Brush shapes – A comprihensve guide

The brush is one of mankind’s oldest craft tools-pen. Whereas in the Stone Age it still consisted of a hollowed-out bone with some animal hair inserted into it, today there is an unparalleled range of brushes available to artists and there are special brushes for every kind of paint, in many sizes, shapes and made of various types of hair.

In this blog, we look at the differences between the many shapes the head of a brush can have and what you can do with it. A brush has a certain shape for the purpose of making specific markings or to support the function of a brush.

Let’s first look at the anatomy of the brush and then specifically that of the head.

The three basic elements of a brush are:

The filament, the ferrule and the handle.

The filament
These are the hairs and are made of a natural or synthetic material.

The head
This is the part of brush where the filament protrudes from the ferrule and is visible.

The root
The base part of the head

The abdomen
The middle part of the head. In the belly, the brush holds most of the paint in the reservoir.

The tip
The far end of the head. The extreme tip of each hair separately is called the blaze.

Number / size
Indicates the size/width/diameter of the brush head. Although international standardisation – especially for synthetic brushes – has been underway in recent years, it can still vary from brand to brand. For example, traditional English sizes are larger than German sizes.

Especially – but not only – with spalters, inches are often used to indicate the size.

The shape of a brush determines what the paint strokes you paint look like.

Range
The range or series to which the brush belongs. A serial number is often also used here, whether or not in combination with a series name.

In this example, the range is I LOVE ART, a house brand of GERSTAECKER.

Now that we can name each part of the filament, let’s see what different brush shapes we can use like this.

(01) Round
This is one of the most common brush shapes. The tip of a round brush can be pointed or more blunt. A pointed, round brush is suitable for fine line work, details and smooth, round lines. The belly of the brush is often convex and can therefore hold quite a lot of paint, which means it can also be used for drawing surfaces or, in water colour, for applying washes.

Round brushes have the smallest sizes of all types of brushes and are available from size 000 upwards.

Round brushes with a blunt tip are great for filling in areas or for creating more textured line work.

TIP: In round brushes, you will find not only large but also very small sizes – there are even round brushes in size 5/0 (00000).

Here you see this brush – GERSTAECKER | KAZALON water colour brush round – synthetic hair

You can use this brush among others for water colours, gouache, liquid (fluid) / highly diluted acrylic paint, casein & ink.

(02) Pointed round

These round brushes are slightly shorter than a standard round brush, have a smaller belly and contain less hair. They produce tight, thin lines and are therefore very suitable for detailing with liquid paint.

Here you see this brush – da Vinci | COLINEO 5526 watercolour brush round, pointed & extra short synthetic hair.

You can use this brush among others for watercolours, gouache, liquid (fluid) / highly diluted acrylic paints, casein & ink.

(03) Trench (rigger / liner)

A dragger is made of extremely long, thin bristles and is intended for drawing long, straight lines.

Because a dragger can hold a lot of paint and the bristles are also very flexible, this brush is very suitable for painting natural shapes such as branches and trees. But ship masts are also good to set with a trencher. Draggers are also used for pinstriping and come in many varieties in terms of width, length and point shape.

Here you see this brush – DALER-ROWNEY | Aquafine 50 watercolour brush trencher – synthetic hair

You can use this brush among others for watercolours, gouache, liquid (fluid) / highly diluted acrylic colours, casein & ink.

(04) Flat

This brush has straight corners and its flat shape makes it suitable for painting flat, clear, sharp strokes. The width of the brush can also be used for drawing lines. Depending on the type of hair, flat brushes are suitable for working with both thick, pasty paint and liquid paint.

TIP! With this particular brush, the tip consists of COLINEO synthetic hair and the sheath of CASANEO synthetic hair.

With the tip, you can draw long lines – pinstriping – or work smoothly and gracefully. A mantle brush also lends itself well to calligraphy and lettering. The belly, which serves as an extra reservoir, absorbs an extreme amount of ink or paint and water, so you can work for longer at a stretch.

Here you see this brush – da Vinci | CASANEO 5599 mantle brush liner – synthetic hair.

You can use this brush among others for watercolours, gouache, liquid (fluid) / highly diluted acrylic colours, casein & ink.

(05) Flat wide

This is used for larger areas and shapes. The bristles of wide, flat brushes have a normal length.

Here you see this brush – GERSTAECKER | Vernissage brush flat synthetic hair.

You can use this brush for oils, some (oily) temperas, acrylics, distemper & casein, among others.

Here you see this brush – GERSTAECKER | varnish brush flat synthetic hair

You can use this brush for oil colours, some (oily) temperas, acrylics, distemper & casein, among others.

(06) Flat short (bright)

These brushes have the same flat shape as flat wide but the bristles are shorter and the brush works more rigidly. It can pick up paint more easily without the bristles bending and therefore gives a different control when applying the paint. This does depend on the type of hair it has. Flat short brushes are very suitable for tight line work (possibly in combination with thicker paint).

Here you see this brush – da Vinci | MAESTRO2 7223 brush flat extra short – Chungking hog bristle.

You can use this brush for oil colours, some (oily) temperas, acrylics, distemper & casein, among others.

(07) Sword brush

As the name suggests, this brush is shaped like a sword. It has very long, thin tapered hair – used for elaborate effects and suitable for painting thick to thin lines as well as small details.

If you work quickly, drawing a line from bottom to top, you can obtain amazingly natural shapes in the vein of bamboo and grass.

Here you see this brush – GERSTAECKER | KAZALON water colour brush sword drag – synthetic hair.

You can use this brush among others for water colours, gouache, liquid (fluid) / highly diluted acrylic paints, distemper, casein & ink.

(08) Angled shader brush.

These are basically flat brushes with an angled corner. This shape allows easy transitions between narrow and wide lines, which can be useful for creating depth and effects in naturalistic painting techniques. The shape also lends itself well to sharp edges and clean lines as well as techniques such as lettering and calligraphy.

Here you see this brush – da Vinci | Nova 1373 brush bevelled – synthetic hair.

You can use this brush for acrylic colours, water colours & gouache, some (lean) tempera, casein & silk colours, among others. (09) Pointed oval.

Suitable for watercolour or liquid acrylic paint, this brush is wide enough to make large washes, while the tip and side can be used to paint more detailed work.

(10) Cat tongue brush pointed (pointed filbert)

Some cat tongue brushes have a more defined point and are called pointed filbert. They are seen by fine painters as an indispensable brush for setting details.

Here you see this brush – KUM® | Memory Point® watercolour brush ○ cat tongue pointed – synthetic hair.

You can use this brush among others for watercolours, gouache, liquid (fluid) / highly diluted acrylic colours, casein & ink.

(11) Fan brush

With this brush you can make inimitably subtle colour transitions – also called blending – and soften lines and edges. You can also use it to apply all kinds of decorative effects. For example, you can use it to efficiently apply hair, leaves and grass.

Here you see this brush – da Vinci | Series 403 brush fan – hog bristle
You can use this brush for oils, acrylics, watercolours & gouache, some temperas, distemper, casein, silk colours & ink, among others.

TIP! It can also be used for gilding techniques with gold leaf or metal leaf.

(12) Mop brush

The large quantity of natural bristles and the construction of the brush ensure that it can absorb a lot of water and is therefore suitable for applying large washes. Since the wash brush is so soft, it will actually not leave its shape in the paint.

Here you see this washer brush – WINSOR & NEWTON™ | professional water colour brush mop – synthetic hair.

You can use this brush among others for watercolours, gouache & ink.

(13) French quill brush.

This brush is tied in the traditional French way in a transparent plastic ferrule, which is mounted on the handle with brass wire. Nowadays, a plastic ferrule is used for this type of binding, but did you know that in the past, people used part of a quill for this?

This way, you get a more elastic result than if you capture the bristles in a metal ferrule. And thanks to its extra convex belly, this round, tapered brush can hold even more water, paint and ink.

It is especially suitable for working with very liquid colours. Think of setting up larger areas and applying washes in watercolour, gouache and casein.

TIP! But you also use it to set up delicate lines, calligraphic work, characteristic marks and subtle colour veils in ink.

Here you see this blending brush – ISABEY | Isacolor 6554i French blending brush round & convex, tapered – synthetic hair.

You can use this brush for watercolours, gouache, casein & ink, among others.

(14) Waxing brush flat

A wash brush that is a lot flatter and more oval than the classic wash brush. It is usually cheaper because it contains significantly less hair.
TIP! By holding the brush in different directions and rotating it, you can set up many different lines and areas.

Here you see this blending brush – GERSTAECKER | KOLINON blending brush flat – synthetic hair.

You can use this brush among others for watercolours, gouache, liquid (fluid) / highly diluted acrylic colours, casein & ink.

(15) Confusion brush ○ pointed & onion-shaped

TIP! A variation of the flat wash brush is the flat, oval, pointed and onion-shaped wash brush, also called an English confusion brush.

This confusion brush can form a nice point when wet – which then makes it suitable for very liquid paints. It is wide enough to make large washes, while you can use the tip and side to work on more detailed work.

(16) Spalter (broad brush)

A flat, extra-broad brush for painting large areas with oil and acrylic colours. A spalter usually has a flat handle and flat ferrule.

You can use it to set characterful marks – especially in your underpainting – and to apply glazing layers and varnish layers.

TIP! Such a spalter is also handy for pre-gluing and priming painting grounds.

Here you can see this spalter – lineo | Series 318 spalter – hog’s bristle

You can use this spalter for oils, acrylics, temperas, distemper, casein & ink, among others. It is also perfect for various types of (acrylic) glues, gessos & primers and some types of varnish.

You can use this brush among others for watercolours, gouache, liquid (fluid) / highly diluted acrylic colours, casein, silk colours & ink.

(17) Tooth brush (overgrainer).

This is a broad brush consisting of several brushes fixed in separate sockets in the broad part.

Suitable for all kinds of decorative techniques and the rendering of natural structures or shapes, e.g. imitating wood grain.

Here you see this spalter – da Vinci | Series 11543 tooth spalter – synthetic hair.

You can use this spalter for oils, acrylics, tempera, casein & ink, among others.

TIP! You can also use it to texture your primer, for example with gessos or acrylic-based primers or modelling compounds.

(18) Hake

These Hake brushes – call them Oriental spalters – are wide, flat and made of soft goat hair. They are great for making washes.

They are traditional Japanese brushes with ultra-fine, soft bristles stitched onto a flat wooden handle. Authentic Hake brushes have goat hair, making them slightly more expensive than standard watercolour brushes, and they are highly sought after for their incredibly smooth performance. Because of their wide ends, Hake brushes are great for painting large areas and washes.

Here you can see this Hake brush – HOLBEIN | HIRARAKE Oriental spalter flat & wide – goat hair.

You can use these Hake brushes, among other things, for dabbing paper, misting in watercolours, calligraphic work in ink, dabbing oil paints and applying shellac when working with gold leaf.

TIP: Can also be used for encaustic

These brushes are wide and flat and made of soft, goat hair. Great for making washes.

They are traditional Japanese brushes with ultra-fine, soft bristles stitched onto a flat wooden handle. Authentic Hake brushes have goat hair, making them slightly more expensive than standard watercolour brushes, and they are highly sought after for their incredibly smooth performance. Because of their wide ends, Hake brushes are sere suitable for painting large surfaces and washes.

(19) Tie brush (badger softener).

As the name suggests, this brush is usually made of badger hair, which is very soft. Thus, with this brush you can badger already applied oil colours together, so that they blend and very subtle colour transitions can be created. A dash hair brush has a very distinctive shape that contributes to its function.

TIP! You can also use it to imitate marble and wood – faux-marbre and faut-bois – and apply textures & effects – faux-finish.
Mind you – there are many more brush shapes!

And at GreatArt you’ll find a whopping 16,000+ brushes, so there’s bound to be the right brush for you – and we’re adding new brushes to our range all the time!

You can find all those brushes here.

Of course, you want your brushes to last as long as possible – which is why you should clean them well after use.

TIP – and there’s really no better way to do this than with core soap. This surpassed traditional brush soap – based on pure vegetable oils – cleans and cares for all your brushes.

Thanks to the greasy effect, the hairs of your brush do not dry out and your brush retains its flexibility – and with this soap you can also wash your hands perfectly, without breaking them!

Of course, you want your brushes to last as long as possible – which is why you should clean them well after use.

TIP: And you can’t really do this any better than with core soap. This surpassed traditional brush soap – based on pure vegetable oils – cleans and cares for all your brushes.

Thanks to the greasy effect, the hairs of your brush will not dry out and your brush will retain its flexibility – and this soap also makes it easy to wash your hands without breaking them!

© 2025 – text: Rob & editors Gerstaecker NL | © 2025 – image: Rob, individual suppliers & editors Gerstaecker NL