New Brushes

So picking up my trusty Series 7 #1 the other day and bugger me if the thing hadn't decided to go the way of the dodo and 'fishtail' quite magnificently... Time for a new brush then.

I've been staunchly Series 7 for a good 5 years now, finding the brushes to be rather good. Up until my last set anyway, I'm pretty sure this #1 deteriorated quite quickly, but as I tended to use a smaller brush for control I'd put it away in the brush holder and left it until the other week.

I'm often trawling forums for hints, tips and general ideas for improving my painting and on a few occasions I mused on the various recommended paint brushes out there. Figuring that I'm already playing with mediums why not play with some brushes. One of the alternatives often mentioned are the Raphael 8404 Series. Locating an online stockist in the UK was the hardest part for me - but I managed to locate some here (Though the only notification of an order placed was my paypal receipt, I had the brushes in my hand no more than 3 days later!) I now am the proud owner of a size 0 and a size 1.

New Toys. The brush at the bottom of the pic is my old series 7 #1 looking just a bit battered.

Being that I've always used size 000 for a lot of fine detail work, and reading that a lot of artists tend to use 0 for detail work, I figured that I'd try and emulate. I was already working through a batch of Sedition Wars Vanguard (which have become my defacto test bed minis at the moment) so the first real work I have done has been on one of those. Colour me impressed. Most of the work done on the Kara Black mini has been with these and so far I am enjoying the experience immensely. Being able to dot eyes with a size 0 brush is a new experience for me! I'll have more details of how she was painted in an upcoming post.

Most of the face-work and edge highlights have been done with the two Raphael brushes. They have a great point and take paint really well.

That's not to say that they are any better than my Series 7, to be honest I can't really tell a difference, but they are a little bit cheaper, they hold paint really well, and whilst the bristles feel softer than the 7's when painting, they hold a superb point. I'll be making the switch I think, for now though I use my Series 7 #2 and the two Raphael brushes for most of my painting...

Here's a nice little article with a more in-depth comparison.