Which Paint Brush Should You Buy
Most people buy brushes by price or by set. It is worth ten minutes to buy by shape, hair and size instead — the right brush does half the work for you. This guide is written from the bench, by a workshop that makes brushes in Kolkata rather than sells them second-hand.
Brush shapes and what each one does
Round
The general-purpose shape. A good round holds a large load in the belly and still comes to a point, so one brush moves between a broad wash and a fine line. If you own one brush, own a round. Round and liner brushes
Liner, rigger and ultra-liner
Long, thin hair that holds an unusual amount of colour for its width, so a line can be drawn without reloading. Riggers were made for ships' rigging; today they do branches, whiskers, grasses, lettering and any long unbroken stroke. Ultra liners
Flat
A square edge for blocking in, sharp edges and clean geometric shapes. Turned on its side a flat also draws a crisp thin line. Flat, filbert, angular and blender brushes
Filbert
A flat with a rounded tip. It gives soft-edged strokes without the hard corner marks a flat leaves, which is why it dominates portrait and figure work.
Angular
A flat cut on a slant. Useful for tight corners, precise edges and controlled curves, and a favourite for foliage and floral work.
Fan
Thin, spread hair for blending, softening a transition and dry-brush texture such as grass, hair and pine. Not a brush for laying colour. Fan brushes
Mop
A soft, full head that carries a lot of water. Mops are for big washes, wetting paper, lifting colour and soft gradations. Mop brushes
Wash and hake
Wide flat heads for covering ground quickly and evenly — skies, backgrounds, priming, varnishing and glue work. Wash and hake brushes
Petal, calligraphy and stencil
Specialist shapes: petal for one-stroke floral work, calligraphy for lettering and sumi-style strokes, and short stiff stencil brushes for pouncing colour through a template. Petal and calligraphy, stencil brushes
Hair and filament
Synthetic
Modern synthetic filament is the default choice for watercolour, gouache, acrylic and ink. Kolinsky-type synthetic points sharply and springs back; squirrel-type synthetic is softer and thirstier, made for washes. Synthetic contains no animal hair, resists solvents and acrylic better than natural hair, and costs a fraction of natural sable. Kolinsky synthetic brushes
Hog bristle
Stiff, springy natural bristle with a naturally split tip that grips heavy paint and leaves a visible mark. The standard for oils and heavy-bodied acrylic, and for impasto work where you want the stroke to show. Hog bristle brushes
Goat
Soft, absorbent natural hair with little spring, used for mops, hake and large wash brushes where load capacity matters more than point.
Sizes
Round and liner sizes run from 10/0 (finest) upward through 0, 1, 2 and on to 12 and beyond — the number describes the diameter of the hair at the ferrule, not the length. Flats, washes and hakes are usually described by width in millimetres or inches. Sizing is not standardised across the industry, so a size 6 round from two makers may differ; compare the hair length and width rather than trusting the number alone.
Which brushes to buy for your medium
- Watercolour — a large mop or wash for laying colour, two or three synthetic rounds (roughly sizes 2, 6 and 10) and one liner.
- Acrylic — synthetic flats and filberts for body, a round for detail, hog bristle if you paint thickly.
- Oil — hog bristle flats and filberts as the backbone, a soft synthetic round for detail and a fan for blending.
- Gouache and ink — synthetic rounds and liners; the flat colour rewards a sharp point.
- Beginners — start with a small set covering round, flat and liner, then replace individual shapes as you learn what you actually reach for. Artist brush sets
How to judge a brush before you buy
Wet it and flick it: a good round should snap back to a point with no stray hairs. Look at where the hair enters the ferrule — it should be full and even, not padded out. A crimped ferrule should be tight enough that the handle does not twist. Cheap brushes usually fail at the belly, not the tip, which is why they lose their point after a few sessions.
All the brushes linked above are made by hand in our own Kolkata workshop. Read more about how and where they are made, or learn how to clean and store brushes so they last.