Synthetic brushes have bristles consisting of man-made materials such as nylon, polyester, and more. Perhaps the only flaw with sable brushes is that they're quite expensive to purchase.īecause of their springy and absorbent qualities as well as their ability to retain a point, sable hair brushes are great for many painting techniques.

Both types have superb springiness (kolinsky having a bit more), have great absorbency, and can still hold a fine point despite being wet. The term 'sable' can refer to martens of different colors, the finest of which are red sable and kolinsky. Sable brushes are by far some of the most sought-after natural hair brushes today. Squirrel hair brushes are ideal for lettering and for when you need to leave a very smooth finish. That said, squirrel hair virtually has no spring, making them somewhat difficult to control. Another advantage of this natural fiber is its price compared to sable hair brushes. This thin hair has a pointed tip which helps it form a sharp point. Squirrel hair brushes are popular for their sable-like qualities. They're ideal for oil painting on canvas. They're thinner at the base and wider at the tip giving them a bushy appearance. Badgerīadger hair is one of the oldest natural hairs used in brush bristles.īadger hair is naturally strong and springy. Goat or sheep hair brushes are great for applying washes. Goat or sheep hair brushes have similar qualities.īoth have excellent absorbency (sheep being a bit more absorbent) with little to no spring. Sabeline brushes are ideal if you're looking for a soft natural bristle brush to use for fills, washes, and dry brushing. They can't compare to red sable brushes when it comes to fine detail work. That said, while sabeline brushes may be as soft as red sable, they just don't come to a fine point, unlike the real thing. Sabeline brushes have softness similar to that of red sable but at a fraction of the cost. Sabeline brushes are made from light ox hair dyed to resemble (the far more expensive) red sable hair. Their softness also makes them great for adding texture and blending. Unfortunately, you often get what you pay for, so don't expect top-quality performance from horse hair brushes as they don't keep their shape very well, even when wet.ĭue to their propensity for holding a lot of paint, horse hair brushes are best used for filling in large areas of your canvas more quickly. This natural fiber is coarse, tough, often kinked, and can hold a lot of paint so you won't have to stop painting to reapply paint as often. Horse hair was and still is a common material used in paintbrushes. When it comes to uses, hog bristle brushes are great for painting animal hair, fur, and feathers. They're also not as soft as other natural bristle materials. However, being made of natural hair means hog bristle brushes shed bristles more easily. Hog bristle brushes are naturally strong and springy with coarse split-ends giving them better grip and less likelihood of skipping.

Connected paintbrush font