Brushes

It is good to be snobby about some things; because no one else knows enough to care. An Illustrator needs to be snobby about brushes. The best brush is a male Siberian Kolinsky Sable harvested in the winter. I guess a summer-time female is not as desirable. No, a sable is not a tiger as in Sable Tooth tiger, a sable is like a mink, a furry little varmint. A regular Red Sable would also be a good choice. Next down the list would be a Kazan Squirrel or a Black Squirrel. Can you make a brush from road-kill squirrel? As far as I know brush making involves careful alignment of the hairs so that the curve inward and make a nice point. Once you move out of natural hair brushes and into synthetics there is a huge drop in quality (and price). A good full-bellied round number 6 sable brush costs around $40. You only need one good brush. If you buy cheap brushes you have to buy a bunch of sizes to get a range of line work done. Here is a picture where you can see the kind of line that a good brush makes.

It goes smoothly from very thin to full and thick. It can do that because a good brush makes a sharp point when it is wet. Don't be deceived by all those sharp looking cheap brushes in the store. They look that way because they have the equivalent of a stiff hair gel/insecticide in them. Here you can see a dry sable brush next to the same brush when wet. A cheap brush will never form that sharp point again after you wash it the first time.