• 13 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Brush

An artist's paint brush from end to end, then six brush shapes to tell apart.

Parts of a Brush

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Handle
  2. Bristles
  3. Ferrule
  4. Toe
  5. Belly
  6. Heel
  7. Crimp
  8. Round brush
  9. Flat brush
  10. Fan brush
  11. Filbert
  12. Angle brush
  13. Rigger (liner)

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a pencil

All 13 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Parts of the brush 7

  1. Handle Usually wood, painted or varnished, or plastic. Long handles are for painting at an easel; short ones are for work at a table.
  2. Bristles The hairs of the brush, natural or synthetic. They pick up the paint and lay it on the surface.
  3. Ferrule A metal band holding the bristles in shape. It joins them to the handle.
  4. Toe The very end of the bristles. On a round brush it comes to a point.
  5. Belly The thick middle of the bristles. It holds most of the paint, and it shows most on a round brush.
  6. Heel The part of the bristles where they enter the ferrule.
  7. Crimp Where the ferrule is squeezed onto the handle to hold it fast.

Brush shapes 6

  1. Round brush A round ferrule and a pointed tip. Used for detail, lines and washes.
  2. Flat brush A flat ferrule and square-ended hair. It makes broad strokes, or fine lines when used on its edge.
  3. Fan brush A thin layer of hair spread out by the ferrule. Used for blending and for textures such as grass.
  4. Filbert A flat brush with a rounded, oval end. Its soft edges suit blending.
  5. Angle brush A flat brush with hairs longer at one side. So the end slants. Used for precise strokes, lines and curves.
  6. Rigger (liner) A thin round brush with very long hair, for fine lines. It was used to paint the rigging in ship pictures.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) An Introduction to Art Paintbrushes by Marion Boddy-Evans (The Spruce Crafts), read as the Internet Archive copy of 31 January 2024: handle, ferrule, bristles or hairs, toe, heel and belly; round, flat, filbert, fan and rigger or liner brushes, https://web.archive.org/web/20240131094128/https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/an-introduction-to-art-paint-brushes-4086375. (2) Anatomy of a Paintbrush, the Princeton Artist Brush Company's blog, read as the Internet Archive copy of 29 September 2022: toe, belly, heel, ferrule, crimp and handle, and the angle brush, https://web.archive.org/web/20220929045714/https://princetonbrush.com/blog/anatomy-of-a-paintbrush/. (3) Brushes by Shape (Blick Art Materials), Internet Archive copy of 31 January 2024: angular, fan, filbert, flat, round and script or liner, https://web.archive.org/web/20240131094130/https://www.dickblick.com/info/brushshape/. (4) Wikipedia, text only: Paintbrush (bristles, ferrule, handle; the round, flat, filbert, fan, angle and rigger shapes; long and short handles), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintbrush. (5) The Visual Dictionary Online (QA International, published with Merriam-Webster), brush: bristles, handle, ferrule, https://www.visualdictionaryonline.com/house/do-it-yourself/painting-upkeep/brush.php. (6) How Products Are Made, volume 5, Paintbrush: ferrule, handle, and the handle being crimped to the ferrule, http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Paintbrush.html. The crimp is named as a part by source 2 only; source 6 describes the crimping. Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's brush, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a brush run in a line: the handle you hold, the metal ferrule with its crimp, and the hair. The hair has three names of its own: the heel, the belly and the toe.

Read the full guide

Start at the handle

Work from the end you hold. The ferrule is the metal band that grips the hair and joins it to the handle, and the crimp is where that band is squeezed tight. On the enlarged head, the heel is the hair nearest the ferrule, the belly is the fattest part and the toe is the very end. The second drawing shows six shapes. Look at the end of the hair: pointed, square, rounded, slanted or spread.

  • The heel is next to the ferrule and the toe is the tip. The belly lies between them.
  • A flat brush ends square. A filbert is a flat brush with a rounded end.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a paintbrush called?

From the end you hold: the handle, the ferrule (the metal band) with its crimp, and the bristles or hair. The hair is divided into the heel at the ferrule, the belly in the middle and the toe at the tip.

What is the metal part of a paint brush called?

The ferrule. It is a metal band that holds the bristles in shape and joins them to the handle. The pinched rings that squeeze it onto the handle are the crimp.

What is the belly of a brush?

The fattest part of the hair, between the heel and the toe. It shows most on a round brush. A big belly lets a round watercolor brush pick up a lot of paint at once.

What is the difference between a flat and a filbert brush?

Both have a flat ferrule. A flat brush has a square end, for broad strokes or, on its edge, fine lines. A filbert has a rounded end, which gives softer edges and suits blending.

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