The Best Paint Brushes

Buying Guide

Painting has been a form of artistic outlet for pretty much the entire duration of humanity. From finger paintings on cave walls to masterpieces locked behind high-tech security features in art museums, all paintings are a product of an artist who wanted to reach out and put something beautiful or informative on a medium so it would last and that others might see it.

Painting today is easier than ever with affordable supplies at our fingertips and the internet to show us how to use them properly. Finding a set of paintbrushes to begin your journey towards creating art is actually quite daunting when you soon find out how many styles and sizes and materials go into these seemingly simple devices. But there are some ways to determine which paintbrush will be best for your needs, so read on to figure out a good way to narrow your search and find the best set.

Paintbrushes almost always come in large sets and with different brush sizes. “Depending on the scale you’re working with and the type of paint you’re using, there are certain styles of brushes that will help you,” says our resident art expert Amy Markham. Her podcast Starling is devoted to helping artists find depth in their creative processes. “Broadly speaking, there are flat and round brushes, with some variations such as angled, filbert and fan brushes. I suggest buying a variety of sizes in both round and flat and one or two of the more specialized brushes,” she adds.

A fine pointed brush tip might be fantastic for filling in small details in your painting, but it would be hard to use that tiny brush to fill in the entire sky in the background since it would take thousands of strokes. Sets will provide wider brushes to complement those fine-pointed brushes so you can be covered for more of your needs. Artify 2019 New 10 Pcs Paint Brush Set Includes a Carrying Case Perfect for Acrylic, Oil, Watercolor and Gouache Painting is a great example of a brush set that offers every size brush you might need for a small or medium-sized painting. The set has ten brushes, meaning you can use the wide one for that background sky and then move down to a medium brush for some of the bigger details. Sets like these really make it easier on the purchaser since they already figured out what you need and offer it all in a convenient case.

Watercolor painting is different from acrylics and different also from oils. These mediums are the most common and if you are new to painting you might find yourself wanting to try them all before you can figure out which style you enjoy the most. Find a set of brushes that can handle all these types of paint, like the Transon Round Watercolor Detail Paint Brushes Goat Hair 8pcs for Watercolors, Acrylics, Inks, Gouache, Oil and Tempera, which will allow you to dabble with different products without having to buy multiple sets of brushes. 

If you’re looking to supply brushes for children to use, you will likely be looking for something cheap enough that you won’t mind seeing them be abused, but durable enough that they don’t fall apart the first time someone tries using them as drumsticks for their air-band practice. There are brush sets that have lots of different brushes that kids will love to see, like the Artlicious – 25 All Purpose Paint Brush Value Pack – Great with Acrylic, Oil, Watercolor, Gouache set that is fun and colorful itself and offers a great variety of brushes for a small price. This type of set is a great starting point for kids, and it can be built upon later if any one style of brush becomes a hit.

Art brushes are primarily wooden or plastic in the handles with a metal crimped to them that won’t rust. The bristles vary with the styles and sizes as well, and some of the lower-end brushes will occasionally lose a bristle while you’re painting, requiring you to scrape it off gently before moving on with your painting. This shouldn’t be a deal-breaker though, as it can also be seen in natural bristled brushes that have a higher price point.  The width of the handles and general weight of the brushes are a bigger factor to think about when you’re deciding what to buy. Bigger hands don’t work as well with tiny brushes and vice versa.

If you think most of these brush packs still seem too similar, look for products that offer more than just the brushes. The 50 Pcs Paint Brushes with 12 Pcs Paint Pallet Trays for Kids and Adults to Create Art Paint kit offers all the brushes you need, but also a handful of palettes for you to mix paint on. These palettes are handy when you’re first starting out as you might not own them already. Finding them together in a pack makes it one less thing to think about when you’re acquiring the rest of the painting supplies.

• You don’t have to spend a lot to find a great set of paint brushes. “There are brushes made from natural materials such as animal hair, and others that are synthetic,” says Markham. “Modern synthetics, such as nylons and polyesters, have made the cost of brushes more affordable. Many appreciate them as an ethical alternative to animal hair.”
• Online painting tutorials are a beginner painter’s best friend. Find a style of painting that you wish to emulate and search for tutorials on how to do them.
• It is common for a new painter to practice individual pieces, like how to make a tree, many times on a canvas while not actually making a full landscape painting.
• These practice sessions let you focus primarily on one thing, like how to make the branches look natural as they leave the trunk, without the overwhelming feeling of dread that you might ruin a nice background with an unrealistic tree when you don’t have the practice and skillset yet to make that tree look right.
• Keep practicing and watching tutorials, or sign up for painting classes in your local area for a professional art instructor to help you out. A good tip is to take an old painting that you don’t plan to keep, paint the whole thing with a couple of coats of white paint and then start a new painting right on top without needing to buy a new canvas.