Artists' Brush Types

• Round: pointed tip, long closely arranged bristles for detail

• Flat: for spreading paint quickly and evenly over a surface. They will have longer hairs than their Bright counterpart.
• Bright: shorter than flats. Flat brushes with short stiff bristles, good for driving paint into the weave of a canvas in thinner
paint applications, as well as thicker painting styles like impasto work.
• Filbert: flat brushes with domed ends. They allow good coverage and the ability to perform some detail work.
• Fan: for blending broad areas of paint.
• Angle: like the filbert, these are versatile and can be applied in both general painting application as well as some detail
work.
• Mop: a larger format brush with a rounded edge for broad soft paint application as well as for getting thinner glazes over
existing drying layers of paint without damaging lower layers.
• Rigger: round brushes with longish hairs, traditionally used for painting the rigging in pictures of ships. They are useful
for fine lines and are versatile for both oils and watercolors.

Sizes
Artists' brushes are usually given numbered sizes, although there is no exact standard for their physical dimensions.
Smaller numbers, smaller sizes. Sizes 000 to 20 are most common.

Handles
Handles can be made from wood or plastic.
Short handled brushes are traditionally for watercolor or ink painting
Long handled brushes are commonly used for oil or acrylic paint.

Bristles
Types include:
• watercolor brushes which are usually made of sable, synthetic sable or nylon;
• oil painting brushes which are usually made of sable or bristle;
• acrylic brushes which are almost entirely nylon or synthetic.

Bristles may be natural — either soft hair or hog bristle — or synthetic.

• Soft hair brushes are made from Kolinsky sable or ox hair (sabeline); or more rarely, squirrel, pony, goat, mongoose or
badger. Cheaper hair is sometimes called camel hair, although it does not come from camels.

• Hog bristle (often called China bristle or Chungking bristle) is stiffer and stronger than soft hair. It may be bleached or
unbleached.

• Synthetic bristles are made of special multi-diameter extruded nylon filament, or Taklon, multi-diameter polyester. and
are becoming ever more popular with the development of new water based paints.
 Before you purchase a brush. . .
Please study the information on this page and the next two pages. We’ve attempted to answer the most commonly
asked questions about brushes to help you select the brush that will produce the most satisfying results.
NAME/SHAPE DESCRIPTION USAGE MEDIA HAIR

Round Round ferrule, round or pointed tip. Detail, wash, fills, All media All hair
Available in a wide variety of sizes, thin to thick lines, Synthetic
lengths and price ranges. scholastic artwork.

Pointed Round Narrower than a standard round. Fine detailing, All media Sable
Round ferrule, sharply pointed tip. fine lines, spotting Synthetics
Natural hair holds a sharper point. and retouching.

Flat Flat ferrule, square-ended. Medium Bold, sweeping All media Sable
Brush Hair to long hairs. Lots of color cap- strokes, on edge Mongoose
The material used to form the tuft of a acity, easy maneuverability. for fine lines. Use Bristle
brush that picks up and spreads the heavier filling for Badger
paint is the most important part of the heavier paint. Synthetic
brush, and determines the perform-
ance and the price of the brush.
There are distinct advantages of both
Bright Flat ferrule, inward curved edge at Short, controlled Oil Sable
natural and synthetic hairs.
the tip, short-length hairs, usually strokes. Useful with Acrylic Mongoose
NATURAL or animal hair is a by-prod- set in a long handle. Width and length thick or heavy color. Decorative Bristle
uct of the food and fur industries, no of brush head is about equal. Badger
animals are destroyed for the purpose Synthetic
of brush making. It has superior
paint-holding ability because of tiny,
microscopic “scales” along the shaft
of the hair. Price and performance of Filbert Thick, flat ferrule and oval-shaped, Soft, rounded Oil Sable
a natural hair brush is determined by medium to long hairs. Long edges, blending, Acrylic Mongoose
the “grade” of animal it was taken handles. Natural hair is more suitable figurative work. Decorative Bristle
from, and the availability of its hair. for blending because the hairs hold Badger
Shorter-length hair is more readily together when wet. Synthetic
available, making the longer lengths
more expensive. Natural hair may be Egbert
used alone (pure) or blended with Flat ferrule, oval shaped tip, Soft, rounded Oil Bristle
other hairs or synthetic filaments to longest springy hairs edges, blending, Acrylic
achieve a combination of perform- for more color carrying capa- figurative work. Decorative
ance and price. city than filbert. Long handles.
SYNTHETICS are man-made of either
nylon or polyester filaments. They can
be tapered, tipped, abraded or etched
Fan Flat ferrule, spread hairs. Natural hair Smoothing and Oil, Wtrclr. Bristle
to increase color carrying ability.
is more suitable for soft blending, and blending, special Acrylic Badger
Often, synthetic filaments are dyed
Synthetic works well for textural effects. effects and textures. Decorative Synthetic
and baked to make them softer and
more absorbent. The common name
Round ferrule, pointed, narrow brush Delicate lettering, Watercolor Sable
for this filament is “Taklon.” The
with very long hair. Liners are highlighting, out- Decorative Ox
advantages to using synthetic brushes
Script/Liner hair. Liners are shorter & narrower. lining, long contin- Ink Synthetic
are:
Short handles, round ferrules. uous strokes. Sign Paint
1 They are less prone to damage Large color carrying capacity.
from solvents, insects or paints.
Full-bellied Round Round or triangular ferrule, extra fat Lettering, Watercolor Sable
2 They are easier to keep clean than for color carrying capacity. Extra long outlining, long, Decorative Squirrel
animal hair brushes because the fila- point. Short handle. continuous strokes. Ink Synthetic
ments don’t have animal scale struc-
tures to trap paint.
Detail Round Round ferrule Shorter in length than Detail painting, Watercolor, Sable
3 They are less prone to breakage all other rounds but holds a lot short strokes. Oil, Acrylic
and are durable on many different of color. Short handle.
surfaces.

4 They are better suited for painting

with acrylics because a synthetic fila- Wash/Mop Wash brushes come in varied shapes. Laying in large Watercolor Squirrel
ment will withstand the caustic nature The oval wash has rounded hairs, areas of water or Ox
of acrylic paints with less damage. flat ferrules and produces a soft color, wetting, Bristle
edge, with no point. The square wash absorbing. Synthetics
F.Y.I. For the protection of the hairs, most can produce varying shapes and widths,
and often has a short, “flat-footed”
brushes are treated with a water-soluble sizing.
This should be removed by thoroughly washing handle for scraping, burnishing and
with brush soap and water or special brush separating watercolor paper from
care products before use. blocks. The mop brush is a round, full
version of the wash brush, made of
soft, absorbent natural hair.
 blick brush size chart
All Blick Economy, Scholastic, Academic, Studio, and Master brushes are manufactured by hand to be uniform in size
and approximately match the charts below. Brush width is measured on the hair just above the ferrule and sizes have
been rounded to the nearest 1/32". Refer to these charts when choosing Blick brand brushes only.

Round Brush Diameter Chart Flat, Bright, Filbert, Egbert Brush Width Chart
4/0 (less than 1/64")

3/0 (1/64")
(31/32") 24
2/0 (less than 1/32")

0 (1/32")

1 (less than 2/32")

2 (2/32") (13/16") 20

4 (3/32")

6 (4/32")
(11/16") 18

8 (5/32")

10 (7/32") (9/16") 16

12 (9/32")
(15/32") 14

14 (10/32")

(12/32") 12

16 (12/32")

(10/32") 10

18 (15/32") (8/32") 8

(6/32") 6

20 (9/16")
(5/32") 4

(3/32") 2

24 (11/16")
(1/32") 0
brush hair how to measure a brush
To be most accurate, measure
brushes according to the following:
length — the distance from the
edge of the ferrule out to the tip of the
BLICK offers a large selection of natural hair hair in the center of the brush.
brushes and choosing the hair that best suits your diameter — the distance of the
purpose can save you time, money and trouble. One hair at the opening of the ferrule.
rule that you can follow to avoid disappointment is to
buy the best-quality hair that you can afford.
width — the distance across the
hair above the opening of the ferrule.
kolinsky sable — is not really from a sable at
all, but comes from the tail of a species of mink that Measure brushes while they are dry.
is a member of the weasel family found in Siberia Width is not the width of paint stroke
and northeastern China. It is generally conceded to that the brush will make. The width of
be the best material for oil and watercolor brushes a brush stroke will vary according to
due to its strength, spring and ability to retain its the amount of pressure used, the
shape (“snap”). It holds a very fine point or edge. angle at which the brush is held, the
This is considered a professional grade of hair, and if
media used and the flexibility of the
properly cared for, Kolinsky will last for many years.
brush hair.
red sable — is obtained from any member of the
weasel family with “red” hair — not at all from the ani- The charts should help you to
mal known as the sable. It is found in a variety of determine the size brush you need to
brush styles for many varied mediums, with quality purchase. If you would like to meas-
and characteristics varying greatly. A good-quality pure ure a brush you already own, use the
Red Sable is a good alternative to the more expensive charts this way:
Kolinsky, with similar performance and durability.
Often, weasel hair is blended with ox hair to make a 1). Lay your brush on the line so
more economical brush, but the fine point is sacri- that the line is just above the
ficed. edge of the ferrule. Use vertical
line to measure width or diame-
ox hair — the best quality comes from the ears
of cattle or oxen. The hair has a very strong body ter, horizontal line to measure
with silken texture, is very resilient, has good “snap,” length. Check each side to be
but it lacks a fine tip. Therefore, it is most useful in sure it lies straight.
medium-grade wash brushes, or flat-shaped brush-
2). Do not apply pressure or tilt to
es. Frequently, ox hair is blended with other natural
the brush. Brush hair should not
hair to increase the resiliency of a brush.
be spread.
fitch hair — a traditional hair for oil painting
similar to Mongoose and Sable. Fitch is super 3). Follow the line over to read the
smooth, ideal for blending and portrait painting. measurement, or, if it falls
Sourced in Europe, fitch is a more affordable substi- between two lines, move on to
tute for Sable and great for detail. the next chart with smaller incre-
squirrel hair — gray squirrel, most highly in ments until you find the exact
demand for lettering brushes and quills, is native to measurement.
Russia and nearly always in short supply. Brown
squirrel is more readily available, and is used mainly
for medium-quality and scholastic watercolor brush-
es. A very fine, thin hair, taken from squirrel tails, it
points as well as Kolinsky, but has very little “snap”
(or memory) because the hair is not very resilient. It
works best with liquid paints and inks.
pony hair — soft but strong, from mature ani-
mals at least 2 years of age. It is primarily used for
scholastic-grade brushes, but often blended with
other hairs for inexpensive watercolor and touch-up
brushes. Pony hair lacks “snap” (or memory) and
will not return to a point after a brush stroke.
camel hair — does not come from camels at
all. It is found in watercolor and lettering brushes and
usually made of squirrel, goat, ox, pony or a blend of
several hairs, depending on the desired softness and
intended cost of the brush. Camel hair lacks “snap”
(or memory) and will not return to a point after a
brush stroke.
hog bristle — obtained from hogs in several
parts of the world, the most sought-after coming
from China. Bristle is unlike any other natural filler in
that it forms a V-shaped split or “flag” at the tip and
tends to have a natural curve. The best grade has
“interlocked” bristles, with the curves formed inward
to the ferrule, has a natural resistance to fraying and
spreads medium to thick paints smoothly and even-
ly. A selection of pure hog bristle brushes is recom-
mended for oil, and is a far less expensive alterna-
tive to good-quality softer hairs.