Several people have asked what “Must Have” brush sizes are. Like the brushes themselves, this really depends on you but you also need to be aware that brush sizes are not at all consistent across brands. Synthetic brushes are generally more resistant to washing & conditioning. Imagine washing a doll’s hair with a normal hair conditioner? It’s not going to make much of an impact. Synthetic brushes do have their uses, however, especially when using Oil & Enamel paints as the cleaning and thinning products (most of which are alcohol-based) will destroy the hairs on a typical sable brush. And whilst the sips of these brushes often curl. they can usually be straightened out and retrained to a point using some hot water.

This set features 2 Series S brushes, the #3 for 99% of your brushwork, this does everything from base colours to eyes. We include the #1 for when you need just a little more control over paint flow. the Series M #0 for absolute precision such as freehand painting or dotting your miniatures eyes. If you’re painting larger curved surfaces start with a #2, #3 or #4. If you’re painting vehicles with very large flat surfaces, you will want a flat head brush (Which is a style I haven’t gone into below, other than them existing in the likes of Games Workshop& The Army Painter ranges.). 10. Da Vinci Maestro – Series 10 The 'Maestro' designation is reserved for brushes manufactured using male winter Siberian Kolinsky Red Sable fur. These are Da Vinci's top-of-the-line, highest quality brushes. The extra sharp needle-like point and longer tapered hair length results in faster action at the tip and a snap at the point. Expect superior spring and control, plus excellent water-holding performance. The brushes are designed to hold less paint so that acrylic and watercolor painters do not deploy too much onto to the canvas. The shorter bristles provide sharp precision as they are less floppy. For painting miniatures, you would actually want the brushes to hold more paint in the belly but still have a fine tip. Which is why the normal set of Series 7 took the number 1 spot on this list. Don’t fret if you have bought these they are still high-quality brushes and they do the job. But when I swapped a couple of my miniature ones out for the normal ones; I noticed a considerable improvement in my painting, especially glazing. If you have these, great. If you haven’t invested yet, these aren’t the droids you’re looking for. Most of the preferred options are sable hair brushes, sorry synthetic brush lovers. The general view here is that they last the longest due to their ability to be thoroughly washed and conditioned with brush soaps and conditioners.

Holding more paint, having a more reliable tip and lasting much longer than W&N makes these stand out. Made of Kolinsky Sable specifically for watercolour by Raphaël of France these are the true up-and-comer of the miniature painting range. They are also cheaper than the more Popular Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes (only 10% more expensive than the average price of brushes on this list). I’ve kind of turned to Artis Opus’s base set to answer this question. In their set, you get #000, #00, #0 & #1 and that seems like a fair starter range. However, I use their #3 brush primarily. Like with the Raphael 8404, the point is so fine you can use these brushes for pretty much any job. In all honesty, the optimist in me does realise that the brush names are much simpler for beginners to understand. Have a guess what a base brush is for? They are fair work-horse brushes for the price. You may be surprised to find that these are actually the cheapest brushes on the list. Approximately 50% cheaper than the average cost of brushes listed here (not including the artificer brushes) and they do the job. But many long-term painters will tell you that they just don’t last very long. and I can concur with that statement. I’ve had no issues with mine, but I’m an infrequent user and I keep them washed and clean with masters brush soap. They are an excellent choice of brush, but you are paying nearly half again on top of the Raphael 8404 Series and they are almost/over triple the cost of Rosemary & Co’s Series 22/33 respectively. If you are after standard brushes for the likes of basecoating, edge-highlighting and layering/glazing/shading. Don’t start here.

The set main Series S set comes with 4 Brushes from Size 000 to Size 1. You can get a 5-brush case to store one of their additionally offered Size 2-6 brushes. It also comes with a little pot of brush soap. Unfortunately, there is no 9 x brush case to store the whole set. Find out what you do and don’t like about the performance of your current brushes and if you’re not happy, jump to a different brand when one starts to get stray hairs and needs to be replaced. With good care, all of your old brushes will remain loyal work-horses, as stipplers and smooshers at the very least. When they’ve totally had it, you can always use them as paint mixers. I still have my Games Workshop Citadel Starter brush that I got with my first paint kit over 23 years ago and yes, I still use it. To be honest, you could just get a #000 & #1 rather than either of the #00 & #0 depending on what you paint. Another good option would be a #10/0 for things like eyes, but a good pointed brush of any size can do this. These may be the best quality brushes you can get at a more affordable price than the comparable options. To have a more definitive answer we are going to need a lot more people using these brushes and getting the word out.When I put the call out asking what the best brushes for painting miniatures were, I had 32 significantly different options (and some daft yet creative suggestions, like the scalps of fallen enemies). The list below makes up the bottom 5% in popularity of all the options mentioned. This does not mean they aren’t worth looking at. Instead, it goes to show that best brushes you can get are really just the best brushes that work for you. Finally, if you are buying Games Workshop or Army painter brushes, you are getting brushes which are worth the price you pay. Neither will make you the best painter you can be, but equally, neither are restrictive in getting you to that “excellent” quality level.

Like many of the options on this list, Da Vinci’s Maestro Series 10 are watercolour brushes made from Kolinsky red sable hair. Preferred as the best brush by many miniature painters. They are some of the more affordable high-end brushes they come in just under the average price of brushes on this list. A huge range of sizes is available, from a crazy small 10/0 (aka 0000000000) to an insanely large size 50! The latter of which you have no need for, and don’t want to see the price of.Rosemary & Co, Da Vinci Maestro and Artis Opus are equally good options if you are looking for the best quality and reliability. and Rosemary & Co brushes are especially popular among the more Budget Concious Painter. Best value for money here, with no doubt. Are the Winsor and Newton Brushes the best miniature paint brushes for you? Well, If you want to know, have a look at the summaries below. When buying this brush set, they come in a very attractive storage case which has a variety of wood finishes and a choice of engraved artworks. After the Successful Campaign and release of Series S – Artis Opus followed up with the Series M (like the Winsor and Newton Miniature brushes above) made for fine detail work and more delicate/deliberate painters. Then the Series D – which are the absolute Best Drybrushes you can get ( see our Series D review here). All discounts against RRP are made against the United Kingdom Recommended Retail Price (RRP). Unless specified, offers and vouchers are not valid on products which are already discounted from RRP, gift vouchers, books and from the I LOVE ART range.

Whilst not the most popular, these are the often amongst the most critically acclaimed brushes in the list. Almost every commenter talking about these had tried and compared them to the normal Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes and said that these were hands down the better quality of the two brands. If you are just interested in the Top-10 list without all the fluff see below, But we recommend reading the summaries of all the brushes or at least the ones you are interested in to see if they would be the best miniature brushes for you. Popularity Whilst there is no simple answer, the thing to take away here is that the best brush is the one that works for you. One that fits your style and budget appropriately, just don’t break the bank on a brush expecting it to make you a wizard. Start out with some cheap options like Games Workshop and/or Army Painter and work your way up when you have learned proper care and protection.Da Vinci Maestro Series 10 Watercolour Brushes are made from Siberian Kolinsky sable and meet the highest standards of brushmaking. The starting point for many miniature painters, if for nothing more than the only ones people are aware of due to Games Workshop’s popularity. The range strips away the typical naming convention used in every other art brush set. The skeptic in me believes this is to reduce people’s ability to directly compare them to other brand’s brushes, keeping users invested in Games Workshop. Their Artificer Brushes are a different story, apparently made by Winsor & Newton (so I’ve read from a few online claims but I haven’t found any evidence to support this). The Artificers are 60% more expensive than the average price of brushes on this list! So if they are made by W&N GW are adding approximately %5 to the RRP. of the equivalent brush. But again, consider the value-add you get by being invested in GW. They need to support paying for people like the Warhammer Community team somehow. Fully endorsed by several signature (god-tier) miniature artists, I personally use these brushes exclusively now and have done since 2019. I’ve had some fine detail brushes fray on me after only one use. For those invested in the Citadel brand, these brushes are entwined into all of their painting guide media, from the White Dwarf and painting books to their online videos. If you are just starting out there’s nothing wrong with these especially considering the value-add Games Workshop gives you with all the painting guides they provide for free. You can easily follow along using their recommended tools and get up to a very-good painting standard using this kit.