Escoda Versatil 1548 Series Artist Watercolor and Acrylic Paint Brush, Short Handle, Travel, Size 8

I was worried when I ordered such a fragile brush, a #2 rigger, for a couple reasons. I worried that it might get damaged in transit (as has happened to me before with other brushes), or that this rigger wouldn't be what I was looking for, but oh boy... it is better than I expected. The brush came with no issues, the point is excellent, great snap and it is quite thirsty, while keeping its point. This brush also releases the water and paint at a good pace so I could paint easily with the detailed thin lines I needed. Good grip on the brush and steady lines. Truly a joy to paint with.When testing using only one load of paint on the brush, it was enough for me to work on MANY tree branches and it just kept going and going, giving me thin lines and a bit thicker too, whichever I needed using only one brush. I was loving it!I have a few riggers of other sizes from other brands, but they didn't give me the thin brush strokes I needed and weren't the quality I was looking for. I recently got the Escoda versatil red travel kit and it quickly became my favorite go to "synthetic" brushes (and I have many different good brands of brushes). So after seeing that they also had a rigger I wanted to see if it would work for me. After testing this rigger, I would say this is the best out of all the others I have. Escoda is setting the bar so high! I wish I had known about this brand of brushes sooner, bc now all the other brushes I have pale in comparison. I love my new brush and see myself using it often. Highly recommend it!

I tested lines, fills, shapes, glazes, pressed and dragged and lifted. I love it. Did everything I asked it to do.

This is my first rigger brush and I am very pleased with the delicate fine lines, the ease of movement and snap of this brush. However equally important is this seller was extremely thoughtful with the packaging of the brush. The delicate bristles were protected with the typical plastic tube, the brush carefully wrapped and this seller ships the brush in a hard cardboard tube that absolutely prevents damage by the shipping company. I highly recommend purchasing delicate brushes from this seller.

I love encoda brushes. They are the highest quality

I've now tried both the size 6 and 8 versatil brushes. I think they carry most of the well known characteristics of synthetic brushes, and do them well. (Holds a nice fine point, has quite a bit of spring, loses water rather quickly) I wasn't blown away or anything, nor do they feel exceptionally "better" (as in being closer to a nature hair brush) than other synthetic brushes.As always, my only downside with synthetic brushes are they use up the water very quickly, and after 1 stroke or so, the brush is most likely already streaking. With these kind of brushes, I usually would intentionally really load up the water with the brush (and refrain from taking some water off the tip which I do habitually). Only then, can I get some larger washes going in one go.With the fine point and amount of spring, it's quite easy to control and get finer details.#8 definitely feels more versatile (no pun intended..) than #6. Since they lose water so quickly anyway, I think #8 is well capable of doing anything a #6 could do, AND on top of that, will be able to carry a bit more water for larger areas if needed. The barrels are the same size for both 6 and 8.The wooden part around the grip has a really odd, kind of repulsive smell. (I've purchased the 2 versatils from different sellers, and they both have the smell) The only way I could describe it is it reminds me of a rotting bone, or something old.Not very pleasant, but I could only smell it it was pretty close to the nose. I'm hoping it will go away after some months.. It feels like the smell is almost engraved into it; can't imagine it going away anytime soon.The cap posts very securely (at least for now, it is quite new). It does feel like it will get looser with use over time.The brush fits in the common 12 half pan metal travel palettes (photo)would've been 5/5 stars if just advertised as a travel synthetic brush."Synthetic kolinsky"- not so sure if I feel any difference..update (about half a month) - Good news, I've left them uncapped for the past half month or so, and I noticed the particular smell of the grip area has been significantly faded.update 5/3/19- I still own the brush; I still use it from time to time. I think I don't reach for it as often as my other brushes because of its overall weight distribution and my personal tastes.The barrel & cap have become looser when posting from usage (just a bit so far. the cap won't fall off by itself from being held upside down), so I have a feeling I will need to fix it up with a thin layer of tape soon.

I use synthetic brushes from several different brush manufacturers in my work. I'm am an artist and illustrator who frequently works with ink, watercolor and goauche. Recently, the Escoda Versatil has my favorite overall brush for watercolor and ink, as it just has this perfect balance between springiness and color carrying capacity. The performance is very close to that of a sable brush, but without the unnecessary animal cruelty and at a much more affordable price for the quality it provides. It's everything I want in a watercolor brush and nothing that I don't. Perfect!I use the rigger size 0 round I recently purchased on Amazon to paint long thin lines in some of my illustrations. It holds more paint than a short-tipped round of the same size, so I can make longer strokes before running out of paint. I tend to opt for shorter tipped rounds when working on fine details, but when I need longer strokes than they can provide, the rigger is my go-to. This is also an excellent brush choice when doing hand-lettering. That is a skill I am always working to develop and I think this brush makes that job easier for me. That's exactly what a good tool should do, right?I highly recommend the Escoda Versatil line for watercolor and ink painting (just ask me what I think of the travel brushes *drool*) and the size 0 rigger for painting long, fine strokes.As a side note, the Escoda Prado line is also excellent. It holds an excellent point (slightly better than the Versatil), at a trade-off of carrying a bit less paint. So, the Versatil brushes are usually my primary brushes, but I often mix in Prados when I'm painting fine details - something I do quite often.If you have any questions I can help answer, feel free to leave a comment below. :)

Quite expensive. Like the feel in the hand when using and good for travel. Bristles don't go to a neat point which is rather disappointing

Hoped it would go to a point a little more easily as this is not a cheap brush

Amazing quality, cruelty free watercolor paintbrush. I own all of the Escoda Versatil.

Really lovely brush coming to a good point. Can be used for wider backgrounds and for smaller details. Good all rounder brush to take with you when painting in a sketchbook outdoors. Very pleased with my purchase.

fantastic brush, easy to use, stores well and a nice size in the hand, juuuust about fits in my schmincke 12 pan pocket set, should fit most other brands as the tin is usually the same or same-ish dimensions