8 Paint Brushes Every Mini Painter NEEDS
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Cobramode Miniatures
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*** "Excalibur", "The Workhorse", and "Little Bastard" brushes come from Monument Hobbies!
AMAZON LINKS: materials I use, no extra cost to you and they give me a bit of money as a kickback (anything you buy while starting with these links, actually!):
"The Tweener", "Lil' Smoosh" brushes:
Cheap Synthetic Miniature Paint Brushes
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UK: amzn.to/3eM53Si
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"Poofball" dry brushes:
Dry Brushes (makeup brushes)
USA: amzn.to/3utwgOb
UK: amzn.to/3oZfzt6
Australia: amzn.to/2StETLr
Canada: amzn.to/2QZ9m3H
"The Dumper" brushes:
Cheap Big Synthetic PaintBrushes
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Australia: amzn.to/3fNTaKZ
Canada: amzn.to/3hVeYXP
Flexible Sanding Sticks
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Miniature Files
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Brush Cleaning Tank
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Vortex Mixer
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Wall Mounted Paint Racks (Nail Polish Rack)
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Australia (clear version, no black avail.): amzn.to/35rNR03
Canada: amzn.to/2Rj2wm6
SONG: "Crispy Days" by Lupus Nocte - Навчання та стиль
Hey Darryl, Hey Jon! That eel thing is looking great! :-)
I'm a subscriber to CobraMode (really lovely people, & design aesthetics), and the Dragon-eel/Eel Dragon, with electric powers, is Samorrey - - at which point, I couldn't help myself...
🎶 When - your - Dragon's an eel
who can zap how you feel,
that's Samorrey;
When your limbs jump and dance
so you haven't a chance,
that's Samorrey -
Senses zing, ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling, as you shake all a'flutter,
As he chomps bitey-bitey-hey, bitey-bitey-hey, like it's just peanut butter!
😄
@Goobertown Hobbies
It brings me an unreasonable amount of joy to see your comments on your friends videos
@@seandamato2585 It's like @goobertown hobbies has a cameo in every video. Also I read his comments in what my mind aproximates as his voice.
Me: expecting brand names and numbers
Jon: The Dumper.
Me: oh thank god.
Except Monument Hobbies doesn't have a "Lil' Bastard" on their website 🤔
One of my brushes in my tool kit is the "oh no" brush, a medium sized brush that can used to apply water and take off the misplaced paint when I mess up.
I call it the Oops Brush or the "Oh $#!+" brush since that's what I'm more likely to say.
The "Undo Button"
The "CTRL+Z" brush 😃
The "The Elder". Its the old brush you loved so much you couldn't throw it away or repurpose/abuse it when it was played out. Instead, it just sits there in a special, safe spot on the hobby desk, unused but admired, hopefully imparting its wisdom to the younger brushes.
Thank god im not the only one XD
Lol, I HAVE THIS GUY!
"that brush costed me 58$..not throwing it away"
I just put my very first Raphael in this category this past week. It only took 4 years. I'm hoping with all the tricks I've picked up on the way the next one will last even longer.
Ah yes the venerable paintbrush. Even in death it still serves.
Now Jon is talking straight to the little hobby devil on our left shoulder. Smart move.
Was thinking the exact same thing
That hobby devil is what keeps this industry going. You DO need more paints, and you DO need more brushes, and you SHOULD go treat yourself even though you just bought some new ones last week.
I kept looking behind me, quite disconcerting......... look me in the eyes Jon. Look me in the eyes...........
This needs to be in the "Necessary Ninjon Watches" A great video probably one of the best. SO much information and excellent descriptions. Thank you for putting it together!
Man your intro skits crack me up every time. Great focus on something I take for granted. Now I need to expand my brush set.
Great tips Jon but im so here for Daryl's miniture painting arch
I personally would find great entertainment out of watching Daryl do a video on painting something like an orc with all the dakka.... I feel like that would just be his style.
I don't really name my brushes but if I did, they'd all be named "Where the f**k is that thing?"
This is extremly helpful Ninjon thank you.
Hi Jon, I really appreciate that you take the time to paint the entire model and not just a section. It's really helpful to view the whole process and how the different sections harmonizes the whole thing. Thanks!
I wanted to say thank you for this video, and for reassuring something; a lot of other UA-cam painters give lots of advice about "Abandon doing X to be a better painter" but it always felt wrong; i.e. drybrushing is one of my favorite painting methods and washes get a bad reputation, but your videos always assure me that every painting technique can be specialized and used as part of a greater process. You also showed that all brushes can be good brushes, that not everyone needs a $100 brush set to paint well. Your videos are inspirational and well made. Thank you for your efforts. You have made a lifelong viewer of me.
Missed two "brushes": One small one with ALL bristles cut off. Use this to paint perfect dots in minimal time. The other one is an old brush with the ferrule taken out and a small clump or even a ball of plastic foam glued on there. This one you use for weathering - works equally well for creating streaky grime, and those little chips of battle damage.
I love the notion that you're taking old brushes that are just done and recycling them into long-term use tools. Specific purpose tools, but … tools you're likely to want to have by the time you're able to make them.
I use Vallejo sintetic brush 2,1,0 for destroing works, a silver Green stuff world set, but my favorite are DaVinci maestro serie 7 in number 2 and 0
Sorry for my english, from Italy ✌️
"Hooker": A old brush with a hooked tip to get sharp details on hard to reach areas.
Exactly!
I HAVE ONE OF THESE! And it's go to for everything
May need a name change like something like the "claw" just saying
Hooker Claw
@@letsdoit7338 i use one of this to metalic details
Actually, I WOULD like to sit through a 4hr video going over each tool for the hobby. >_>
Thank you for the laugh this morning! Lol! I've been up since 4:30am, so I needed it 😂 Also, I'm a makeup artist, so when I buy my makeup brushes, I buy my crafting brushes too. I use my old makeup brushes for painting as well. I use a mixture of makeup brushes and actual craft painting brushes for makeup...I guess I picked two pretty good activities to like 😂
For a few years when I first started painting minis, my brush eventually got to about 6 or 7 hairs. Being a young kid in the 80's getting a new brush wasn't as easy as Amazon. I don't use it anymore, but I still have this brush as a kind of reminder of how much I would endure for the Love and passion of this hobby. Now if I can just get through this horde. :P
LOOK ME IN THE EYES WHEN U SPEAK TO ME ABOUT THE ART OF BRUSHES!!!
"I'm sure you don't want to sit thru a 4 hour video going over every possible tool in miniature painting"
Thats exactly what I want Jon ....
This is exactly one of the two videos I really need. My fear of destroying expensive brushes has been really holding me back (I have these nice brushes I'm too afraid to use) and understanding how to use a collection of brushes and when to use them is incredibly helpful. And the names are perfect, I'm going to use that too.
I do think an honorable mention needs to go to the airbrush.
As for the other video I need, I get really stuck trying to figure out what color scheme to use and how to pick the paints so I can just get started. My miniatures tend to look like a mess because, even though I paint within the lines, the color combinations just look a little jarring.
I had a similar mindset at first then I started using my 3 Series 8 brushes for EVERYTHING and im now over a year in and they are only starting to show some ageing. The amount of cheap brushes I went through in a year before cost me about 2x for inferior results and alot of frustration.
Try Marco Frisoni's Color Theory series, Miniac's "Stop Using Color Theory Like a Dingus", and Trovarion's "The Only Miniature Painting Video You'll Ever Need".
I went thru brushes pretty quick when I started. Now I have been using the same three for about 4 years. Wet the brush before painting even if been just a few minutes to keep paint from going up the bristles. Rinse out your brush often and use soap after a session or a pigment rich color, red, blue, green. Store it horizontal if can to keep water out of the ferrel. I dry my brushes with coffee filter paper.
Dana Howl does really good videos about colour on her channel
Great video as always! Side note I really thought this model was gonna turn out super bad, I really appreciate those less flattering shots because it made me realize how real the "ass" phase of the model is. I've got so many models I stopped in the middle of painting because they looked so terrible.
I like the fact that Jon doesn't obsess about particular brands in this video, but talks about many of the brushes that we have in our collections, even if we don't give them names. I like also the recognition that not everything has to be done with Kolinsky sable.
I love how you painted this fella! I've been in cobra mode's patreon for a few months now and they have the best sculpts... The models are so fun and whimsical
I forgot how good this video is. Top notch on the skits and bloopers. The content was really helpful when I first started out too.
Man!!!! That paint job looks A W E S O M E!!! 🤯🤯🙌🙌🙌🙌 Fun model and gorgeous painting! 🤘🤘🤘🤘
This is by far the most useful explanation of "necessary brushes" I've seen for mini painting. Holy shit am I glad I stumbled on this channel
I use a #2 flat for my workhorse. It’s called the slaptrap, because it slaps paint on all the solid areas and the tip is slightly bent for getting into the trapped creases and whatnot.
Jon I'm writing this to let you know that this was the video that finally got me to sub to your channel. Partially because it's a really good list and breaks down the essentials of paintbrushes without resorting to name dropping for all the synthetics (because at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter).
I also subbed because of the way you painted the model itself. Using drybrushes for blotching on base colours, blending colours together with your stippling brushes, doing fine details with your workhorse, you did a lot of things "outside" of the assumed role of the brushes you were describing and really helped show that at the end of the day it doesn't matter how you get the paint onto the model, as long as it looks good in the end. I think some of us, myself included, have these preconceived notions of the "right" and "wrong" way to paint, and I really enjoyed being reminded that there is no wrong way.
Jon you’ve quickly become one of my favourite UA-camrs! Always fun to watch, always learn something! Thank you!
I want to sit through a 4 hour video covering every possible tool and miniature paint.
I'm a simple man you make vid I click.
oh Darryl... How I long for the day when we finally get a whole video of you teaching us ! Jon, great video, sound track was on point! Good to know you are an expert on dumpers =)
It's great to see a model painted beginning to end while at the same time discussing the tools used and, even though it's not the focus of the video, explain some technique along the way.
Those codenames for the paintbrushes LOL! I know this is a vid last year but I still enjoy re-watching your vids Jon!
Jon your style has become so fluid adapting to whatever the model is coaxing out of you. I have witnessed high contrast paint jobs, smooth af blends, dank greasy minis, and now highly textured minis. You may associate with the way of the ninja but to me you are like the Grey Jedi of mini painting.
I laughed so hard at the little bastard. The amount of times I've cursed at my army painter insane detail brush, time to get some flow improver!
The colours of that eel are super amazing! I love them!
Finally a sponsor that is good
Love this channel so much, you do such a great job with these minis and it makes a good video to watch in the background while burning my money away on all my favorite minis :)
nice brush system
I would add in a couple brushes for metallics only. A few of your workhorse type brushes get r dun. Dip the handle in metallic paint to designate them for that task.
Also for those looking at makeup brushes, the eyeshadow and concealer type brushes usually work just as well as something like the army painter dry brushes. And they can be had for less than a dolla.
One of the most helpful mini painting videos I’ve seen in a looong time!
Named brushes? I have an old synthetic 5 round I use exclusively for mixing paints together that I tend to call my "Mixy-Spreader" because that is exactly what it does. And then of course there is Mr "Trusty-Dusty 3 Round" that I use for basically everything. My workhorse brush.
Also, while I have your attention, I would really like to thank you. Jon, you did a guest spot on a Miniac video where you talked about beginner paint sets, and I watched the video right when I was starting out with a few tubes of apple barrel craft paint because I was scared of dropping money on something I would put down soon after.
Your video advice helped me purchase my first set of good paints, the Vallejo base color set. Now two years later I've built my paint collection to a point where my husband had to help me install wall-mounted racks and I've been improving more and more.
So thanks for giving me that first step into the hobby that I really needed.
I love Michigan Toy Solider, I used to go in there on my lunch break when I worked close by.
My 2 I call a Katana because I have used Ichiban Studios brushes since the came out on kickstarter. I love the pulling the brush out of it handle. I am always paint at the hobby shop so this protects my brushes in transit.
A year later, just wanted to thank you and let you know this video is still helping people.
From before I had an airbrush. The slap dash which is a 1/2 inch decorators brush. Basecoat 100 models in next to no time when the weather is too wet for rattle cans. Once you learn how to control the amount of paint on the brush it was far faster than a rattle can for quickly basecoating/undercoating a few models taking into account the time taken to shake the rattle can properly.
Jesus! That is one of your most stunning paint jobs to date. I love love love what you did with this model!
Was expecting you to describe the “Jesus” brush 😂
Thanks for the overview of the brushes you use Jon. That eel thingy looks great
I love that case! All my brushes are everywhere, loosely organized with some elastic into good, bad and ugly, but this system is much nicer
I missed the link for the case. Can you share it.
Thanks
That is such a beautiful paint job. I love your videos cause I think you cool plus your voice over is so calming!!
Ok So I heard about Your Channel thought the m Guys and I really enjoy Your content. I havent painted a mini in over 30 years but getting back into the hobby. Thanks for the tips and the vids! Your Amazing!
The color scheme on this thing is so amazing. I've seen this model by CobraMode done about a dozen times, and this is the first version that didnt look like rainbow vomit, but still carried the colorful pallette this model deserves.
So glad to have found your channel.
I think I've been doing this unconsciously over the years - sort of 'workhorse' (base coats) 'drybrush' 'detail' 'blunt instrument' (glue solvents) etc..
🤣🤣🤣 love the intro! Thx for good thoughts on brushes as well! 😉
Great as always! I enjoy these video's with solid content, not just 'new project hypetrain *loud music* ' . Looking forward to the next one!
Ey I love Michigan Toy Soldier. I love going there when I head to that side of Michigan. Really awesome to have a store like them here in the Mitten
Its reassuring to know that, while I didn't have your fancy names, I did have largely the same 'selection' of brushes... though I tend to use the "Tweeners" for most things, I keep planning on just breaking out the Squidmar or Windsor and Newton brushes for the final details, then realise that I've finished the model before doing so... Though my "tweeners" are cheap sable brushes for the most part, so they're not as fancy as the Excalibur brushes, but still pretty nice to use -usually a £30-40 set of Quidsi ones
They are fantastic minis. Also great vid.. love these ones. Also thanks for the links for Australia appreciate it.
I had 1 "fine detail" brush with a curled tip I used for like everything back in the day. It was a decent quality synthetic
Loving those goiters🤣 Thanks for the great feature, Jon!
This was great, now I know what to do with my old ruined brushes. Not just saying what people need but thoroughly explaining the not so much described brushes 👌
Great video! Glad it's not just me that has fun names for the random brushes!
Almost forgot to drop a comment for ya! Keep on Jon! You are now my absolutely favourite paint-dude-whatever on YT :)
I love Michigan Toy Soldier. I'm lucky enough to live near to the store. Great company. No complaints.
Jon your channel is so damn good. I just bought some of the monument brushes using your link and promo code. Thanks so much for all the hard work and great videos. You definitely have the best combination of education and entertainment as far as all channels I've seen.
I think you are by far the most entertaining paint channel and the only one I feel like I've learned more from is Vincent venturella
Jon you need to do a Ninjon hot tips video! There's so many nuggets of wisdom peppered through out your video's. E.g. mixing flow aid in your paint instead of water when using a small brush like a 000, is slick!
Yeah Daryl!!! Glorious paint job on that really cool figure! Great content, tips and techniques as always Jon, thank you! And thank you for your outtake reel, love it! Bless you for the laughs hope you and your family are well, take care.
Great production all around!
Great video, Jon! I loved the energy with the bit of music around the 10 minute mark. It wouldn't hurt to turn the tunes up just a bit during the monologue. I had to turn my headphones up to the point where it hurt my ears just to confirm it was still there!
Dude I cracked up every single time you said lil smoosh 😂. Great job on the video
Artis Opis M Series 1 and 0 are my usual's for detail work. All my other fave brushes are Artist loft sables for semi-detail work, Krylon liner brushes for ink/oilwash and a few Krylons for drybrushing/stippling.
The only brushes I've ever named are Bigboy and Bigboy2, a standard and a cut-down 1/2" emulsion brush from Wickes, one for slapping on colour and basecoats to really big things, like terrain, the other for dry-brushing and stippling said terrain. Depending on the project, I'll brush or airbrush basecoats, then I have a small, medium and large dry brush made from older brushes, a small and large brush for washes, small and medium brushes for metalics, and finally, medium and tiny brushes for layers and glazes.
I don't have expert level brushes and I've never really been too worried about painting at golden demon levels, so hadn't* invested in kolinski sable brushes. Cheap brushes can do well enough in the short term, and a good soap and bit of hair putty can keep them good for a surprising amount of time. Even if they don't last more than a couple projects before joining the "dead-brush-jar" to inevitably become a drybrush or washing brush down the line.
* I might have just dropped on the RGG kickstarter, so there may be a couple kolinsky sable brushes in my future.
That eel looks breathtaking
Darryl deserves his own episode. Nice vid man.
I LOVE how you name these. Hilarious!
I always end up stippling with whatever brush I have at hand and then I end up with a large collection of stipple brushes and buy more brushes to then convert to more stipple brushes.... I never learn.
Great video! Love your content! Actually creeping closer to start painting again after watching your videos!
Recommendation: just watched the video about gitstomper and you look right into the camera, which makes you way more present to the viewer. In this video you look to the side which makes you less present (Guessing it was to read a script). The improvement is probably already there but wanted to note it in case you hadnt thought about it.
That Jabberwocky Eel is super crisp. Well done sir.
The edge, a synthetic brush that has curved. I use it to edge highlight, running the curve along the edge gives a very nice line.
Thanks for linking Canada specific Amazon links!
I basically have the same set of brushes. Nice! I also love my Bomb Wick Igniter brush, it's been my favorite since I bought it.
Nonjon's name is Darryl?! The lore deepens....
Awesome stuff as always. The 80's montage style music always gets me too.
this is mint. thanks for the thoughtfully organized technique and tool tutorial. oh and those links and codes too
This looks fantastic Jon. Thanks for saving me money with monument hobbies!
The Slap and Tickle - a fat, thin tipped synthetic brush that has curled over time. I use the hook shape of the tip to tap or stipple in areas of models that are impossible to reach by pointing directly at it.
Nice, I actually just subscribed to Cobramode's Patreon a couple weeks ago and was hoping I'd get to see someone paint the Sommos Samorrey! Awesome job! :D
Also I have the "Museum Brush" - this is generally one of my most expensive Kolinsky brushes that sits in my rack unused, because no matter how carefully I use and care for my brushes, the points go to hell in weeks. So I'm so reluctant to ruin it that I don't use it at all. At least one of my brushes remains in perfect condition!
The back end of the brush. If it's got a nice smooth round end I use that sometimes to get a nice dot on a model. Don't load it up with too much paint, just a thin amount of unthinned paint.
Probably gonna start with a combat patrol later this year and these are the kind of videos that i really need before i go and buy stuff i don't need!
Another fantastic video, thanks Jon!
While I'm not surprised to see it missing, the almighty big flat brush is one that I have in my collection for terrain purposes, and sometimes as a drybrush.
looks unreal. Very informative vid, I'm new but great to see someone with experience showing these different techniques. Learning how a good artist thinks about the model. great stuff.
Great video! Dumper is the best name for a brush 🤣🤣
Lil smoosh is a close second 🤣
this would have been so useful to me when i started painting (but still well worth watching to see you paint that gorgeous eel beast!)
Love your intros man... another great vid.
I use my GW brushes for commission jobs; my customers just want them painted and be done. I also bought AO drybrushes(with the slay the grey pad) and series S and M for my own use. I have various synthetic brushes for basing and gluing.
Another great video man, keep up the amazing work!
I have a dumper brush. I used to use it to clean my grinder as well, but I have a dedicated brush for that now.
Love this paint job! I gotta get more experimental in my colour choice is what i really took from this
You recommended to me (and everyone) that bloodstone paint ages ago, and I just gotta say, thanks man. 7 months later it's one of my favorite paints, I really enjoy it.
I once bought a size 1 raphael kolinsky sable brush but instead received a 00000 and it has treated me so good for the past year. surprised it's held up tbh.