#0 brushes

I am looking for a brush thinner than the #1 Round LC 7000C series. I have seen the following and have no idea what the numbers mean... can anyone shed any light?

18/0
3/0

Is there also a regular 0?

Thanks!

Hi Willoughby,
There are "0" and then those others you mention. There's another thread somewhere on here where someone asked the same question, and the advice from more experienced painters was to not go smaller than 0 or 1, they are small enough and to practice your linework. That's what I'm doing, because even the 0 and 1 run out of paint too soon for me! I'd rather develop a deft hand then refill my brush every half inch.
Good luck!

Whoops! So I had already posted about this... sorry, my bad. Wasn't sure if I'd considered posting or had indeed done it... well there you go. I've been thinking about the thinner brushes again for a while (especially after watching Lisa Joy Young's Youtube videos)... she often uses a #0 (Grumbacher or something) and the lines did seem thinner than any I could create with the #1. Either way, I was just looking for an explanation of all the numbers. Does anyone know what the figures mean? Can anyone explain?

Once you get to a size 0 brush...the more zeroes, the smaller it is. So a 0 is smaller than a 1, a 000 is smaller again, and an 18/0 is teeny-tiny. I presume they write it that way because 000000000000000000 is a lot of zeroes to print on a little brush.

Thanks Kammy, you're probably right, I never really thought of looking at it as an actual fraction They're cheap enough online (excluding import duties of course ) so I could just give them all a go I guess!

You might find that at very small sizes, you'll end up preferring the more expensive sable brushes as they tend to hold more paint before needing to be reloaded. The problem with the tiny brushes is that whilst they can make very fine lines more easily, they run out of steam really fast - often part way through a stroke!

I agree with many others that if you can, it's worth practising making finer lines with slightly bigger brushes. At the very least, it can mean a smaller working kit as you have more versatility with a smaller set of sizes. My line work isn't the best, but in general I try not to go below a #2 round. Been known to play around with a lovely Series 7 sable #0, though....

I do nail art so i use the 000 and 0 brushes for that but I also would never recommend them for face paint I think I may have 1 or 2 ones in my kit but 2-6 are my favorites for the rounds

I'm not clear on what you want to do with a small brush.
As what you want to do with it will determine the type of brush.
Is it fine detail, tiny teardrops & swirls or liner brush. The brush your refer to is a Round.

I use a Mehron Stageline fine detail 810 brush that I love. Not that any sharp point won't do the same with a good hand at face painting. But this little detailer has it's place.

Face painters do use small brushes, just as some do not use large brushes like #6s. Other than recommended pretty standard go to sizes what you use is up to you to fit your style and technique. Try variety if you are new.

From naughty word Blick on brushes

" Length refers to the distance from the edge of the ferrule out to the tip of the hair in the brush's center.

Diameter refers to the distance across a round ferrule at the exact point where the ferrule ends and the hair begins.

Width refers to the distance across a flat ferrule at the exact point where the ferrule ends and the hair begins.

Tips for Measuring Brushes

Measure brushes while they are dry. A brush's width is not the width of the paint stroke that the brush makes. The actual width of the stroke varies according to the amount of pressure used, the angle at which the brush is held, the media used, and the flexibility of the brush hair".

What you do with teeny tiny brushes is teeny tiny details... I have several 3/0 brushes (it was a cheap set), and April Powell was drooling over them in a class, because she couldn't get hold of them... She used them in the class to make tiny stars etc.