The ARTIFY 24-piece oil brush set sits in an increasingly crowded field of budget-friendly synthetic brushes aimed at people who paint often enough to wear brushes out but don’t want to spend much replacing them. It’s a long-handle set made from hard nylon filaments, sized and shaped to cover the range most oil and acrylic painters reach for in a single session. The question worth asking isn’t whether these are fine art brushes—they aren’t—but whether a 24-piece set at this price point earns its place in a studio or classroom.
What’s actually in the set
The 24 brushes break down across the common shapes: flats, filberts, rounds, and a few detail or liner types, spanning small detail sizes up to roughly one-inch width. The long handles are a deliberate choice for oil painters who work at an easel and want to stand back, and they’re finished smoothly enough that they don’t feel rough in the hand. The nylon filaments are described as “hard,” and that’s accurate—these are stiff brushes with limited snap. They hold their shape well but don’t flex much under pressure, which changes how they feel compared to natural hog bristle.
How they behave in practice
Synthetic hog-style filaments are a compromise, and this set leans toward the stiffer end of that compromise. In oil paint, the stiffness is an advantage for scrubbing in underpaintings, blocking in large shapes, and pushing thicker paint around without the brush collapsing. In acrylics, the same stiffness works well for dry-brush texture and scumbling, though the filaments can leave visible brush marks that some painters will like and others won’t. The larger flats and filberts are the strongest part of the set; they load reasonably and cover ground quickly. The smallest rounds and liners are the weakest—fine detail work with stiff nylon feels scratchy, and the points don’t hold as crisply as a dedicated detail brush would.
Cleaning is straightforward. Nylon tolerates soap and water well, and the filaments don’t splay as readily as natural bristle when they’re washed regularly. With oil paint, you’ll still need solvent or soap before washing, and paint can work its way up toward the ferrule if you’re not careful. The ferrules themselves are crimped and functional rather than refined; a few brushes in a set this size will inevitably have slightly uneven crimps.
Where the set falls short
The main trade-off is consistency. At this price for 24 brushes, you’re buying quantity over individual quality control. Expect variation between brushes—some will feel tighter and better balanced than others, and the handles on a few may have minor finish flaws. The stiff nylon also isn’t a substitute for natural hog hair if you’re after the specific way bristle holds and releases oil paint; synthetics behave differently, and painters trained on bristle will notice the difference immediately. Longevity is another realistic concern: these are consumable brushes. Used hard and cleaned properly, they’ll last a while, but they aren’t heirloom tools, and the tips on the finer brushes will soften or hook with heavy use.
How it compares
Against a single mid-range synthetic brush from a reputable art brand, the ARTIFY set trades refinement for volume. One well-made filbert might cost as much as several brushes here, and it will likely outperform any individual brush in this set. The comparison that matters is with other bulk classroom or starter sets, and against those, the long handles and the broad shape range give it an edge for easel work. If you already own a core set of quality brushes, this isn’t a replacement—it’s a supplement for the messy, high-volume stages of painting where you don’t want to risk your good brushes.
Who it suits
This set makes the most sense for students, classroom settings, and painters who go through brushes quickly or want a full range without a large outlay. It’s also reasonable for someone experimenting with oils who isn’t ready to commit to expensive bristle brushes. It’s less suitable for experienced painters who rely on the specific response of natural hog hair, for anyone doing fine portrait or detail work where precision matters, and for buyers who expect every brush in a 24-piece set to be individually excellent. Treated as a working set of serviceable tools rather than a precision instrument, it does what it’s meant to do without pretending to be more.