makes sense to you. Haha. 😅)

[krisse]

It would be very interesting to see brushes for advanced watercolor painters and not the most expencive ones if there are any? Thank you so much for your videos! :)

[yasuewho]

Thank you so much for this! I really appreciate the time you take to show differences like this. I'm just getting into watercolor and picking out brushes has been the hardest part. I know I need quality, but it's hard to know what the means by reading reviews.

[snailer]

I just ordered a size 18 Da Vinci Cosmotop Mix B brush because i fell in love with how it looked in another water color brushes video you did. I'm really excited to get my first little bunch of mixed hair brushes and see how they compare to my synthetic hair ones. Thank you for all these videos!

[Arovarel]

Love your reviews, you always answer all my questions, even the things I didn't think of. I will probably try a sable brush, I need a better option for my big washes.
Thank you for your amazing work Teoh!

[serberusu]

i was just thinking of getting into watercolor, thank you for this!

[danemeow]

This was amazingly helpful and insightful even for someone who is not super new to watercolor thank you so much!

[delo]

The information you provide in your videos is so helpful for a beginner. Thank you.

[Pottymoon]

Not just about price, there are also ethical reasons for using synthetic

[akumi]

The lustre of the brush handles is so therapeutic to me

[ciannacoleman]

If you are a complete beginner and don’t know if you will want to continue (or if you want to invest in paper first) I suggest Simply Simon (synthetic) and go for a 6-10 round and a flat. I used these for close to 10yrs, they work just fine and I only had to replace one they are under $5ea or you can get them in a pack which is even better. I also used Grumbacher Academy paint and invested in Arches paper. Paper is really the make it or break it for watercolor, I have some inexpensive paper I use and have to fight with it to do what I want, good cotton paper gives you the freedom to do what you want and truly learn the medium. I have only just upgraded to good quality brushes (Silver Velvets) and am planning on getting Da Vinci paints as I use up my student ones but again that is after 10yrs with “student grade” paint since I wasn’t selling my original paintings.

[SwatiBasanwal]

Hi Teoh, please make an updated video on this, Love your work :)

[jewelldean]

Your explanation of the different brushes came right on time thank you and I appreciate the difference between the difference of the brushes and it’s always interesting when the artist tell us what brush they are using I’m not necessarily the name of the brush but the hairs of the brush it would be nice to know that thank you so much it was

[rainsantillan]

Hey Teoh! I would really love if you could do best mixed media/watercolour sketch book that wont break the bank. I've just finished mine and it would be the best if you could help me find a new one!