We’ve recently reviewed a couple of the Artis Opus brush sets, the Series S and Series M respectively, and now it’s time to take a look at the Series D Drybrush set – a collection of five brushes designed specifically for use with the ‘dry brushing’ technique whereby you use a brush loaded with a very small amount of paint to apply highlights to the tectured and raised surfaces of your model. In this review we’ll take a look at the contents, put the brushes to the test and let you know what we think.

Thank you once again to Artis Opus for sending Sprues and Brews one of their Series D – Drybrush Sets to review.

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

The Artis Opus Series D – Drybrush Set – What is in the box?

As with the Series S and Series M sets, the brushes and other components come contained within a lovely wooden case with a foam insert to store the five brushes, the brush soap and a special ‘dampening’ pad (itself contained in a little tub with wooden lid) which can be used to aid and improve your drybrushing technique (and also to help clean the brushes afterwards). The case itself certainly feels very premium and also works well to keep your brushes safe inbetween uses.

There are five brushes supplied with this set, XS, S, M, L and XL, which is a great selection and allows you to paint models ranging from small infantry, larger monsters and vehicles to even larger terrain pieces. I really like the size and shape of the handles on these brushes and I found them comfortable to hold and use. The 3ml tub of brush soap is also a handy addition and there are instructions provided in the case on how to use it and extend the life of your brushes. Lastly you’ll find the dampening pad which can be used to reduce the chalky effect you sometimes encounter when drybrushing. There are instructions provided on how to use the dampening pad (and some good videos on the Artis Opus site too) but in summary the pad is used to help ensure just the right amount of ‘dampness’ is maintained in the bristles of the brush whilst applying your paint to ensure a smooth application.

Painting with the Series D Brushes

So lets take a look at the brushes themselves starting with the XS. This brush has a very small set of ‘softish’ bristles with just enough spring and stiffness making it ideal for those difficult and hard to reach sections of model. I found it particularly useful when using the stippling technique to apply a basecoat to a model using this brush to really get into the nooks and crannies of a model. I found this particular brush saw the harshest treatmeant as I worked paint into armour joints and recesses and it’s durability was really put to the test. I found the brush maintained it’s shape after repeated usage whilst I painted twenty Blood Angels Tacticial Marines.

The S brush is probably the brush you’ll use most often when painting infantry sized models and one I used most during this review to paint the majority of the Blood Angles Tactical Marine models. Again I really liked feel of the bristles themselves, springier than a makeup brush but just soft enough so that the brush traverses the model smoothly. I found this balance of springiness to softness really helped with the accuracy and precision when applying paint to the model – something I sometimes have trouble with when using an old makeup brush. This is really important when painting small models such as infantry and the brush really helped me to apply highlights to a modelin a precise way.

The remaing M, L and XL sized brushes in the set are not really suited to infantry sized models but are ideal for painting larger pieces such as Dreadnoughts, Tanks and even larger scenery pieces. The bristles on each of these brushes share the same springy-soft properties of the XS and S brushes, the bristles themselves do not ‘splay’ out, as would a makeup style brush for example, and I found really helped in the precise application of paint whilst drybrushing. The brushes themselves were comfortable to hold and use thanks to the shape of the handle itself.

Final Thoughts

Whilst using each of the brushes I was most impressed by the balance of springiness to softness of the bristles themselves. Most of time if I’m drybrushing a model I’ll just grab the oldest most appropriately sized brush I can find and use this but it can sometimes be difficult to both load and apply just the right amount of paint and to also precisely target the application of this paint on the model itsel. Both of these challenges were overcome easily when using the Artis Opus Series D brushes and I found the whole drybrushing process to be much more controlled. I was also really impressed with the durability of these brushes. The act of drybrushing can sometimes take it’s toll on a brush but I found these brushes to hold up extremely well after repeated usage. The loss of bristles onto the model during drybrushing process was minimal and the brushes were easy to clean and held their shape and form extremely well. I also found the brushes very well suited to the stippling technique, in fact much better suited than some other dedicated stippling brushes in my collection.

The set itself will cost you £79.99 which is by no means cheap but I do believe the quality of these brushes justifies the price. Before now I’d use either an old battered paintbrush or a makeup brush when I needed to make use of the drybrush technique but these each have their challenges, be that imprecise application of paint or bristles coming loose on your model. If the price tag is an issue I would recommend picking up just a size S brush which you can purchase for around £12. This is certainly the brush I can see myself using the most when drybrushing and stippling infantry sized models.

Thank you again to Artis Opus for sending Sprues and Brews one of their Series D – Drybrush Sets to review.

Published by captberk

View all posts by captberk