Professional Acrylic Brushes: Best Paint Brush Set 2023
Shojib Hoq | Oct 30, 2023
Investing in professional acrylic brushes is essential for high-quality artwork, especially for larger or complex paintings.
This article is the ultimate guide for selecting professional acrylic brushes, including:
- 30 Seconds Summary
- 10 acrylic paint brush review
- And more helpful information
Remember, the brushes are a necessary investment for serious artists who prioritize best results and longevity. With proper care, these brushes can last for years and aid in beautiful creation.
Best 10 Acrylic Paint Brushes Set for Professionals: Compare
| Brush set | Features | Bristles Hair |
| Princeton Velvetouch Set | Ergonomic handle, Durable, Can be use variety surface | Synthetic |
| Winsor and Newton Galeria Brush Set | Durable, Comfortable grip, Specifically design for acrylic paintings | Synthetic |
| da Vinci Nova Series | Durable, Ergonomics handle | Brass/Synthetic |
| Princeton Art & Brush Co. Catalyst Polytip Bristle Brush Set | Ergonomic handle, Durable, Multi-purpose brush | Synthetic |
| Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Brush | Very high quality natural bristle, Hardwood handle, Durable | Natural Sable |
| Winsor & Newton Monarch brush | Excellent shape retention, Durable, Ergonomic Handle | Synthetic |
| da Vinci Brushes da Vinci Series 10 Maestro Paint Brush | Ergonomic handle, Multi-purpose brush, Durable | Natural Sable |
| Royal & Langnickel Zen Series Brushes | Comfortable grip, Specifically designed for acrylic paint, Durable | Synthetic + Natural |
| Daler-Rowney System 3 brush | Ergonomic handle, Compatible with acrylic, Durable | Synthetic |
| Grumbacher Goldenedge Acrylic Paint Brushes | Compatible with acrylic, Durable, Ergonomic handle | Synthetic |
Best Acrylic Paint Brushes Set for Professional: 30 Seconds Summary
Mentioned brushes are populer brushes among artists. But those are best for different propose.
Best overall: Princeton Velvetouch brush and Winsor & Newton Galeria brush are overall best synthetic artistic paint brushes. Those are very suitable for heavy body acrylic paint.
Princeton Velvetouch is an all-rounder brush that means it can be used for achieving different acrylic paint techniques.
Galeria brush, especially nice for snap and stiffness, offers good spring and control while painting, making it suitable for both detail work and larger areas.
Best Natural Hair Artistic Brush: Expert artists recommend beginners for using synthetic brushes for acrylic paint. However artistic perspective achieving some pro effects is quite hard. For this natural hair is important. Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky and Da Vinci Maestro Series are the best natural hair brushes for acrylic paint in the market. Their price are quite high, that’s why those are optional. If you can afford you fine artistic work, you should choose from this two. These 2 brushes one of the benefits is they can hold a lot of paint in each time.
Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Brush – Best for heavy body to fluid acrylics, allows for fine details, making it ideal for painting intricate areas.
Da Vinci Maestro Series – Awesome for heavy body to fluid acrylics, ability to hold a large amount of paint and create smooth, even strokes.
Best Alternative of Acrylic Artistic Brush: Princeton Catalyst brushes & da Vinci Nova series also popular using brushes in the market.
Princeton Catalyst brushes good for stiffness, thicker paint, impasto. Who desire more control over their brushstrokes, such as in fine detail work or precision painting, allows for even and smooth strokes,
Da Vinci Nova is also a good synthetic brush. Artists who want the performance of natural hair brushes above mentioned, can choose the brush. Affordable price compared with quality.
Best for medium body acrylic paint: Choose between Royal & Langnickel Zen Brushes and Grumbacher Goldenedge line. They are good balance between stiffness and flexibility.
I explained about top-quality mop brushes in a different article, you can check.
Best Acrylic Paint Brushes Set for Professional
Princeton Velvetouch Brush Set
What’s Special About It
The Princeton Velvetouch brush line is the ultimate choice for acrylic painters, boasting a unique blend of synthetic fibers that replicate the performance of natural hair brushes and can easily handle the demands of acrylic paint.
The brush dominates with its superior synthetic bristles, softness, and durability, making it the perfect match for acrylic paint.
Also the brushes confidently deliver excellent snap and spring, effortlessly bouncing back to their original shape after each stroke, making them the ideal choice for creating fine details and crisp lines in acrylic paintings.
The Princeton Velvetouch brushes are made with multiple-filament synthetic blend and a soft, easy to grip handle that feels velvety to the touch. They hold a good amount of water and pigment, with a nice, even release.
Sandra Strait (artist & reviewer)
The brush excels in paint-holding capacity, enabling flawless and consistent paint application.
In the Princeton Velvetouch series, there have wide range of brushes available. Most of are not available in the set. However you can find it as a single pack.
Populer type brushes shape:
Round: This is the essential shape for any artist’s toolkit, with a versatile pointed tip that allows for both fine details and bold strokes in a range of sizes from very small (size 0) to large (size 20)
Flat: This brush is essential for creating precise and defined lines, offering various sizes to suit your needs.
Filbert: The flat brush with a rounded tip is perfect for achieving seamless blending and soft edges in various sizes.
Angle: This angled-tip brush is essential for achieving sharp corners and fluid curved strokes, with a variety of sizes and angles to choose from.
Fan: This brush with bristles spread out in a fan shape is an excellent tool for blending and creating texture, and it’s available in a variety of sizes.
Script: This is the perfect tool for creating fine details and lettering – a long, thin brush with a pointed tip.
Dagger: This brush is absolutely perfect for creating stunning, flowing lines and calligraphy with its pointed tip and slanted edge.
There are multiple techniques can apply with those brush, example:
- Applying Paint Layers
- Blending Colors
- Adding Texture
- Detail Work And more…
The versatility of the Princeton Velvetouch series of brushes, combined with their compatibility with multiple acrylic painting techniques, make them an excellent choice for artists.
Pros of the brush
- Softness of hair
- Durability
- Compotible with acrylic heavy-body, fluid, and high-flow paints
- Synthetic fibers are non-porous so easy to clean
Cons of the brush
- Malti-parpose technique and paint brush so not specialize on any technique and paint
- Soft hair so it may not be ideal for artists who require precise control over their brushstrokes
Winsor & Newton Galeria brush
What makes the brush special?
The Galeria Brush range is unequivocally the ideal choice for artists of all levels, delivering unbeatable value without compromising on excellence.
Galeria Brush made of synthetic bristles, is a superior choice offering optimal performance, durability, and ease of maintenance.
The Brush range confidently offers brushes with varying stiffness levels, ensuring suitability for both thin and thick paint applications; a soft brush for glazing or thin layers, and a stiff brush for bold, textured strokes.
W&N Galeria brush series offers a wide range of brushes, many of which are only available as single packs. The brush are:
Round brush: Round brushes with pointed tips confidently create thin lines, fine details, and fill small areas, available in sizes 0 to 12.
Flat: Flat brushes boast a square-shaped tip and excel at producing bold strokes, washes, and saturating vast spaces, with sizes ranging from 0 to 14.
Filbert: Filbert brushes are the perfect tool for achieving seamless blending and soft edges, with sizes ranging from 0 to 12.
Fan: Fan brushes are essential tools for achieving stunning textures, seamless color blending, and lifelike depictions of foliage and hair, ranging in size from 0 to 6.
Angular: Angular brushes are the perfect tool for achieving precise lines, angles, and details, ranging in size from 0 to 12.
Rigger: Rigger brushes are essential for creating intricate details like grass blades, tree branches, and lettering with their long, thin shape and pointed tip, available in sizes ranging from 0 to 3.
There are multiple techniques can apply with those brush, example:
- Applying acrylic paint to a canvas
- Blending and mixing colors
- Creating texture and depth
- Adding details and highlights
- Glazing
- Dry-brushing
- Impasto technique
- Underpainting and more…
Pros of the brush
- High quality synthetic hair
- Durable
- Can apply different technique
- Comfortable to use
- Great for Layering
- Winsor & Newton around 200 years old, trusted brand to artist
Cons of the brush
- Stiffness so some time little bit challenging for soft use
- Synthetic hair
- Can not hold as much paint as natural hair brushes
The Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Brush
What makes the brush special?
The Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Brush is the ultimate choice for detailed work in watercolors, acrylics, and oil paints, with its exceptional spring, snap, and point, crafted from the finest Kolinsky sable hair.
Acrylic paint is capable of producing a diverse range of effects, from smooth washes to intricate details, when paired with a the brush.
Also the brush with acrylic paint effortlessly holds a lot of paint, enabling you to create uninterrupted, long strokes – a game-changer for larger paintings.
The brush’s fine, pointed tip and belly make it perfect for creating intricate details and broader strokes with confidence.
Populer brush shape in Kolinsky series
Round: The most common shape for brushes ranges in size from 000 to 14.
Pointed Round: This shape boasts a longer and finer tip than the regular round brush, making it unequivocally ideal for fine details and intricate work.
Flat: This brush easily delivers sharp lines and covers large areas with its flat, square edge.
Filbert: This brush is perfect for blending and creating soft edges with its flat, oval-shaped tip.
Fan: This brush is the perfect tool for achieving flawless blending and creating elegantly feathered edges with its uniquely designed flat, fan-shaped tip.
Rigger: This brush has a long, thin tip that is ideal for creating long, flowing lines.
Sword: This brush is good for creating long, sweeping strokes with its long, flat, tapered tip.
Pros of the brushes
- Top-quality Kolinsky sable hair
- Excellent color holding capacity
- Durable
- Comfortable to use
- Smooth, balanced feel
Cons of the brushes
- Expensive
- Limited availability
da Vinci Brushes da Vinci Maestro Paint Brush
What makes the brush special?
The da Vinci Maestro Paint Brush is the best choice for acrylic painting, as its Kolinsky sable hair allows for unparalleled paint distribution and an overall superior painting experience.
The Maestro Paint Brush delivers excellent point and snap, making it the perfect tool for painting fine details and crisp lines.
the paint brush is expertly hand-crafted in Germany by skilled artisans and quality control measures to meet the highest standards of the da Vinci brand.
The brush is the ideal choice for creating textured and layered effects in paintings with heavier-bodied acrylic paints.
The brush is unparalleled with its comfortable and ergonomic handle design that offers a sturdy, balanced grip, setting it apart from its competitors.
Some of the populer shapes in the da Vinci Maestro Paint Brush line include:
Round: This brush is essential for painting fine details, thin lines, and washes, with its pointed tip and round ferrule.
Flat: This brush is essential for achieving seamless blends and bold strokes with precision.
Filbert: This brush, with its flat ferrule and curved bristles, is essential for confidently blending, softening edges, and painting curved strokes.
Fan: This brush with a flat ferrule and spread-out bristles blends, creates texture, and paints foliage.
Mottler: This is the perfect brush for effortlessly covering large areas and achieving flawlessly smooth washes.
Pros of the brushes
- Siberian Kolinsky red sable hair brush
- Suitable for a variety of painting techniques, example: glazing, blending, and detailing…
- Durable
- Ideal for details and fine lines
Cons of the brush
- Expensive
- Low availability
Catalyst Polytip Bristle Brush
The Catalyst Polytip Bristle Brush is a high-quality brush specifically designed for acrylic painting.
The brush can give excellent result with impasto technique. Also good for any other paint technique such as glazing, layering, and dry brushing.
The Catalyst Polytip Bristle Brush’s ergonomic handle ensures a comfortable and secure grip, allowing for extended painting sessions without any fatigue.
Pros of the brush
- Can be used for both heavy and light acrylic applications
- Good for glazing and blending
- Durable hair
- Helpful when working on fine details and creating complex textures
Cons of the brush
- Not great for stiffness
- Limited range of sizes
- Synthetic brush
da Vinci Nova Series brush
The da Vinci Nova Series is high-quality synthetic bristles that perfectly imitate natural hair brushes, ensuring durability and outstanding performance even under heavy use.
Compared to other high-quality synthetic brushes, it is an affordable brush. So it is very common brush among artists.
The synthetic bristles brush for acrylic painting confidently retain their shape, ensuring performance and precision even after heavy use.
The brush boasts an ergonomic handle design that ensures a comfortable grip and minimizes fatigue, while its anti-rolling feature asserts its ability to stay securely in place during breaks.
Pros of the brush
- The brushes are made of high-quality synthetic fibers that offer a smooth and even application of acrylic paints.
- Affordable
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Comfortable with any type of acrylic paint, including heavy body, fluid, and soft body acrylics.
- Can create fine details
Cons of the brush
- Not suitable for all painting
- May shed over time
- Not good for texture all time
Professional Acrylic Brushes Features
Already all important feature mentioned above –
Here’s what you’ll want to have on a Professional Acrylic Brushes:
High Quality Bristle: For acrylic paint syntatic brush recommended however natural hair brush will be premium choose.
Different Shape and size: The brush come with different shape. Populer shape (round, flat, filbert, and fan). Brushes size can be very small to learge.
Handle design: Professoanl brush handle and grip should be comfortable. Most of brands use ergonomic handle.
Durability: Professional brush should be durable and last for years.
Price: Artistic brush price always higher then general and student grade brush. And artistic natural brushes are expensive and premium products.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are expensive acrylic paint brushes worth the investment for a professional?
Expensive acrylic paint brushes are worth the investment for the professional because good quality brushes come with good quality materials, good bristles, good gripes, and good handles also including different features. With expert skills and good tools you can create the finest artwork. Also the brushes stay for years like one time investment.
What brands of professional acrylic brushes are considered the best?
There are many good brands. Some of them are Winsor & Newton, Princeton Artist Brush Company, Da Vinci, Escoda, Rosemary & Co.