Paint Brush Review

[Jess]

Raphaël Kolinsky Red Sable Fine Pointed Round: Series 8404

After watching the first tutorial I decided to get some Raphael watercolor brushes from a large online art store. The artist in the second tutorial also uses these brushes.

They are amazing, awesome and filled with painting goodness!!!!!
If you have never used non-synthetic brushes you do not know what you are missing!
I got mine in sizes, 6/0 5/0 4/0 3/0 2/0 and 1. Even the “larger” brush has a super fine point. The pros of a natural brush is they hold paint better and they don’t get the dreaded “hook” on the point. The have a nice bend to them and maintain the shape really well. I find myself using the larger of the brushes I bought.
I have a lot of detail brushes from a previous hobby and I find that these new ones are my absolute favorite and can’t imagine painting with anything else.

[Chase]

Cool. 

In the 3 times I've put paint to brush I've always ended up biting off the "hook" at the end of the brush.

How do you like the GW brushes, Jess?  People seem to think they are pretty good.

[Captain Bryan!]

my GW brush has never hooked, but my no-name paintbrushes from michaels have

[Jess]

I looked last night, I have a GW drybrush and a GW detail brush.
I wasn't thrilled with the detail brush, it didn't maintain the shape well and I didn't love the way the paint flowed off the brush.
Synthetic  are completely different from natural so I guess it depends what you are doing. GW makes brushes for people to paint table ready minis, Raphael makes brushes for watercolor artist. Considering how much I thin my paint it basically is watercolor at that point. The ability of them to hold a shape tip is what really impressed me. Personally it is my brush of choice but everyone has their own taste.

[skavengear]

If i may put a bump in, sir and madam, look at the people who use the citadel standard brush exclusively and tell me if they made the right choice.

i am now one of those to carry on the legacy of the standard brush.

it base coats and covers very fast, while not making huge stroke marks which look bad, has a fine enough point to do high detail areas, and is highly durable and good for the long haul. compared to a brush from "art" stores which last about 24 hours before hooking or drying out.

[Jess]

Like I said, it depends what you are doing. I don't paint table top minis and my "art" brushes haven't hooked or been ruined and I use them all the time   They aren't brushes from Michaels or AC Moore either. The brushes from craft stores tend to be pretty fail.

My base coats can take 7 layers and an hour, so I don't think GW brushes are aimed at me