Cheap Paintbrushes vs Expensive Paintbrushes…

Posted by Chandra Pockrandt on

As a creative, most artists use paintbrushes as their tool. It is important to really have your information correct when trying to determine if expensive brushes fit into your budget. Some people will tell you cheap brushes don’t matter. But I am here to tell you it does!


If you add up all the trips to the dollar store or Michaels to get the best deals on the $4.00 pack of brushes then you are only going to get what you pay for. Yes, another trip to that store again next week and searching for coupons. Cheaper brushes are sometimes made of plastic or cheap material that will either end up breaking or showing up on your painting. And as you get better with your craft you might even want to hang your pieces or sell them. What you use for your instrument really does shine through in your work..(I see that stray hair just like you do)


Stray hairs tend to be an issues either way you look at it. But you shouldn't have them throughout your painting. If you receive premium paintbrushes and the hairs fall out this might be because of defect and if you bought from a reliable company they should compensate you for this defect. Cheaper brushes are just cheaper and there are going to be defects always. 


Brushes that you want to look for are handles made of sturdy wood and ferrules that don’t wiggle when you grab it. Premium brushes are sometimes made of birch wood and have a handle that is coated so the water doesn’t warp them. Along with the premium brushes they will stay strong for you at least 2 to 3 months if you are taking care of them properly. This saves you on trips to the store and always needing coupons (at which at the end of the day really doesn’t save you time or money) 


You may want to try different types of hairs for your techniques. Synthetic nylons are great for all types of mediums except for oil. Animal hair blends are great for blending, and holding paint for longer strokes and depthness. 


So do you buy cheap brushes or premium brushes? Well if you are looking at this as something you are going to take seriously and really want to learn the fundamentals of creating. I would suggest a premium brush that can take the abuse that a cheap brush can’t. Save yourself time and money. If you are just playing and aren’t serious about your craft then use the cheaper ones. But please promise me that you will level up when you are ready to get your game face on and create in style with premium brushes!


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