Traditionally, most watercolor artists prefer Sable, which is a very dense short-handled brush with extremely fine hairs, which accounts for their high price. ';Kolinsky'; sable is the more expensive of the sables (the other being ';red sable';), though it is not a true sable and it is known for its resiliency and bounce.
Sables are made for either watercolor OR oils and difference is usually in the shape and size of the brush. Short-handled brushes are made for watercolor, though some highly detailed oil paintings have incorporated their use.
Watercolor brushes also have the largest variety of brush sizes and shapes available. The most popular are: Rounds, Flats, Filberts, Mops, and Wash Brushes.
Because of the amount of solvents used in oils, many people prefer to use horse bristle, badger, or synthetic blend brushes. These are usually much cheaper than sable and easily replaced. Oil brushes only come in the following shapes: Rounds, Flats, Brights, Filberts, and Fans.
I would not recommend using horse bristle in watercolor. They don't hold water well and they also shed quite a bit.
Synthetics are starting to become a lot better nowadays so if you are an animal lover like me, you'll love these totally vegan brushes. Synthetics actually come in even more shapes and sizes though personally (and I hate to admit it) I think sables and sable blends are the best brushes for either watercolor or oils. Keep in mind, they do kill a lot of sables and weasels for these brushes (not to mention for the fur trade).
Here is one simple rule to follow for brush care: separate your brushes according to medium. In other words, have a set that you'd use for oils and another set for your watercolors.What is the difference between watercolor brushes and oil brushes?
i have used brushes labeled as oil or acrylic brushes for water color and been fine, the main difference is the handles...and those crappy plastic bristle brushes that come with the cake style water color packages (you can also get better watercolors that come in tubes) i'd never use that brush for anything! so, yeah, a brush is a brush. they just try to specialize them for different types of artwork to make it easier for you, and also i believe it is a marketing thing, but you can use the brushes for whatever you want, there will be no adverse effects:) be careful with those water colors! it is the hardest paint to work with!
there's some Q and A here also on the same topic:
http://www.cheapjoes.com/art-supplies/2_鈥?/a>
Usually oil brushes use a natural bristle, whereas water color brushes have become synthetic materials for the bristles. You could use a water color brush for oils and vice-versa, but I don't think you'd like the results.
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