Natural-bristle brushes made with animal hairs are used for applying oil base paints, varnishes. Artist brushes come with many different types of bristles. The bristles will generally determine what medium a brush is suitable for. For example, oil painting requires bristles which are resilient and have a nice spring. Acrylic paint is not as harsh so you can use bristles which are a bit finer. For more precise control, use a sash brush, which has its bristles cut at a slight angle. Sash brushes are particularly well-suited for cutting in around the perimeter of a room. Bristle Tips: Better quality brushes have bristles with flagged, or split, ends. Flagged bristles hold more paint and spread paint more smoothly. Shop Blick's assortment of bristle paint brushes. Choose from a variety of shapes and sets. Bristle paint brushes are great for acrylic and oil painting. I have used synthetic brushes with oil base paint, but the bristles stay stiff and sort of ‘scratch’ the paint onto the surface, whereas Chinese bristle brushes glide the oil based paint on smoothly. Also, synthetic brushes do not clean up well when used with oil base paint.” This is because they’re really paint spreaders.

If you are a newbie to the world of painting then, first of all, we would like to welcome you to this wonderful world of art. This art of painting is like a magic where you will be able to explore the world beyond imagination and get to play with colors you might have never even seen before. And to make this magic possible you will need a magic wand. What this magic wand is? You guessed it right! I am talking about the paint brush you will need while filling that canvas with your creativity. So let’s find out more about these Different Types of Paint Brushes and learn about their Names and their Use.

Mostof the magic that you create while painting is due to the way you maneuver thepaint brush. So there is no doubt why the paint brush is one of the most belovedtools of an artist. If you are new to this realm of painting then the firstthing you should know is what kind of brush you should use. Now, that can be abit daunting if you don’t know much about the paint brushes. But why worry whenyou can simply learn all about different types of paint brushes right here!

The painting brushes come in varying sizes and shapes with different bristles. Each of these is used for different purposes and gives details to the painting in their own unique ways. Choosing the painting brush depends upon what kind of details and strokes you want in your painting.

WashBrush

Anacrylic wash brush is the biggest of the lot with a square end and medium tolong hairs. It is ideal for varnishing because it gives the maximum coveragesmoothly and quickly what with it being thicker than any other brushes. Itgives nice bold strokes and its edge can be used to create fine lines, straightedges, and stripes.

AngledBrush

Asthe name suggests the angled brush has an angled or slanted tip. This is thereason why it is also known as the slanted brush. Some might even call itshader due to its flexibility when it comes to filling small areas to biggerones without any effort. It is a perfect brush for curved strokes and fillingcorners.

FlatBrush

Thinkof flat brush as the mini version of the wash brush. Where the wash brush hasbristles with slightly round edges and is very thick, the flat brush is not somuch. The flat brush is perfect to use when you want a lot of paint coverageand the surface you are working on is small for a wash brush. Not to mentionthat this brush will allow you to maneuver it more easily.

FanBrush

A fan brush looks exactly like the name suggests – a fan. It is flat and has spread hairs and is an ideal choice when you are planning to paint nature elements and landscapes. It can even be used for blending backgrounds or adding subtle highlights to darker areas. You can pick a fan brush with natural hairs which are great for smoothing, blending and feathering or else opt for synthetic hairs for interesting textural effects and leaves on trees.

RoundBrush

Imagineyou holding a pencil and that is what you will feel while holding a roundbrush. It gives you more control over the flow of paint with it being narrower thanany other brushes. The round brush can mainly be of two different types. One isthe simple round brush with a sharp point which allows you to paint fine linesand details with it. The other round brush will be narrower even than the roundbrush with a more sharply pointed tip. It is excellent to get fine lines anddetails in delicate areas.

LinerBrush

Ifyou think no other brush can be thinner than a round brush then you are so verywrong. A liner brush, also known as rigger brush, is a thin brush with verylong bristles. The tip of this brush can be flat or square and if it is angledthen it is called a sword brush. When you want to create very fine and thinlines, this is the brush that you will need to pick. Since the brush has a verysmall tip, it is often used to write out letters and numbers. Artists mostlyuse this brush to sign their work. And believe it or not, but this extremelythin brush can hold a great deal of fluid paint.

FilbertBrush

A filbert brush is a type of flat brush which has medium to long hairs that come to a rounded point or an oval-shaped end. It gives a lovely thin line when used on its side and paints broad brushstrokes when used flat. It is a hybrid of round and flat brushes and has both of their best features – it can give details to your work as the round brushes and cover more space like the flat brush. With its variety of marks, the filbert brush has become the favorite of many artists, especially the figurative painters.

Now that you know all about these different types of paint brushes, you wouldn’t get flustered in the paint brush aisle in an art store. Just pick the one that you feel the most comfortable with and explore your creativity. And let the worries go away and have fun with this color play!

All types of paint brushes are featured here as well as a brief description of their main purpose.

Thanks to Heinz Jordan & Company™ as well as Loew Cornell™ for supplying images of their fine line of art paint brushes.

We've also created a section for proper care and maintenanceof your brushes. We hope you'll find the information useful.

Flats are the types of paint brushes you’ll use the most often in your painting projects. You’ll use them for basecoating, floating, strokework, blending, washes and varnishing.

As you can see, they’re very versatile.

A filbert is a flat brush but it has a chiseled rounded edge instead of a straight one. Sort of like a cat’s tongue. When you look at the brush from the chiseled edge, the hairs should form an even oval edge.

As a tool for basecoating, these types of paint brushes can't be beat! The shape of the hairs eliminates ridges. It can be used for side-loading similarly to a flat brush to create shades and highlights.

It's also used for blending. And because it can hold a fair amount of water, it’s also great for applying washes of color. And lastly, because of its shape it’s perfectly suited for doing leaves, flower petals and bird feathers.

Take a look at my video tutorial on how to use a Filbert.

Also a part of the Flat family of brushes, the hairs here are much shorter. These types of paint brushes won’t hold enough paint for doing flowing strokes. They are very good though for blending paint, cleaning up messy edges and for other special techniques.

A brush by any other name..... This one is also a Flat but it has an angular chisel or brush tip. This means it will hold less paint and water, so you can’t get good continuous flow.

On the very positive side, this is THE brush for doing tight shading and highlighting. And it is especially coveted by artists who love to paint roses and flowers because they can get into all those little nooks and crannies. So, if you’re painting a realistic rose, consider trying this brush. But for long floats or strokework... not the right choice... best to use a flat.

These types of paint brushes come in many sizes; The smallest being a 20/0 and climbing all the way up to size #10. Mostly they are used for strokework and watercolor. This one is invaluable as a teaching tool for perfecting brush control.

Learning to use this brush for traditional strokework will provide a very strong foundation for all your painting efforts. Strokework is beautiful so mastering it is worth the time and practice.

These are part of the Round family of brushes. They range in size from 18/0 to #8. Another feature of liners is that they come in different lengths and thickness. This means that selecting the right liner can be challenging. The longer the hairs, the more paint and water the brush can carry.

The best advice is to try a variety of these types of paint brushes and stick to the ones that feel right for you and the task at hand.

A script liner has longer hairs than a regular liner, which makes it appropriate for doing fine lettering. By the way, using a script liner means you have to have a lot of brush control. It can be a little difficult to manage in tight curves because it tends to flick out. Practice, practice, practice!

Obviously a short liner will do great for small details like eyelashes. And a scroller will be ideally shaped for doing, you guessed it, scroll work.

The best memory is nothing

compared to a good brush.

- Old Chinese Proverb

As you can see there are so many types of paint brushes. For the beginner you only need a few of the most commonly used brushes to start.

But as you develop your craft, you’ll want to start dabbling in all sorts of different ways to paint. That’s when you’re ready to try all types of paint brushes.

The filbert rake is fun for creating hair, beards, feathers, fur, grass and woodgrain. It's a flat texturing brush with an oval, naturally fingered shape. Because of it's shape it offers softer edges than a flat rake.

When you're using either of the rakes you can choose to thin your paint depending on the effect you're trying to achieve. To get light texture just apply very little pressure. Don't overload the hairs with paint... the idea is to make sure that the bristles stay apart. Rakes are available in many sizes.

A mop brush is designed for gentle blending and softening. Used with a light touch, these types of paint brushes can quickly blur and soften a hard edge.

Mops come in a variety of shapes. Some resemble a make-up (blush) brush. Others are flatter and stiffer. These are the ones we prefer to use.

Mops are available in 1/4', 3/8', 1/2', 3/4', and 1'.

Stipplers are the types of paint brushes used for creating fur and foliage and to give an open or soft general appearance to a painting. The stippler can be oval with flat, tidy bristles. Or it can be domed and round, as in this brush from Heinz Jordan.

China Bristle Vs Natural Bristle

It should be used dry. The amount of pressure you apply during the pouncing or stippling will determine the overall look and color value of your painting. They come in many sizes.

The deerfoot stippler is also a texturing brush used for creating fur and foliage. It's round and the bristles are long on the toe and short on the heel, bringing to mind the shape of Bambi's foot.

You should pick a deerfoot that has a lot of texture in its bristles over one that's stiff and neatly formed. You can use these brushes either wet or dry.

The amount of pressure you apply during the pouncing or stippling will determine the overall look and color value of your painting.They're available in 1/8', 1/4', 3/8', and 1/2'.

The fan brush is flat with its bristles widely fanned out. It can be used dry to drag paint lightly across the surface of your painting. It can be used wet to create textures. And dragged through wet glazes it gives a fine wood-grain effect. Comes in a range of sizes.

These brushes require a little practice to use at first... it's like they're a filbert brush with half their bristles missing! They are terrific once you get the hang of them.

Truly a multi-purpose gem. You can load the brush with multiple colors, create great ribbons and petals and do stripes all in one fell swoop!

This artist paint brush is fairly new and funky looking! The needle pointed brush is a round with a long liner that extends through the end.

You can create some very interesting effects, especially great vines and twigs. Loaded with inky consistency paint, the round part acts as a reservoire and the liner is, well...a liner. By holding it almost perpendicular to the surface and using varying amounts of pressure, you'll have loads of fun with this one! It comes in Sizes #4, #6 and #8.

Types Of Paint Brush Bristles

The Fandango brush...we just LOVE saying it... looks a bit like a fanned mop brush. This brush has long hairs with shorter ones in between. All hairs have very fine points on the ends. Not only does this brush hold lots of paint, but stroke it once on the surface and you've just made lots of fine lines. Great for creating grasses, fur, feathers and Santa's beards. Ready to Fandango?!

The Whale's Tail...a flat brush with the bristles cut in a 'V' shape which can be used for lots of one stroke effects. Loaded with two colors and fully pressed, results in a tulip shape. Change to green and three presses of the brush will give you an ivy leaf. It can also be used to create plaid, ribbon, layered petals and palm trees. Available in sizes, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1'.

The Wave Brush, with scalloped bristle tips, comes in multiple sizes cut in Angular, Filbert and Flat shapes. There's a ton of stuff you can do with these brushes. Quick and easy strokes result in flower petals, leaves, simple birds, butterflies, woodgraining, eyelet lace and more. They can also be used to stipple light, airy foliage, and for some dry brushing techniques. Set your imagination in motion and have fun!!!

Another interesting brush shape, the Fountain Brush has a ring of bristles with a center opening. Loaded and spun in a circle gives you a quick rosette. Press down firmly for other interesting petal shapes. Also, try your hand at stippled foliage or fur and pulled strokes that create waterfalls and feathering.

Stay tuned as we will continue to bring you more information on all types of paint brushes such as stencil brushes, scruffies and scumblers.

If you'd like more information on allall types of paint brushes, drop us a line here.

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