Arts Aquash Water Brush Assorted Tips, Pack of 4 (FRHBP4M)

I caveat this because there are great water brushes in Japan (Where pentel is from anyway!) But I have reliably used my old pentel water brush set from 10 years ago and they still work great. I bought this new set to gift to friends because the reliability, brush tip retention (even after years of regular use) has been fantastic. I’ve tried the random Chinese brands before and their tips splay after a few uses, sometimes after 1 and while my old aquashes did clog after I beat them up by filling them with my own ink concoctions, they could be cleaned out and still useful as dry brushes. I highly recommend pentel and if you’re getting water brushes, don’t skimp out. These are 100% worth every penny.

Really convenient tool to have. You can clean the brush easier, you can add water to your paints, and you can bring them anywhere because of its size. I've had a brush like this before and it was really flexible with the water. The water in these brushes take a second before coming out and after that there's no issue. Maybe it's just my imagination.

Extraordinary brush set! I am just starting out with watercolors, and these are fabulous brushes. They hold a tip quite nicely, even after vigorous washing and painting. The brushes seem to be made with a quality synthetic material. Oddly, when my brushes first arrived, they came clear but with an oily feel to the brushes. Perhaps this was to help the brushes keep their tips. Anyways, I find that I am able to get a nice variety of strokes by only using these three brushes. The smallest brush has a very fine tip and allows me to paint fine details. In terms of standard brush sizes, the small is about a size 1 round; the medium, a 4 round; and the large, about an 8 round. In general, these brushes are quite easy to use and clean. To transition between colors, I just squeeze out some water from the water tank and swish the brush tip on a napkin until the tip turns clear and no traces of the previous color are left (this takes hardly any time at all, maybe a few seconds). However, I wish I could deduct half a star for the water control. I find that it is sometimes difficult to control the opacity created with these brushes as the water comes out in fluctuating amounts. Thus, I find it difficult to get an even wash with these brushes, even the large brush (although, it's usually quite hard to achieve an even wash even with a quality synthetic or sable size 8 round). However, you can keep the water pressure under control most of the time with sufficient practice and by lightly gripping the brush. Lastly, I noticed that the tips can get stained from certain pigmented colors, such as Viridian Hue from W&N. However, this didn't prove to have any affects on colors used afterwards. Also, I noticed that if you squish the water tank too hard, water will leak from the ferrule. In conclusion, these brushes are quite nice and convenient for traveling. I would highly recommend them to beginning artists or lazy artists who don't want to wash their brushes properly :). However, I find the variating opacity too inconsistent for professional work. I hope you find my review useful! I've also attached some photos for size comparison to a standard pencil and my first 2 paintings with these brushes. -Kelly (a person who actually bought these brushes at full price)

I use this for stamped image coloring. I use stamping up ink mostly with these as well as using them to put down water for my water color pencils. Pros ~~~~~~ Easy to fill No leaking thus far easy to squeeze out more water colors seem to come off easily (inks) Very nice to use with water color pencils Works great on the Ranger Craft Sheet (which just wipes clean) I put down some water to mix my water color pencils Easy to control amount of water coming out Nice different tip sizes Gets into detailed area pretty easily if you have a steady hand Easy to store Shipped quickly & packaged well. Was cheaper then buying at the craft store. Easy for kids to use as well. Cons ~~~~~~ If you are using the ink lid to pick up color, it can be very hard to get enough color. The colors seem to be very light-so if you want bold color better off going with water colored pencils then these brushes. However, you can use these to put down the water first then use the water color pencils. My View ~~~~~~~~ Overall I'm very happy with these brushes. They are fun to use & easy to control. Really love the 3 tip options.

These Pentel Arts Aquash Water Brush pens are so useful when I travel. I carry a small art bag and sketchbook with me when I go places. I really enjoy carrying these along, because I can actually paint anywhere I want. I have painted outside in fields, at cafes, on my couch, in the car, on trains, and all over Europe when I backpacked. They were wonderful, never fell apart, and the water was easy to control. I really enjoy the aspect of the pen holding the water, because it eliminates the need to clean up cups of water, paper towels, and the other messes that traditional paint brushes leave behind. It is particularly excellent for blending gouache paint. Gouache is hard to blend, but the water flow in these pens is so consistent, that I almost always get an even gradient when blending with gouache paints. The only thing I would change about these water brushes is that the largest brush bristles always get pulled down by the cap. You have to very carefully place the lid on the large one, otherwise the bristles always get messed up. Other than that, this product is excellent. I fully intend to purchase more in the future. The handle is comfortable, and everything about these brushes feels so intuitive while working on my art projects. I would definitely recommend these to a friend. In fact, I have recommended them to a lot of people so far. The brush bristles do eventually become stained by darker paint colors, but that is inevitable with any paint brush after prolonged use. The price is remarkably affordable for the quality this product offers. I feel like I do more artwork when I am on-the-go than I ever have before I had these brushes. I am so thankful I jumped out of my comfort zone and decided to purchase these products. Pentel always delivers excellent quality, and once again, they did not disappoint! Five stars from a very happy customer!

I got this brush for use with watercolor pencils while sketching in a nearby garden during my lunch hour. I was after something that was portable, not too expensive, yet decent quality. Reading the reviews of aqua brushes, there are many disappointing offerings out there. It seemed that you had to pay a premium price to get something of even student quality. The Pentel Arts aquash, however, finds a perfect spot in providing value for money while still delivering good performance. One of the key qualities of a brush is its "snap", how fast it returns to shape after having been depressed. If you've ever used the brushes that come in sets of cheapie watercolors, you know what a snap less brush feels like, it only slowly returns to its former shape and often needs to be re smoothed to regain a pointed tip. The Pentel, on the other hand, keeps its tip shape admirably and is quite snappy. Some comparisons are in order. I have a Sakura water brush from a Koi watercolor kit. The Sakura is a very nice brush, holds its shape well, and gobbles up lots of pigment, but is less snappy than the Pentel. I also have some Da Vinci student brushes in golden taklon. These are better in most respects to the Sakura and the Pentel, but even they are not as snappy. I don't own any full-blown artist grade brushes, but I would imagine they will outperform the Pentel. Still, for its price point, it's an excellent brush. It's also quite robust. After a couple of months hard use, it is still in like new condition. Bottom line: if you are fussy about brushes and looking for true artist grade, look elsewhere--this isn't it. If, however, you want something portable, self-hydrating, and offering good value, the snappy Pentel is a great offering.

I love Pentel Aquash waterbrushes. I use them in my art journals and when painting en plein air. They come to a sharp point and the water flows just right after you get them started the first time. This is the first time I've had a size small (good for fine work) or the flat one (good for blending, quick washes, and wide lines). The flat one even comes to a fine point and their lids are different colors so you can tell one from another. They are a value for the money and getting them in a pack of 4 saves you money.

I bought these to use plein air where I can't have loose/cups of water around. These pens work great with both watercolor pencils and regular watercolor paints. They work differently than regular brushes so there's some getting used to them. For one thing, water is constantly coming out of them (by design), so your color is going to get lighter and lighter. Can't do splatter (water drops comes out). Mixing paints is a lot harder to get the right shading (as mentioned before, water keeps flowing). But they are compact and allow me to watercolor at places where normally I can't. They are replaced the spray bottle (some places I can't use spray bottle because it can get water outside of my paper): to wet paint, I just squeeze out a drop of water; to wet the paper, I just "paint" without color. I use an eyedrop bottle to refill these pens on the go. To clean the color/change color, I run the pen on tissues (by pressing and forcing water out). The only garbage that I generate after painting are wet tissues that I put into a plastic zip lock bag to pack out. My plein air setup with these pens is very compact, everything (including paper, for these pens, I don't recommend anything bigger than 5x7; these are small pens) fits into a fanny pack. If I don't carry around a portable chair, I'd look just like your normal, everyday person.