paint brush sizes

[Madame M]

okay so here's another quick little paint question.

I picked up some brushes last week in sizes 2, 1, 0, 00, and 000. Even I can tell that a no. 2 brush is larger than a no. 000 brush and that the latter should be used for fine detail.

But which one gets used for dry brushing, or does it not really matter too much?

[Sjeng]

I've bought a brush especially made for dry-brushing, according the the shopkeeper.
Citadel dry brush, blue tip at the back

I also have a Citadel fine detail brush, yellow tip,
and a Citadel large brush, blue tip.

That's all I'm using so far.

[messyart]

It's not so much the size of brush as the texture of the bristles, I think.
For dry-brushing you need something relatively stiff, so it will flick over the details better. But even that isn't neccessary, really.

I am not being helpful.
All you need to do is practice. Once you have the technique down, you can find out for yourself which brush is best, be it for being the cheapest to replace, or just having the right.. "Feel"


You could always use old make-up brushes e_e

[Madame M]

Hush your mouth with using old make-up brushes!!! If they're no good for the make-up they're supposed to be used for there's ALWAYS other makeup they work with!!! Unless, of course, you're thinking that I should use make-up on some of the mini's.....

[messyart]

Nonono
It's just kind of like the idea of using old toothbrushes to clean off models you're stripping.
e_e
you don't need make-up, anyway!

[MortiS-the-Lost]

ok time for me come in and clear all this up!

the only rule with which brush you use to dry brush with is : don't use a brush you want to do delicate work with afterwards - other than that use a brush the appropriate size for the area you are dry brushing

[BobbieTheDamned]

Yeah Mortis makes the important point: dry-brushing knackers brushes. I tend to use older brushes of various sizes depending on how big an area/how fine the detail is. My favourite supply of brushes is EM4. Their sythetic brushes are pretty good but still very cheap, and go down to 0/10 which is pretty damn small. The sable brushes are way nicer and a bit more expensive but still a lot cheaper than most places. Oh and the handles are big and triangular which I find much more comfortable.

[uncle phil]

I found it easier to learn drybrushing using a larger brush -a citadel one in fact. And that it seemed easier to learn using the flat brushes. Once you "have the feel" of drybrushing it can be done with smaller brushes, so I often use the much smaller foundry drybrushes now for certain jobs.

As a general rule, have specific brushes for drybrushing. Try a bigger brush.

[uncle phil]

As an aside, I have also brought some  3/16, 1/4 and 3/8th nylon brushes from Azalean

http://www.azaleanmodels.com/pro-arte-polar-brushes-29-c.asp

I was planning to use them for drybrushing but have ended up using them for blocking in large areas. Not only do they give a smoother finish but really save a lot of time and seem to use less paint. Kicking myself for not trying this years ago