Princeton Artist Brush, Neptune Series 4750, Synthetic Squirrel Watercolor Paint Brush, Round, Size 0

I looked at the Neptune quill mops before looking at this brush, as I wanted a synthetic brush that could hold a lot of water and pigment, allowing for loose, expressive strokes and wet-in-wet techniques in my watercolor illustration work. The diameter of this brush head is 8.7mm and tip length is 33mm. This makes it roughly comparable in size to a size 2 quill mop brush, which is not available in this brush line (Neptune quill brushes are only available in sizes 4-8). I felt that the size 4 quill would be just a bit too large for me, since most of my work is done in small to medium sizes. This brush seemed to be the size that I needed, so I bought it, and I’m really impressed with it. The belly holds a lot of water and pigment, releasing it fairly evenly onto my paper. I can do big, loose, expressive strokes with it very easily. It is now one of my go-to brushes when I want to put a lot of pigment down on the paper or want to drag pigment with a wet brush to watch it flow from one area to another. It isn’t a quill and isn’t as versatile (which I’ll explain momentarily), but for what it does, it’s excellent. I do will point out that this brush is not really comparable to a quill mop in one major aspect, i.e, the shape of the brush head. Quill brushes have a rounder belly and more narrowly tapered tip, while this brush has a fairly balanced diameter from ferrule to tip. So, while both a quill and this large round can hold a lot of paint and disburse it smoothly, they don’t share the same versatility. With a good quality quill mop, you can get broad strokes and fine lines with the same brush. You get get a lot of stroke variety with this brush, but you will not achieve as fine of lines with it as a good quality, comparably sized quill. End of story. So, it really comes down to your needs. If you need a brush with a full belly and really fine point to do a lot of work with a single brush, you’re better off going with a quill brush. But, if you want large, expressive strokes and to wet sizable areas with a single dip of the brush, this one will do quite nicely. And, it’s pretty affordable, too! Side note: I ended up getting this brush for larger, wet areas and the Da Vinci Casaneo size 0 quill mop on Amazon (which I also love) for the versatility in strokes from a single brush. They complement each other quite nicely and give me a lot of options when I’m working more loosely, filling in large areas or working wet-in-wet. I have added a couple of my recent illustrations, where I used this brush in part of my painting process, to show its versatility. In the perfume bottle illustration, I used this brush to paint the perfume inside of the bottle using a wet-in-wet technique, dispersing near the top, then feathering it downward with the brush. In the smoothie bowl illustration, I used this brush to create the large, wet swirls around the outside edges of the bowl, using a wet-on-dry painting technique with a very wet brush. Both of these illustrations were done on a 9x12” block of Stonehenge Aqua cold-press watercolor paper (also available on Amazon). I like the performance that it delivers and would definitely buy it again.

This brush arrived quickly and in perfect condition with a plastic sheath protecting the bristles. It’s perfectly soft and absorbent, made of synthetic hair that behaves very similarly to animal hair. There’s a bit more snap than that of a natural hair brush but not quite as much snap as most synthetic brushes. The bristles have a nice full belly that holds a good amount of water and paint and it comes to a beautiful point. This brush can check a lot of boxes when it comes to watercolor because you can cover a large space (as much as can be expected from a size 6) but also get the fine details, depending on how you hold it. The price is very good for the quality which makes it a good brush to start out with if you want to build up your watercolor supplies slowly. I only wish I would have bought this brush sooner. I started with the travel version of this brush, also in a size 6. It’s a great brush as well and I enjoyed using it even when I wasn’t traveling with my paints. I liked it so much that I decided to buy this same Princeton Neptune brush with a full handle. It feels pretty similar except this full handle brush has a slightly pointier tip than the travel version. This makes it just that much easier to get the fine details in my painting. I’m very pleased with my purchase.

Great item, just as described. Great transaction!

neptune round brushes are wonderful. The neptune flats I have some trouble with tho.

As a beginner, I was afraid I wouldn't get good results, but this brush made a huge difference. It is very forgiving and easy to control; the soft bristles hold plenty of water, which helps avoid common mistakes like streaking. It has definitely boosted my confidence as I practice my techniques.

I like this brush but it's no different than other faux squirrel brushes I own. I'm specifically thinking of Creative Mark Mimik, the grey handled ones. For value for money you're better off getting one of the Mimik sets that offer several shapes and sizes. I lost my size 8 round Mimik so this Neptune brush rounds out my set and was much needed. This brush holds tons of water and pigment and if your brush isn't fully loaded you can get a sharp point. That said, if you're a noob or don't have a good handle on water control I would give this line a pass until you have a better grasp on water control as this brush is quite soft with very little snap or bounce. If you smoosh it to one side it will stay smooshed, it won't bounce back to the original shape. It also isn't the best for detail because of that reason, so it won't make a good "all-rounder" brush. I would think it would be hard to paint an entire piece with this one brush. That said, this is a really nice brush and I'm glad I bought it. The build quality is excellent and it will last forever if you take good care of it. If I didn't already own a set of the Mimik Squirrel (grey handled) I would definitely buy more round Neptunes. I do think I'll purchase a couple of their Aquarelle flats in 3/4 inch and 1 inch to complete my set of synthetic squirrel brushes. This brush looks pretty and feels good in the hand, better than my Mimiks. It's well balanced and easy to hold no matter if you're close to the ferrule or back on the handle. This is a great little brush!

I really like this brush for watercolor. I can pool water or mix colors with this. It is one of my favorite brushes.

This is by far the thirstiest synthetic watercolor brush I have used. Even my Escodas can't compare. I'm a little shocked to say the least- I've always avoided this particular line because I heard it was too soft, and when I was starting out with watercolor and did a lot of loose and abstract pieces I needed a lot more control, but now that I'm working more with really utilizing the belly of the brush and not just the point I really love how soft and thirsty the Neptune is. It's great for loose styles, leaves, calligraphy and lettering, etc. Beautiful strokes. You can really get a wonderful range of thicknesses and texture with your paint using this brush. My only issue is that the point isn't very sharp, but I'm finding that with synthetics you can either have a super thirsty brush with a nice belly or you can have a narrower, firm brush with a sharp point. I'm going ahead and ordering a whole range of sizes in these- I REALLY am super impressed with them. (for a sharp point, I recommend the Cosmotop Spin.)

This is what happens when you put 500 squirrels in a room and teach them chemical synthesis, the boffins at Princeton are mopping up with these brushes, introducing fully synthetic squirrels which live carefree squirrely lives and donate their hair cuttings after a visit to the salon so we, the very lucky people we are, get to swish swash away to our hearts content - environmentally and mammal hugging brushy goodness on a stick, with a nice shiny ferrule to boot . These puppies are thirsty - wowsers, nice belly you have there my friend and pointy too, you really are waffly versatile aren't you. Remember folks, these Neptune lot are hippies, they like to flop and flip, aint no spring here, they didn't go through all that science and sentient synthetic squirrel evolution just to have a spring, slurp, flop, repeat. Easy to clean because, well, ummm, they are kinda manic dunkers and spend most of their time half piking into their water tubs (yes, plural, 2 bucket method folks), they love it they do. Very reasonably priced for a squirrel and a good size. If you are friends with real life squirrels, they're a perfect size and thickness for a quick game of rounders and can handle batting nuts all day,long +1 to durability. You should buy one immediately, your pigments will gossip - oh this one brushes, smirks raw sepia, activating as the dashing neptune stick prepares to sing. Me next! me next! cries yellow ochre, oh hush now ochre, hush.

This size is the best and I plan to buy some more to have as standby. Really soft bristles that hold water well and release it perfectly. Even as you run out of water the brush retains its shape which I find very useful. I am so happy to have discovered this brush.

ok

I fell in love with it after the first use! Princeton became my favorite watercolor brush brand!

Buen pincel para acuarela, muy suave y con muy buena absorción. Más adelante compraré de otros tamaños.