Now that we have discussed what you can do to make sure you're in the best condition for painting, we will talk about having the right materials to attain the best results. As I mentioned before, I started out with lousy brushes and enamel paints, and I'm sure it showed in the results. Fortunately, no evidence remains of my early work. When I started using better paints and equipment, my work improved.
SIMPLY PUT: YOU'LL NEVER DO YOUR BEST BY USING SECOND-BEST.
As with everything in my blog, this is my own personal opinion, but it's backed up with more than 30 years of experience, including paid commission work and awards in the United States and Canada (including "Best of Show" at UB-Con '93).
So, what do we need to get the best results in our work?
Use the best brushes:
There are a lot of brushes out there to choose from. Some are ideal for what we are doing, and some simply aren't meant for this kind of work. Let's talk for a moment not only about the brushes themselves, but of how they work and some common misconceptions.
When people see some of my most detailed work, the most common thing I hear is "You must have used a really tiny brush to do that." False. You don't want a little brush with only a few small bristles, and I'll tell you why.
For paint to flow properly, the brush (and the paint) need to stay moist.
Those little tiny brushes dry out far too quickly to properly apply paint. The paint should flow off the tip or edge of the brush, rather than using the brush to "scrub" or "push" paint onto the model. With a tiny brush, odds are that the paint will dry between loading the brush on the palette and reaching the model.
It's more important to have a brush that keeps a good point, but has a "belly" that will hold paint and keep it moist. The "belly" is the section of the brush between the tip and the ferrule (the metal ring that holds the bristles onto the handle). We'll talk more about the ferrule and the proper way to load a brush later, but for know it's important to know that paint needs to stay moist in the brush so that it can properly flow from the tip onto the surface to be painted.
For most of what I do, I use a "standard" brush of Size 0. For fine work, I use a 00 and for really fine details, a 5/0 brush will do just fine. Anything smaller usually doesn't have a big enough belly. You might want a somewhat larger brush for painting basecoats - a Size 2 brush will suffice. You may want a couple more of the large brushes for priming and washes, as these can be harder on the brush and will affect their ability to give you a smooth, even coating of paint.
So, now that you know what sizes you'll generally need, what are the best types and brands to use? Personally, for general painting, I won't use anything that is not Kolinsky sable. Synthetic brushes are never as supple, the bristles are too stiff and lack the flexibility and elasticity of natural bristles. And for natural bristles, lower-quality brushes will not keep a point as well or as long as the finest sable brushes. There are some purposes for which you will want to spare your Kolinskys and instead use a quality synthetic brush: Priming, washes/glazes, metallics, and topcoating are the stand-out examples of tasks and products that will tear up a fine Kolinsky brush. Each contains substances that damage the natural bristles and affect the ability to keep a point. So get a few synthetics - a large one (##2 or #3) for priming; a couple of medium (#1) brushes, one for shading with ink washes or applying glazes and another for applying brush-on varnish or clearcoat; and a #0 or #00 for applying metallic paints. The Privateer Press "Hobby" brushes are generally decent for these purposes, but you may be able to find quality synthetic brushes at your local art supply store (like Michael's). Treat them with the same kind of care you give your other brushes and they will still be worth the investment.
And, of course, the number one culprit for ruining a brush: Drybrushing. You may have noticed that I don't talk much about this technique; that is because I don't use it too often. I prefer blended highlights and edge/spot highlighting, which give a more professional appearance. Most often, any drybrushing I do is on metallics or terrain - both are things which already ruin a good brush. You don't need to buy a special drybrush unless you use this technique often and prefer a given diameter and/or shape. Some people take brushes that are no longer good for fine work and downgrade them to a drybrush. If you do this, you may want to trim off the tip - you won't typically need it for this technique. But that's all I'll say on that topice. Moving along...
Later, I'll go into more detail about brush care and maintenance, but for now, let me dispel a common misconception:
"I go through brushes so fast, so I'd rather buy five $2 brushes than waste $10 on one brush"
When I hear people say this, my first response is "I guarantee that philosophy shows in your work". The next thing I think is "Why are you going through brushes that quickly?" If properly cared for, a $10 brush will last at least five times as long as a cheap brush, and more importantly, it will have better flow and ability to apply a smooth, even coat. Brush marks will detract from the most finely detailed figure, and so brushes are your best investment.
I do not recommend Taklon brushes for quality work (though, for synthetics, they are the best possible) and I would certainly strongly advise against nylon bristles (those white plastic Testors brushes are crap, plain and simple).
In my own experience, the best brands for brushes for our purposes are Raphael (8404) or Winsor & Newton (Series 7). There are two types of W&N Series 7s: The "Miniature" line features shorter bristles and newer painters might find that they have better control. The drawback to shorter bristles is that the paint dries quicker in the brush, so that added control may be offset by reduced flow characteristics - especially if you don't thin your paint properly. The regular Series 7 brushes have a longer bristle and a larger belly to keep the paint moist longer. They are very similar to the Raphael 8404s. Once you have more experience at painting and better brush handling skills, you may want to use these instead of the S7 Mini's. I am starting to make the switch, myself - but the Mini brushes still have their uses for very precise applications.
Some of my friends who are professional artists swear by Rosemary & Co. (the Series 33 are what you'd want to use). Feel free to give them a try. Once upon a time, I would not have recommended Citadel because years ago, their brushes were not made of the best materials and would lose their points (and their bristles!) far too rapidly. But now they are much better, and they're one of the easiest brands to obtain in hobby and gaming stores (thanks to the enormous market share their Warhammer lines enjoy). They're still far from the best - the gap between a good Kolinsky brush of any brand and a Citadel brush is about the same as between a Citadel brush and finger-painting, but if that's all you've got access to, you could do far worse.
Reaper makes a line of Master Series brushes that are allegedly made with Kolinsky sable - but in my experience, the brushes do not last or hold a point nearly as long as a good Kolinsky brush should. After buying several and relegating them to less precise purposes within months or weeks (sometimes even within days of buying one!) I will no longer recommend Reaper brushes. And for the price they ask, you can honestly get proven quality like Raphael or W&N anyhow, Likewise with Privateer Press' "Studio" line of brushes. They are adequate (perhaps a bit better than Citadel) but not good enough to warrant the cost.
Here are a few places to find good brushes online:
Dick Blick Art Materials (my personal favorite online source for good brushes!)
Rosemary & Co
Secret Weapon Miniatures (according to them, the Scharff 3000 is comparable to the Raphael 8404)
Games Workshop
One word of advice when purchasing brushes online: Since you are buying sight unseen, make sure the vendor has a very good return policy. If you receive a brush that's not in excellent condition, you should be able to return it unused and get one that is. For this reason, I prefer to purchase my brushes locally, so I can see exactly what I'm getting.
How to select the ideal brush
Once you have found an art or hobby store that sells Kolinsky sable brushes, you'll want to make sure the brush tip has not been damaged by previous handling or careless packing. Any decent brush will have a clear plastic protector for the bristles. Many times, you can examine the condition of the tip without even removing the protector (this is important when purchasing brushes that may be in a cardboard-backed blister pack).
If the brush does not visibly have a good tip, you needn't even bother with this next step. But if the tip looks good, carefully remove the protector and examine the tip. Sometimes, a brush that looked good through the plastic will not look so good once the bristles are free. If it still looks like it has a good tip, run the brush along the side of your finger. If the brush doesn't keep its tip, try another until you find a brush that does.
Then, regardless of whether or not you intend to purchase the brush, please replace the brush protector carefully. Make sure you're not catching any of the bristles or deforming the tip. Remember that many of the brushes that don't make the cut for you were once decent brushes, until some other careless individual (whether in the store or the factory) jammed the protector on and ruined the brush. You don't want to be that guy, do you?
Needless to say, you may find that the hardest part about getting new brushes is finding them in usable condition. Often times, I'll go on a shopping trip to buy new brushes and come home empty-handed (well, at least without new brushes) even after looking in a few stores. This is why it becomes even more important to properly maintain and care for your brushes. Given that they often cost more than the miniature you are painting, they are your most important (and likely expensive) investment.
Care and maintenance of your brushes
When I started out, I used to use an old coffee mug as a water pot. Many people still do, and Citadel even sells mugs for this purpose. Needless to say, I do not recommend this, and it should be pretty apparent as to why.
You cannot properly clean your brushes by rinsing them in dirty water.
I recommend an inexpensive two-chambered brush washer like the kind I use:
After gently removing excess paint by running the brush over a paper towel, swish the brush vigorously in one chamber (I use the one with the ridges on the bottom, but do not scrub the brush along the bottom! You'll ruin your brushes quickly). After you've rinsed most of the paint off, swish the brushes in the other chamber and gently run the edge of the brush along the brush rest until it comes away clear. Needless to say, the water in the first rinse chamber will get cloudy and murky quite quickly. When you can't see the bottom any more, time to change the water. I recommend using lukewarm water. You do not want to use hot water, because even though it gets the bristles cleaner, it also softens the glue that holds them in place - causing your brush to lose its point (and its bristles) very rapidly.
Even if you take great care not to overload your brush and to keep paint out of the ferrule, there will be times when the brush still needs more than a rinse to get really clean. You do not want paint to accumulate on or beneath the ferrule, as the brush will lose its point very quickly. After applying a wash, or drybrushing, and at the end of every session (or more frequently as needed) I recommend cleaning your brushes with soap and water. Do not use dish detergent or bar soap, as these can easily strip the natural preservatives from the sable bristles. Fortunately, there's a brush soap designed especially for this purpose, and you will be surprised how much paint you can get out of a visibly "clean" brush with it.
(I use the 2.5 oz "Studio Cake" pictured above, and after two years of daily use, there's still plenty of soap left in the jar.)
Swish the brush in clean, warm water and rub it gently along the top of the cake. Within a few seconds, you will almost surely see color flow out of your "clean" brush. Rinse and reapply until the cake is not discolored, usually you will only need two or three applications. Then gently restore the tip and allow the brush to dry. If you won't be painting for a few days and want to really help keep the tips sharp, leave the soap on the bristles when pointing the brush and allow it to dry that way, then rinse before using it again.
If you have older brushes that you want to rehabilitate, or if you've inadvertently allowed paint to enter into or under the ferrule, I recommend what is called "natural turpenoid". It's like turpentine, only it's non-toxic, does not have the unpleasant smell or vapors, is non-flammable and safe for people like me who usually point brushes with our lips (rinse first, the stuff tastes awful if you forget!)
I use an 8 ounce plastic bottle of Weber Natural Turpenoid (but a 4 ounce bottle is more than sufficient for years of painting, more compact and less expensive). You won't need this often, but when you save a $20 brush with a $5 bottle of this, you'll be glad you had some on hand!
Last, but not least, you'll want an adequate stock of paper towels for cleaning brushes and wicking excess paint or moisture from the brush before applying it to a model. There's no "right" or "best" brand to use, but I prefer something with a gentle texture (to help clean a brush or remove excess paint when drybrushing) and a "choose-your-size" roll - a normal square paper towel is about twice the size you'll need and can be a bit wasteful. If you can obtain the blue paper "shop towels" at a hardware or home improvement store, they are fantastic! They stay together even when wet, and can serve as a sort of "wet palette" (which we will cover in an Advanced Class much later) or can be rinsed and reused. It's all up to personal preference, but a napkin or tissue just won't do - they break down too quickly and leave lint in the bristles).
Storing your brushes
If you use a brush tub like the one pictured above, you can store your brushes between uses in the holes along the rim. It is best to store them point down but do not ever let them rest on the tip, nor should you allow other objects to rest upon the brush tip. If you store your brushes in a mug, store them point up with the protectors on. If you store them flat, keep them in a box that's just wide and tall enough for them to lie flat side-by-side (again, with the plastic protectors applied). I don't recommend piling them up in a box, as it's all too likely that one brush could deform another.
SUMMARY
Your brushes are your single-most important investment to ensure the quality and precision of your work. The best brushes are expensive, but worth every penny, so proper use, care, and maintenance of your brushes will ensure the best results and preserve your investment so that they do not need to be replaced frequently or unnecessarily.
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