Drybrushing Brushes

[Krazed]

I've recently seem some mini painters using what kind of look like makeup brushes when drybrushing.  They seem to work really well to that effect, but when I search online the only store I see that carries them is... a little expensive.  So here's my question to you: What kind of brushes do you use for drybrushing?  Have you seen these rounded head brushes used before and if so what do you think?  Maybe you know a place I can get them a little cheaper so I can test them out.

I typically used my really worn out brushes for drybrushing but after just a little bit of use the bristles so all over the place and it can be hard to control.

[cmorse]

I picked up a variety pack of 18 makeup brushes off amazon for $12. You should also be able to find them cheap at walmart or target or really any place other than a specialty shop. If for some reason those aren't options you can probably get a set shipped directly from china even cheaper through ebay or ali.

[Pochi]

Go to the makeup section at Target or any place like that and you can pick them up. They work GREAT!

[Kuroneko]

I use theses sets for drybrushing, they're both available on the Big River site. Remember to check the reviews and dismiss any that mention if the brushes lose hairs easily.

 

[ManvsMini]

Any dollar store should have some. They have the rounded edges as well as the angled ones. I personally hit up Dollar Tree here in the States, but Dollar General also has a decent selection.

[WhiteWulfe]

I use the same one Black Magic Craft uses from Dollarama. Inexpensive ($2.50-4 depending on which pack you buy) and you get several brushes, and they seem to handle the abuse. 

 

They sure work a lot better than my old solution, which was Winsor and Newton Scepter II Gold - which don't handle drybrushing as well. 

Edited November 15, 2020 by WhiteWulfe

[ced1106]

21 hours ago, Krazed said:

I typically used my really worn out brushes for drybrushing but after just a little bit of use the bristles so all over the place and it can be hard to control.

 

By the time a worn out brush gets to be a drybrush, it's fine if you use a small scissors or nail clipper to cut off extra bristles. 

 

Sythetics ok as makeup brushes for drybrushing? I see 'em cheap on Amazon in multiples!

[Cranky Dog]

I saw Rhonda Bender use makeup brushes for dry brushing on her Twitch show this afternoon (painting fur and feathers class).

 

Seeing them in action, I am now a convert to their utility.

 

It's not a catchall solution, but it does a few things very well.

[ksbsnowowl]

14 hours ago, ManvsMini said:

Any dollar store should have some. They have the rounded edges as well as the angled ones. I personally hit up Dollar Tree here in the States, but Dollar General also has a decent selection.

Yup. Dollar Tree “Wet n’ Wild” brand makeup brushes. They have 4 or 5 bristle varieties, and it may be hit or miss as to what exactly they have in stock when you stop by, but these are my go-to. 
 

Here is Jeremy from Black Magic Craft recommending them for terrain dry brushing, but the smaller ones work well for miniatures, too. 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R4J-P9pNEWg&t=1045s

[NecroMancer]

Dollar store!

 

You can also just take an old brush and "snip the tip" and make your own drybrush

Edited November 16, 2020 by NecroMancer

[Wren]

The secret of these 'alternative' brushes is very soft bristles. These hold a lot of paint, but they don't require you to wipe almost all that paint off. You wipe excess off and then use a gentle hand brushing over the mini and you can cover a lot of area quickly without much streakiness.

Like cmorse, I bought a set of makeup brushes on Amazon. I think it was $12-15. There are some big brushes in there I won't likely use a lot unless I get into painting terrain or something, but no complaints for the price. I've seen a lot of people mention buying single makeup brushes or smaller sets in big box stores or pharmacies. That gives you a chance to see the size. Though you can use a bigger brush for this than you'd imagine, so don't gravitate immediately to the teeny tiny ones.

 

I also bought a couple of similar brushes at the art store. Squirrel or synthetic squirrel mops would be the kind of thing you're looking for there. Those tend to be more expensive, though. The ones I bought weren't crazy expensive, but they do seem to be a bit more limited in accessibility, or more expensive on Amazon than they were at my art store or the online art stores where I've seen them. A lot of squirrel (or synthetic squirrel) mop brushes will also be more expensive since they're nice brushes for watercolour artists. So cheap makeup brush is probably the way to go at least until you try one and see if you like it.

For those of you using old standard synthetic brushes and the bristles go all over the place after a while - boil water and pour it into a shallow dish. Dip in the head of the brush, and smooth it against the side of the dish. You can often reshape the brush to cure most of the crazy hairs. You can even fix a little bit of tip curl on round brushes. It's a little bit like applying heat to Bones minis, it pops the brush back to original shape. It won't get them back to brand new, but it works pretty well. I've revitalized battered paint and take brushes long past expected lifespan this way. Don't do this with natural hair brushes though.

[Humansquish]

Also, if you get a set that has the larger blush brush you can use that to dust off your minis.

[haldir]

On 11/14/2020 at 10:35 PM, ksbsnowowl said:

Yup. Dollar Tree “Wet n’ Wild” brand makeup brushes. They have 4 or 5 bristle varieties, and it may be hit or miss as to what exactly they have in stock when you stop by, but these are my go-to. 
 

Here is Jeremy from Black Magic Craft recommending them for terrain dry brushing, but the smaller ones work well for miniatures, too. 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R4J-P9pNEWg&t=1045s

 

Sadly my DT doesn't stock these. Too bad I kinda wanted to try em out.

 

 

[KruleBear]

19 hours ago, Humansquish said:

Also, if you get a set that has the larger blush brush you can use that to dust off your minis.

LOL. Sounds like you paint as fast as me   I have a badger hair shave brush to de-dust minis from the shelf of shame. 

[WhiteWulfe]

1 hour ago, KruleBear said:

LOL. Sounds like you paint as fast as me   I have a badger hair shave brush to de-dust minis from the shelf of shame. 

... Huh, an actual use for that 20mm badger hair brush I never liked... 

 

Or to justify a second 24mm Plissoft... Nah, that would be overkill.