Paintbrush Guide, Types of Paint Brushes, Paint Brush Sizes

At Craft-Ease™ , we support art therapy by offering high quality tools, as well as a detailed paint brush guide to help you make the most of our kits.

While there are many types of paint brushes and different paint brush sizes, we’ll cover the most popular, explain what each one is used for, and how to choose the right paint brush.

What Paintbrush to Use and for What?

It can be daunting to see many types of paintbrush at a local craft store or included in the paintbrush kit. Paintbrushes are instrumental to render particular painting effects - so they are excellent tools for you to create your own style of painting! In this guide, we present the most popular paintbrushes and what they are used for.

Anatomy of a Paintbrush

Round

This paintbrush can help create thick-to-thin strokes as well as watercolor wash effects. Simply apply pressure from one point and drag lightly to render desired effect. Depending on the brush sizes and the applied pressure, it can help with detail work or filling large areas.

Liner / Detail

Fine point and long length – liner brush is perfect for details, thin lines and precision, outlining or decorative designs. To make it easier to flow from the brush, it is best to thin out the paint to reach a more liquid consistency. Liner is a good tool to paint continuous curved or straight lines; simply apply pressure to adjust thickness.

Shader / Flat

Use shader to do chisel works - to create sharp, square shape and crisp edges. It is often used to color in blocks, shade, blend and highlight. Can be double-loaded, side-loaded to float or walk color and to create gradient effects.

Angular Shader / Angle Flat

Angular shader / angle flat is used for tight shading, curved strokes and stroke work. It can be double-loaded and side-loaded and good for painting or blending in small areas and corners. Popular tool to create rose petals.

Wash / Glaze

Wash / glaze with large broad bristles are ideal for washes, base-coating, applying glazes, finishes and sweeping strokes of large areas.

Filbert / Oval

Filbert / oval is of rounded shape that helps create strokes with soft edges. It is also often used to fill circular areas, float color and blend forming a more natural shape for flower petals, leaves, and feathers.

Our guide has all of the best brushes for paint by number kits—for further guidance, visit our painting tutorial, and make sure to browse our wide selection to get started!