What’s the most important thing when painting models? Paints are certainly an important consideration with us having previously covered ranges from Games Workshop, The Army Painter and Two Thin Coats and having a decent wet palette can go a long way too. But what about the most important tool in your collection, your brush? Some people swear by cheap and cheerful brushes that don’t last long, while others go for the ease of something that is easy to pick up in a local GW store – but what about something that is a little more expensive and longer lasting, and how much difference can it make to how you paint?

In this review we’ll be taking a look at the Artis Opus Series S Deluxe 5 Brush Set and seeing how the brushes perform, if they keep their points and how they stack up against other brushes at a similar price point.

Massive thanks to Artis Opus for sending us over some brushes to review – we’ve got reviews for both the Series M and Series D drybrushes on the way soon, so stay tuned to the site!

If you would like to support the site then why not order your Artis Opus brushes through our affiliate Element Games?

Artis Opus Series S Review

Brushes are not always the first thing that you think of when deciding what to invest into in the hobby, however let’s face it, you use a brush every time you paint a model and even if you only class yourself as a beginner painter, the quality of the tools that you use goes a long way towards the finished result.

I’ve been painting models now since the days of the Warhammer 40k 2nd edition boxed set (Yes, the one with the cardboard dreadnought) and over that time I’ve used a wide range of different brushes.

Starting out I tended to always use Games Workshop brushes due to the fact I could simply walk into my local GW store for new brushes. One thing that I quickly realised though was that those brushes did not always last all that long, with bristles eventually fraying or losing their tip. Yes, good brush care will make them last longer, but I came to the conclusion that I was spending as much money going through multiple “cheap” brushes, as I would investing in a decent set of brushes.

When I finally made the jump to using Windsor & Newton Series 7’s it was night and day with the W&Ns lasting much longer, always keeping their tips and being decently hardwearing.

Unfortunately, since around the time of Covid I’ve found that the quality of Windsor & Newton brushes didn’t hold up to earlier ones that I’ve used, and it seemed that the general quality control of them had dropped since the early days of me using them, which is a real shame.

My current go to brush are Rosemary & Co Series 33, which are a great and affordable sable brush range which are really nice to paint with. I’ve known about Artis Opus brushes for a while, have heard some glowing reviews and some chatter about the brushes themselves being made by Rosemary & Co – So when the opportunity came to put the Series S brushes through their paces I jumped at the chance – Could this be something with the control of the older Windsor & Newton range but with the quality of Rosemary & Co brushes, but with miniature painters in mind?

First impressions were excellent – We received the 5 Brush set which contains sizes 2, 1, 0, 00 and 000 which is a really nice mix of brushes and coincidentally the spread of brushes that I tended to buy from other suppliers. You’ll be surprised how much use you can get out of a size 2 despite it being the “large” brush in the box, and having the 4 smaller sizes below it gives you a load of options for how to paint models.

Alongside them, the box contains a pot of brush soap and some really useful care instructions. If you have never used brush soap before it really is a game changer, as paint getting stuck in the bristles and ultimately ending up in the ferule is the biggest killer of brushes, no matter how much you pay for them! Getting into the habit of cleaning and conditioning brushes after use really makes sure that your brushes last as long as possible. I’ve had sable brushes that have lasted years due to good care, and while I’ve only been using these brushes for around a month now, the above photo shows that the Artis Opus brushes clean up as good as new – just make sure that you stick to cleaning them after every session and leave some of the soap on the brush when you put them away to keep the tips looking at their best

Before we dive into the brushes themselves, I also want to give a shout out to the box itself. The nice wooden case keeps your brushes safe, and the cut foam tray inside ensure that the brushes and soap both stay put between sessions and also they make the brushes look really nice – This might be a strange thing to say, but the set does have an aura of cool around it – from the white handles to the nicely engraved case with satisfying locking latch, this is a set of brushes that feels like you are getting something special for the price.

This is a premium product with a £79.99 price tag (which works out as around £16 a brush if you don’t factor in the cost of the box and soap) which might have some people wincing – however this works out far cheaper than my previous favourites the W&N Series 7s which are priced from £24.80 each (With the size 2 clocking in at £33.35. Decent brushes don’t come cheap – but trust me, they are well worth upgrading to and in this case the Artis Opus set actually costs around half the cost of the Equivalent Windsor & Newton set.)

So what are the brushes like then?

I was really impressed with how they handled – all sizes kept their points and were beautifully responsive when painting. These are Kolinsky Sable brushes, which are always my go to for brushes as they just feel so much better than other alternatives and as mentioned earlier with good care they will last for ages. Here at Sprues & Brews we paint a lot of models with Games Workshop review items turning up each week for us to paint – as such I probably go through brushes a lot more than most painters – but even with a month of punishment so far (And that includes the Old World, Deathwatch and a few other upcoming releases) and these still look and feel good as new, and that’s a big deal! I will say that these have so far held up better than an equivalent Rosemary & Co Series 33 in the same period of time – while they may be made in the same place, the Artis Opus seems to be built to a higher spec and certainly feels more in line with what I was used to in older Windsor & Newton brushes, which considering the price difference is certainly impressive.

My most used are the size 1, which is my go to for most things as with a good point you can still do decent detail work, the size 2 which is big enough for blocking in base colours while still having the control for small areas, and the size 00 which is a really nice size for edge highlighting – having a spread of these brushes in the box really makes it a took kit that most painters will find useful.

We have a Series M review on the way, but I just want to touch on them here briefly – essentially they are both excellent brushes, but the Series M have shorter bristles – something that some painters gravitate towards, and something that I tend to find useful for things such as edge highlighting and detail. The “Miniature” in the M name refers to the size of the bristles not that they are for miniatures – all flavours of Artis Opus brushes are designed for painting miniatures and do it superbly.

Here’s some shots of Belial, who I have been painting up using Artis Opus brushes and painted with Two Thin Coats paints, and the two pair together perfectly, with them being a joy to use together. I had no problems with tips splitting or fraying, and no bristles falling out – something I’ve had happen even on expensive brush sets. For full disclosure these brushes got a decent clean after every use, and I’d recommend getting into the habit of doing this for all brushes, as it really does extend their life – but for these Series S brushes they felt good as new after every use.

Again, this is just a month into using them and I’ll be following up with a long term review once they have been through some more punishment, but given the amount of stuff I’ve been painting over that time they have certainly performed well.

I know on first glance 80 quid seems a lot for a set of 5 brushes (And you can opt for a smaller 4 brush set for £62.99 if you dont feel you need the size 2) but I feel these brushes are worth every penny, and for painters wanting to step up their painting skills the use of brushes that just behave and act the way you want them to without stray bristles going rogue or frustrating flaying making your painting slower it really does make a massive difference.

If you want to give them a go and dip your toe in, you can actually pick up a single Series S size 1 from Element Games for £14.99 to see how you get on with them before committing to the full box.

In summary, this is a great set of brushes and they have quickly jumped to the top of my list of brushes to use for painting miniatures. If you are someone who is looking for something to replace the former champions of the brush world in W&N Series 7’s then I highly recommend checking out Artis Opus Series S, you certainly won’t be disapointed!

Artis Opus sent Sprues & Brews their brush ranges for review purposes.