Supplies: All About Watercolor Brushes

Let’s dig deeper into brushes! What are they made from? What’s the difference in the materials, shapes, and brands? Do you really need expensive brushes? How many and which brushes make a good starter set?

Like a lot of art, watercolor is a medium where your tools directly shape your results — and your brush is important (but not as important as your paper!). Choosing the right watercolor brush can make your painting process smoother, your washes cleaner, and your details sharper. But with so many shapes, sizes, and materials available, it can be overwhelming to know where to start.

First, how about a little anatomy of our standard paint brush, just so we’re using the same language:

Caring for Your Watercolor Brushes

Now you need to know how to take good care of your brushes. No matter how fancy a brush you buy, it won’t last if you don’t take care of it! Plus, the more you spend on a brush the longer you’ll want/expect it to last. So, here are your brush care rules:

Never leave your brushes sitting in water! (The most important rule!!)
- The water can damage the handle and having the brush rest on its tip will deform it.
Rinse as you paint.
- Each time you want to switch brushes, rinse the one you just used and lay it flat.
- Dab the wet brush on a clean paper towel and you’ll be able to see if you got it clean!
When you’re done with your painting session for the day, make sure all your brushes are clean and horizontal
- Reshape the tip with clean fingers so it drys in the shape you want it to hold
Once it’s dry, store it either horizontal or with the bristles up.
For natural hair (bristles), occasionally condition with mild brush soap.

Main Characteristics of Watercolor Brushes

Now let’s learn the 2 main characteristics of a watercolor brush (they are both about the bristles):

Bristle Fiber – determines how the brush handles water, pigment, and springiness.
Bristle Shape – determines the type of marks and strokes the brush can make.

The different bristle fiber types determine how the brush preforms in 3 key areas:

How much paint and water the bristles can hold
If the bristles maintain a fine point or crisp edge
The resilience of the bristles in returning to their original form

Bristle Fiber Types: Natural, Synthetic, and Blends

Natural Hair Brushes

Made from animal hair (so some people avoid them do to concerns about how the animals are treated), usually shaped and secured in the ferrule without cutting the tips, so the hair naturally tapers to a fine point.

Common Types (FYI, “sable” is a small weasel-type mammal.):

Kolinsky Sable – The gold standard. Extremely soft, holds a large amount of water, and comes to a needle-fine point. Excellent for precision and smooth, flowing washes.
- Pros: Superb water/pigment capacity, excellent control, durable with good care.
- Cons: Expensive!
Red Sable – Slightly less expensive than Kolinsky but still excellent quality.
- Pros: Great balance of spring and softness, versatile.
- Cons: Still pricey, less water capacity than Kolinsky.
Squirrel – Ultra-soft, floppy, and capable of holding an enormous amount of water. Best for large washes and loose styles.
- Pros: Massive water capacity, very smooth flow.
- Cons: Lacks spring, so not great for fine details
Goat Hair – Soft and absorbent, often used in traditional Chinese and Japanese brushes.
- Pros: Holds water well, affordable compared to sable.
- Cons: Less snap and control, wears faster.

Synthetic Brushes

Made from nylon, polyester, or other man-made fibers, often tapered and treated to mimic natural hair. They usually have a nice balance of spring and absorbency. Unfortunately, they all tend to hold less water than natural hair

Nylon
- Pros: Durable, keeps its shape well, springy “snap” for crisp edges, resists wear.
- Cons: Less absorbent than natural hair, can feel slick when applying watery washes.
Taklon (Polyester)
- Pros: Smooth, versatile, can be made soft or firm depending on intended use, often more affordable, dyeable to mimic natural hair look.
- Cons: Moderate water capacity, may wear faster at the tip with heavy use.
Polyester Blends
- Pros: Can mix fibers of different thickness for better water retention, improved mimicry of natural hair’s irregular texture, often balanced between spring and softness.
- Cons: Performance varies by brand; can be pricier than single-fiber synthetics.
Proprietary Blends (Brand-specific formulas)
- Pros: Designed to closely imitate sable or squirrel, often excellent balance of spring and absorbency, cruelty-free.
- Cons: Typically more expensive than standard synthetics, performance can vary widely between brands.

Modern high-end synthetics (like Princeton Neptune, Escoda Versatil, or Winsor & Newton Synthetic Sable) have closed the performance gap significantly, offering water capacity and softness that rivals natural hair.

Blended Brushes (Natural + Synthetic)

Combine the best of both worlds: water-holding ability of natural hair with the spring and durability of synthetic.

Pros:
- Balanced performance
- More affordable than all-natural sables
- Versatile for different painting styles
Cons:
- Not as specialized as pure sable or pure synthetic — a “jack of all trades”

Brush Shapes and What They’re For

I confess, I’m not the kind of painter who really makes good use of all the brush shapes. I like a big brush to wet my paper and then I use a few different sized round brushes. Occasionally I’ll pick up an angled brush too… I guess learning to really make full use of the different brush shapes will need to go on my list of things to do!

Round: The workhorse brush. Tapers to a fine point for detail but can also hold enough water for washes. Sizes range from tiny 000 for miniature details to large #16 or #20 for washes.
Flat: Perfect for broad, even washes, glazing, and bold strokes. Can also turn sideways for sharp edges.
Mop: Large, soft, and absorbent (often squirrel hair) for big, fluid washes.
Rigger: Long, thin hairs for fine lines, grass, branches, and calligraphy.
Liner:
Filbert: Rounded edges make softer shapes and blends than a flat.
Dagger/Striper: Angled hairs for dynamic strokes, petals, or fine lines.

Choosing the Right Watercolor Brush for You

In my painting parties, we use these nylon multi-use brushes (10 brushes for $5). They make a good set to start with, but soon you’ll be itching to buy nicer brushes. At that point, I suggest you buy brushes one at a time so it doesn’t blow your budget. You don’t need 20 brushes to paint well! Start with:

One medium round (size 6 or 8) – versatile for most work.
One small round (size 2 or 4) – for details.
One flat or mop – for washes and backgrounds.
Optional: A tiny size 0 brush if you like to paint a lot of small details

In fact, with the vast majority of my painting at home, I use these 4 brushes (0, 4, 8, 3/4″).

This 3 piece Silver Brush set (my favorite) is a great example of an excellent blend of squirrel hair and black synthetic fibers (but this brand is usually over priced on Amazon- look at Michaels, and Blick). I have a bunch of other recommendations on my Watercolor Supplies for Beginners page.

When you’re ready to try something new, add specialty brushes as your style develops.

Final Thought: The “best” brush is the one that feels comfortable in your hand, matches your painting style, and makes you excited to paint. Whether you choose a single, well-made sable or a budget-friendly synthetic set, knowing what the fibers and shapes are designed to do will help you paint smarter and with more confidence.

Originally published: Published 2025 August 21