Minecraft: How to Craft a Brush and What It Does

There are many new and exciting features in Minecraft version 1.20, but the Brush is one of the most intriguing additions in the Trails and Tales update. Archeology is the main theme of the latest update, and players will need the Brush in order to uncover secrets from the ancient past of Minecraft. Before would-be archeologists can start making discoveries, they'll need to know both how to craft the Brush and how to use it. Though players could probably find these answers for themselves using some trial and error, it may take quite a while.

The Brush was officially added to Minecraft on June 7, 2023, but players have known about it for a while. The tool was first teased at Minecraft Live 2020, and it eventually made its way into the experimental build of version 1.20. Now players on all platforms can craft and use the Brush, so long as they are updated to the most recent version of the game.

Minecraft - How to Craft a Brush

Though the Brush seems simple, its crafting recipe is actually somewhat advanced. Players will only need three items, but some of them are a bit rarer than others or require that players be familiar with some newer Minecraft materials like Copper. The recipe for a Brush requires the following items arranged in the order shown above:

Stick - This is perhaps the most versatile and well-known crafting material in Minecraft. Just combine two Wooden Planks to make four Sticks.
Copper Ingot - Obtained from smelting Copper Ore found in the Overworld.
Feather - Another Minecraft classic, Feathers are obtained by killing Chickens or Parrots.

Minecraft - How to Use a Brush

With the Brush in hand, players can use the Brush (Right click, LT, L2) on a block to start brushing it. For most blocks, this will do nothing but kick up some dust, but players will have different results if they manage to find Suspicious Blocks. Suspicious Sand and Suspicious Gravel look like regular Sand and Gravel, but with more patterning in the pixels. These blocks yield items when brushed. The type of items players can obtain depends on whether the block they are brushing is Suspicious Gravel or Sand, and whether it is found in Minecraft's new Trail Ruins or Ocean Ruins.

Minecraft - What Kinds of Items Can Brushing Yield?

Brushing Suspicious Blocks can yield all sorts of items, ranging from Coal and Wheat to Emeralds and Stained Glass Panes. There are also some unique and rare items players can obtain from brushing, including Sniffer Eggs, Pottery Sherds, and even Armor Trim Smithing Templates.