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da Vinci Brushes for Miniature Painting
da Vinci brushes for miniature painting
da Vinci has been making brushes in Nuremberg since 1890. Twelve of their series make sense for miniatures and you will find all of them here – every size as its own item, listing hair length, ferrule diameter and overall length in millimetres, because those three numbers are what decide how a brush behaves. The size number alone is not enough: size 0 means 4 mm of hair in series 1505 and 12 mm in series 35.
Which series does what
| Series | Fibre | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| 70 MINIATURE MAESTRO | Tobolsky Kolinsky | the range designed for miniatures – freehand, long lines, layering |
| 76 MINIATURE MAESTRO | Tobolsky Kolinsky | same range, shorter hair – precise detail and control |
| 35 MAESTRO | Tobolsky Kolinsky | extra long hair as a reservoir – layering and glazing |
| 10 MAESTRO | Tobolsky Kolinsky | balanced all-rounder for detail and smaller areas |
| 100 MICRO-MAESTRO | Tobolsky Kolinsky | micro detail, eyes and lettering; short 145 mm handle |
| 1505 MAESTRO | Kolinsky | retouching and fixes – extra short dense hair |
| 5522 COLINEO | COLINEO synthetic | cruelty-free option for fine work – layering and glazing |
| 172 MICRO-COLINEO Set | COLINEO synthetic | four micro sizes at once, the cheaper way into micro detail |
| 1570 NOVA | NOVA synthetic | the sacrificial brush for primer, varnish, metallics, pigments and glue |
| 1375 NOVA | NOVA synthetic | filbert – blends with no hard edge |
| 140 DRY BRUSH | white synthetic | flat – dry brushing edges, panels and metal |
| 143 DRY BRUSH | white synthetic | round – dry brushing fur, grass and cloaks |
How to choose
- Sable for thinned paint, synthetic for everything else. Kolinsky holds more thinned paint and returns to a point. Metallics, pigments and primer will destroy it – those belong to the NOVA.
- Long hair means reservoir, short hair means control. This matters more than the size number. Every brush here lists its hair length in millimetres.
- Three brushes are enough to start. One sable all-rounder, one synthetic for the dirty work, and one dry brush.
For a full comparison of every series – the complete measurement table, a decision tree by task and three ready-made kits – read Which da Vinci brush for miniature painting.
A sable brush lasts years as long as paint never reaches the ferrule. Ordinary soap and detergent strip the hair of its oils – use da Vinci brush soap with its re-fatting effect instead.