Hot on the heels of Matt’s Series S review it is now my turn to review some Artis Opus brushes! After reading this review, why not treat yourself to some of these brushes? They are available right now from Element Games, and by using this handy affiliate link you’ll do us a massive favour too!

So a bit of a disclaimer, I would put my painting skill level under the rest of the team, however I am improving year on year. Towards the end of last year I really tried to work on my highlighting, something I rarely did aside from a bit of drybrushing. 

So when Artis Opus asked us to check out their brushes I was keen to try out the Series M Brush Set, as the smaller bristles would make for some hopefully better highlighting. 

I have to admit, being handed some (let’s face it) expensive brushes to review was quite daunting. In the past I was terrible at looking after brushes, however I am much much better now. Even so, I’d never had brushes at this sort of retail value before. For most of my painting time I’ve used Games Workshop’s brushes (starting with the original line before moving over to the much better STC ones with the white handles). I’ve also in the past had some mixed luck with the Element Games branded brushes, as well as some of the starter level Army Painter ones. Until the arrival of this set however I have been using a selection of Rosemary & Co brushes, thanks to Matt’s feedback, and they have been brilliant. 

Artis Opus Series M Brush Set: What’s in the Box?

First and foremost, and I know this is geeky, but wow. The presentation is fantastic. These brushes would make an amazing gift for somehow thanks to the stylish wooden case that they come in, adorned with the Artis Opus logo on the front along with script advising which series of brushes this box contains. Straight away it oozes quality.

On opening the box this series includes 5 brushes, ranging from 000 up to 2, 000 being your super detail brush with a small set of bristles to 2 which is better for getting that little more paint on your model. You also get a handy pot of brush soap and a handy little guide on looking after your brushes. Now, the guide is more important than you think, in particular for painters like me who we know by now are nervous when it comes to giving them the test drive. The instructions are really clear and concise, without any complicated jargon. How good those instructions are we’ll see shortly…

Painting with the Series M Brushes

Fancy boxes are one thing, but the real reason you have spent your hard earned money on these brushes rather than a new box of miniatures is because you want better brushes to paint with.

With various Vampires, Space Marines and Orks on my hobby desk, I set about giving these a run-out. My main goal was to use these brushes to work on my highlighting, but straight away I could see their potential when it came down to getting colours down on smaller surfaces. In fact, this was the first thing I tried to do with them. 

As soon as I started applying the paint to the model I noticed the level of control I had, similar to the Rosemary & Co ones I have been using previously. The brush was easy to hold and controlled the paint wonderfully. After applying a few base coats I tried going down to a smaller brush to start trying highlighting, and instantly could see the improvement of my highlighting thanks to having more control of the paint I had on my brush based on its size. Hopefully you can see from my painted examples below.

Matt has also had his hands on these brushes and used them on his Flesh Eater Court’s minis which have recently gone up for preorder. As you can see from the below images, he’s done a fantastic job!

Just holding the brush, you can feel the additional quality of these compared to the GW branded ones, and even the Rosemary & Co ones I have been using more recently. 

Even with a few colours down and having to clean my brushes to prepare for the next colour I didn’t notice a single stray hair. Perhaps in part thanks to the silicone mat in the bottom of my water pot (at the same time as reviewing these brushes I also reviewed a new hobby box, of which the review for that will be online very soon) the bristles came out completely clean each and every time they came out of my water pot. If and when they did start to show the shape of the tips changing I’d give the brush a good clean and condition it using the soap that is included using the aforementioned instructions. 

I‘ve found the 0 and 1 size brushes are the ones I tend to gravitate towards the most, as they seem to be giving me the highlights that I want currently, as well as being a great size for those areas I want to basecoat. I would add that the bristles are smaller on this series than the Series S ones that Matt reviewed, which may be a better set of brushes if it is a more all rounder brush that you are after. I wouldn’t recommend the Series M for some serious, large panel base coating…

…but then, that isn’t what this box of brushes is about. This set of brushes is to help you highlight and pick out those finer details, which they do fantastically well. The smaller bristles make it much easier to paint those hard to reach areas too without getting paint in the wrong places.

With the small bristles on the M Series brushes you do have limited space for paint without getting too close to the ferule (because all painters now when the paint hits the ferule its potentially game over for your brush!), however this actually, strangely helped me as I consciously watched how much paint I was adding to my brush which in turn stops me from applying too much paint to the model.

Now, for review purposes I will point out that I wasn’t able to really push the detail level of painting that some of you may be looking to buy these for, like say detailed face painting, however you can tell from the smaller bristles and the quality of the brushes that you can use these to really bring out the best in your models. 

The important thing to remember is that a set of brushes like this isn’t going to magically make you a better painter overnight, but what it does do is give you the tools to start to feel more confident with your painting and make sure that paint is applied where you want it to – and stick to it with a decent set of brushes and your skills will improve!

Longevity of the Series M

Brushes tend to last only as long as you are wanting to take care of them. However, from my experience these past few weeks with this set of brushes, I can see these outlasting my other paint brushes with ease. So long as you follow care instructions within the box, I strongly believe you’ll be using the full set of brushes for a long time. I’ve used these a number of times now, and they still look fantastic.

As Matt has used the Series S, here are his thoughts on the M in comparison.

Matt: So I’ve been lucky enough to have a play with all of the Artis Opus brushes now, and for me the difference between the S series and the M series is very much a matter of taste and if you want a brush with shorter bristles. As Dave mentioned earlier in the review, with the shorter bristles on these there is a greater danger of getting paint in the ferule and knackering your very expensive brushes, and with a smaller belly they are perhaps not as much of a jack of all trades as the S series which are perfect for base coats, layers, highlights and everything in between. I made extensive use of the Series M brushes when painting the recent additions to the Flesh Eater Courts and one thing the M’s did have on offer was amazing control as you have less bristle to go stray when doing detail work – but I think again this is the case of having a tool box of decent brushes, and going for something that suits your painting style. For me, there’s situations where I’ll use an M and some where I use an S – and for most people I’d recommend picking up the Series S set first, then perhaps expanding that out with a couple of M brushes and seeing how you find them, as working with smaller bristles is a very different experience to using standard sized ones, and while they are still excellent brushes you might find that something this short does not agree with you!

One thing that I do want to try with these brushes however is freehand work – the shorter stiffer brushes on the Series M I feel are going to be really useful for those times doing freehand where you need the control in order to trace out those shapes and refine the details – here I reckon these will really shine and prove to be a strong compliment to your painting arsenal. Back to you Dave for your final thoughts!

Summary

I’m not going to lie, I have really enjoyed using these brushes. I loved the fact the bristles are shorter, and will be continuing to use these to paint highlights and smaller areas on my models, and hope that they will continue to improve my painting skills.

The big question mark is over the cost. Over at our affiliates Element Games this set of brushes is priced at £79.99, which works out roughly at £15.99 per brush. That is, let’s be honest, more money than you may have ever splashed out on a painting brush before. If I hadn’t used these myself, if I am honest, I would probably have not spent £79.99 on this set (I mean, I could get a new Vanguard box for that!). HOWEVER, now I’ve used them I’m going to be investing in the S series, for sure.

If this set is out of your price range, but you are in the market for some decent quality brushes at a lower price point, then I would strongly recommend the Rosemary & Co ones, however if you can afford to upgrade to these Artis Opus ones, then go for it as they really do make a massive difference even considering the higher cost per brush!

Our thanks again to Artis Opus for sending us these brushes to review!