The best miniature paintbrushes will be essential if you want to give your miniatures a good paint job. Trying to paint them with the wrong brush can make the job incredibly difficult, especially if you’re using brushes that are too large.
Painting miniatures is such a rewarding experience that allows you to put a little bit of your own creativity into the best miniature wargames. Whether you’re painting dungeons and dragons miniatures or just about any other brand, we’ve found the best brushes for painting miniatures you can get right now.
The best miniature paintbrushes are:
- Winsor & Newton Series 7 – premium choice
- da Vinci Watercolor series – best overall
- Vinonzi Detail paint brushes – budget choice
- Citadel Artificer Brush – best from Games Workshop
- Artistik Miniature Paint Brush set – best with carry bag
- Army Painter Starter Set – made by fans for fans
1. Winsor & Newton Series 7
The best premium miniature brush.
Winsor & Newton Series 7 overview:
| Number of brushes | Sold individually |
| Sizes | 0/3 – 10 |
| Materials | Sable bristles, rust-proof, seamless nickel-plated ferrules, hand-made wooden handles |
Pros
- Top-notch quality
- Loads of sizes
Cons
- Uses animal products
- High price
Winsor & Newton is a highly respected manufacturer in the paintbrush world that has been around for almost 200 years, so you know you’re going to get a quality product when you buy from them. They sell a huge range of brushes, with sizes 0/3 to 3 being the ones you’d use for miniatures.
Unlike other paintbrushes, with these, you don’t buy a set, rather you build your own set based on the ones you want/need for miniature painting. This makes it a bit more expensive than buying a set, but at least you know you’re getting exactly what you need. We wouldn’t recommend going for size 4 or above if you are only going to be painting miniatures, but if you have other creative endeavors in mind, it’s good to have some larger brushes too.
2. da Vinci Watercolor Series
The best miniature paintbrushes for most people.
da Vinci Watercolor series overview:
| Number of brushes | 5 |
| Sizes | 10/0, 5/0, 3/0, 0, 2 |
| Material | Red sable hair tips, sustainable wooden handle |
Pros
- High quality brushes
- Nice range of sizes
Cons
- Uses animal products
- Slightly expensive
We recommend this set of five da Vinci watercolor brushes as the best option for the majority of people just getting into miniature painting. The size 10/0 in particular, with its extremely fine point, is ideal for getting those intricate details right. Having the slightly larger ones is also handy for any of the slightly larger miniatures in your collection.
Admittedly, this is a slightly more expensive set of brushes, but the additional expense is definitely worth it for the quality. The individual strands are very sturdy, which is especially useful for going after finer details, and with plenty of elasticity, you don’t need to worry so much about them bending out of shape.
3. Vinonzi Detail paint brushes
The best budget miniature paint brushes.
Vinonzi Detail paintbrushes overview:
| Number of brushes | 10 |
| Sizes | 0/4 – 6 |
| Materials | Nylon bristles, ergonomic plastic handle |
Pros
- Discount price
- Ergonomic design
Cons
- Some in the set too large for miniatures
- Less sturdy than others
Want to dabble in miniature painting without having to fork out a fortune? This set of ten Vinonzi brushes comes at a discount price but gives you a decent selection of brushes ranging from size 0/4 (which is absolutely minuscule), all the way up to size 6. It’s a great range that should cover most of your needs.
They may not have quite as long a lifespan as some of the other brushes on this list, but you can always upgrade to a slightly sturdier pair if you decide to keep going with your miniature painting. Meanwhile, as a nice extra detail about these brushes is that they have an ergonomically designed handle, making it easier to hold them comfortably over long periods of time.
4. Citadel Artificer Brush
The best brushes from Games Workshop.
Citadel Artificer range overview:
| Number of brushes | Sold individually |
| Sizes | Non-standard sizing, named for purpose |
| Materials | Sable hair bristles |
Pros
- Made for miniatures specifically
- Really high quality
Cons
- Expensive
- Uses animal products
If you’re a Warhammer fan in particular, it makes sense that you’d go for a brush that has the Games Workshop stamp of approval. The Citadel Artificer brush is something that that Games Workshop sells directly through their own website (though you can find it elsewhere too). You’d struggle to find a better set of brushes for painting Warhammer miniatures.
This is another of the more expensive brushes, but its quality definitely justifies the price – indeed, like the above option, they were created by Winsor and Newton. The bristles are made of pure sable, and the fine point at their tip makes them ideal for painting even the smallest details. Designed specifically with miniature painting in mind, they even have unique sizing options, where different brushes are made for the base, layers, or dry brushing.
5. Artistik Miniature Paintbrush set
The best miniature paint brushes with a carrying case.
Artistik Miniature Paintbrush set overview:
| Number of brushes | 13 |
| Sizes | 2 x 0/4, 0/3, 0/2, 0, 1, 2 1 x 4 |
| Materials | Flagged bristle, triangular wooden handle, Chrome-plated rust-proof ferrules |
Pros
- Lots of brushes
- Excellent carrying case
Cons
- Not all miniature painting appropriate
- Bristles could be better
Do you travel around a not and know you need a set of paint brushes that can be easily transported? Or perhaps you want to become a freelance miniature painter, and want a set that you can carry between different locations? Well, the Artistik Miniature Paint Brush Set is going to be an excellent choice, because you get 13 brushes in a brilliant carrying case to transport them around in.
These range from the absolutely tiny 0/4 through to a larger size 4. All of them will be handy to have in your miniature painting arsenal. These have all been designed with ergonomics in mind, so if you enjoy spending hours miniature-painting, they’ll help to ensure that you don’t have to deal with hand cramps.
6. Army Painter Starter Set
The best miniature paint brushes made for fans by fans.
Army Painter Starter Set overview:
| Number of brushes | 3 |
| Sizes | Sized for purpose: Standard, Drybrush, and Small Detail |
| Materials | Toray fibers, wooden handle |
Pros
- Made for miniature painting
- Reasonable price
Cons
- Only a few brushes
- Atypical sizing
Army Painter is a well-known and respected name in the miniature gaming world. Founded by two fans of the craft, the business specialized in making top-notch paint brushes which were made for fans, by fans. The three brushes in this set present an excellent starting point for anyone getting into miniature painting, with a dry brush to help you get a worn, realistic-looking texture, a brush to get the very finest details just right, and a standard brush to cover everything else.
These ones can be a little bit harder to clean than others, which is frustrating if you’re painting miniatures with various different colors in succession, and they’re a little bit on the expensive side. Nonetheless, we think they’re an excellent starting point and will do a fantastic job of helping you bring color to your favorite miniatures.
How we chose the best miniature paintbrushes
When deciding which brushes to include in this list, there were a few main areas that we considered:
- Pricing: Everyone’s working with a different budget, and we get that. We wanted to include brushes that could accommodate anybody, regardless of how much they’re able to spend… while also taking time not to recommend anything so cheap that it’s worthless.
- Ergonomics: If you can foresee yourself painting miniatures for hours and hours, it’ll be important to go for a paintbrush with an ergonomic design. A standard handle for a brush might get uncomfortable after extended use, but if it’s something you think you’ll dabble with in short bursts, you don’t need to worry about this factor so much.
- Size: Paint brushes come in many different sizes, and obviously, you’re going to want something small for miniatures. The smallest size you can get is 0/10 and that’s absolutely tiny. If you want to go all in and get those miniature details spot on, then this will be one to look at.
- Brands: There are thousands of manufacturers trying to sell cheap paint brushes online and you should be wary of going for anything too obscure, lest you risk buying something of subpar quality. Anything in this list is fine, but if you shop beyond it, look out for Army Painter, Games Workshop, and da Vinci among others, as they are renowned and respected brands.
If you have any other questions, check out our FAQs below:
What brush size should I use for miniatures?
Probably size 3, maximum. This can be good for base coating or for models with a slightly larger surface area. Then, just go down the size scale for anything more intricate. Size 0/10 is the smallest and it’s good for really minute details, but on the other hand, you wouldn’t want to use one exclusively, because that would make the process much longer.
What do you paint first on a miniature?
First things first, you should give your miniatures a base coating. Choose a color that suits it, because then once it dries and you paint over it, the base color might be appropriate for certain parts. After that, we recommend doing the largest areas first, because then you don’t risk going over smaller details with the larger brushes you’ll use for a block of color.
What’s the best color for miniature painting?
For your base coat, a dark color is going to be the best option. Typically, miniatures are designed with a dark color scheme in mind. Use a white base coat, for example, and then afterward you might realize conspicuous spots sticking out in the small bits you missed. Dark ones blend well with the colors you’ll be using.
Want to display your miniatures? Check out our guide on the best display shelves for miniatures. We also think you’ll like our lists of the best Warhammer board games and the best free miniature wargame rules. Anyway – happy painting!