Paintbrush

Click here to see more of Paintbrush's quotes.
**Paintbrush**, labeled **The Hothead**, was a contestant on *Inanimate Insanity* as a member of Team Epic before their elimination in Aquatic Conflict. They also competed in *Inanimate Insanity II* as a member of The Bright Lights until their elimination in Alternate Reality Show. They currently compete in *Inanimate Insanity Invitational* as a member of The Thinkers until the teams were rearranged, where they participated as a member of The NEW Pinkers until the merge. They are voiced by Jazzy Oliver.

## Personality

Paintbrush is a responsible contestant who is pragmatic in their approach to challenges and life. They take the game very seriously compared to other contestants, and try to corral their team into trying their best at challenges and taking as few risks as possible. They hold their friends and allies' best interests at heart. In some ways, their problem is that they care too much; when things don't go their way and their teammates don't try their best, they are prone to angry outbursts. When they're angry, sometimes they resort to physical violence and yelling (like when they punch Fan and say they hate him in Mazed and Confused).

Although they are a skilled leader, they are outranked by Lightbulb and her outside-the-box ideas. Although Paintbrush shows a willingness to work with Lightbulb in some episodes, they often butt heads because they are both stubbornly set in their ways.

They are a compassionate, loyal friend, as seen when they try their best to comfort Marshmallow, and are always there to save Nickel in Season 1 when things go awry. Paintbrush is both outspoken and very impatient, so they are not unfailingly kind. This is especially true in Season 1 episodes such as The Snowdown, where they're unnecessarily rude to Apple and MePhone 4. They are also shown to be petty at times; examples of this are present when they still feel angry at OJ for besting them in the Christmas Challenge in The Penultimate Poll, even though it'd been months.

## Appearance

Paintbrush has a long rounded body with a square head. A silver metal rim surrounds the top of their head. Paintbrush has yellow bristles that form a pointed brush that emerges from the metal rim. At the bottom of their body is a hole cut out in the center of Paintbrush's torso. In comparison to other contestants, Paintbrush is remarkably tall, as Knife says in both season 1 and 2.

## Abilities

Paintbrush is known for their unique abilities, such as:

* **Combustible Bristles**: Paintbrush's bristles react to their emotions and can glow with heat, as seen various times. If angered enough, Paintbrush's hair can ignite into flames.
	+ **Heat Explosion**: As seen in "Everything's A-OJ", "Mazed and Confused", "Alternate Reality Show", "The Overthinkers", and "Best Served Cold", when Paintbrush reaches a high level of rage, they will explode in a fit of fire. Additionally, they can send off heat waves that can ruin an entire area of land by burning it, and send a large burst of flame upward.

## Coverage

Click here to view the coverage of Paintbrush.
## Trivia

### Comparisons

* Paintbrush's height has been a constant focus throughout the series. While they are the tallest contestant in Season 1, Baseball's size increase in Season 2 demotes Paintbrush to the second-tallest.
	+ As of *Inanimate Insanity Invitational*, Paintbrush is also the second tallest of the competing contestants, just below Silver Spoon. This is confirmed in Cabby's Files.
		- Paintbrush was also the thinnest contestant until Silver Spoon's introduction.
* Paintbrush and Tea Kettle are the only two contestants who emit heat when angry.
	+ They additionally utilize the same sound effect when angered, ironically a rising steam sound effect which works more in tangent with Tea Kettle's steam.

### Competition

* Paintbrush is one of the only contestants to appear in all 3 seasons, the others being Balloon and Nickel.
* Paintbrush was the first confirmed contestant in *Inanimate Insanity II*, and also the first contestant to be declared safe from elimination in Inanimate Insanity II.
* Paintbrush has survived being in the bottom two in *Inanimate Insanity II* twice, which is more than any other character. This was in Let Er' R.I.P. and Everything's A-OJ.
* Paintbrush is the only Bright Lights member who has never sat out of a challenge.
* Paintbrush got eighth-to-last in *Inanimate Insanity*. Coincidentally, they got 8th place in *Inanimate Insanity II* and *Inanimate Insanity Invitational*.
* Paintbrush was the first contestant to use a confessional in *Inanimate Insanity Invitational*.
* In *Inanimate Insanity Invitational*, Paintbrush has always been on a team with at least one other former Bright Light, being Yin-Yang on The Thinkers or Test Tube on The Pinkers.

### General

* Paintbrush is the first Inanimate Insanity character to be confirmed as nonbinary.
	+ Lightbulb is the first character who is confirmed to know this.
	+ Before Alternate Reality Show, Nickel, Marshmallow, and Fan seemed to think Paintbrush was a boy, while Apple and Test Tube seemed to think they were a girl. MePad, Knife, and Lightbulb have referred to them as both.
		- After Alternate Reality Show, most of the contestants seemed to have picked up on Paintbrush being nonbinary as they have been exclusively referred to with gender-neutral pronouns since then.
			* The only confirmed exception is Yang, that is until Paintbrush confirmed to him in "The Overthinkers" that they are, indeed, nonbinary.
* According to Taylor, Paintbrush's gender wasn't decided by the crew at the start of the series.
* As stated by Adam in a vlog and Taylor in a Tumblr post, Taylor started voicing Paintbrush because their original voice actor, TotalDramaFantasy, disappeared. He voiced Paintbrush starting in "The Snowdown".
	+ Paintbrush's voice has steadily become more natural and less digitized throughout the course of the series.
* Paintbrush attempted to ask a question in "The Crappy Cliff", "A Lemony Lesson", "Double Digit Desert", "Breaking the Ice", and "Marsh on Mars", but each time they were interrupted. While this was one of the longest-running mysteries and gags of the show, in "Alternate Reality Show", it was confirmed to be about future-Lightbulb's appearance during the first challenge.
* The concept of Paintbrush's bristles igniting in fury was originally conceived as being like a "wacky cartoon cliche" before it became more meaningful to their character.
* According to their website bio, Paintbrush is very particular about their bristles, preferring to keep them straight and smooth.
	+ Paintbrush is also very particular about taking care of Baxter. They keep him safe in their room, and are somewhat protective of him.
* According to the II website and Inanimate Comics, Paintbrush hosts arts and crafts classes every week at Hotel OJ to reduce stress.
	+ This is just one measure they've taken to address their temper.
* It is confirmed in "Mine Your Own Business" and "Hatching the Plan" that Fan and Paintbrush are roommates at Hotel OJ.
* In "The Snowdown", Paintbrush states they do not believe in Santa Claus, and do not care about Christmas.
	+ It is unknown whether Paintbrush still feels this way.

## Gallery

*Click here to view the gallery.*

**Members:** Lightbulb (c) • Nickel • Knife • **Paintbrush** • Baseball • Marshmallow • Paper • Apple

**Current (as of II14):** Yin-Yang
**Eliminated:** Apple • Marshmallow • Tissues • Cherries • Lightbulb (c) • Fan • **Paintbrush** • Test Tube

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