The Beginner's Guide to Brush Pens
Disclaimer: this post is completely in my opinion and in no way is scientifically proven to be the right way to go.
When I started hand-lettering a while ago, I felt so overwhelmed by the huge range of brush pens. There were small brush pens and large brush pens, calligraphy chisel tips and something called Fude. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and it sowed in my frustration. No matter how hard I tried to work the one brush pen I had, I just couldn't do it.
I thought a lot about the order in which I wanted to show you the pens. I couldn't decide if I wanted them in the order I think is best, or if I wanted them in the order they were bought in. The order I think is best won. So here they are, with pictures and full explanations. Let's get to it.
1. Tombow Fudenosuke Soft & Hard
I got these pens after a long research. They were voted as beginner friendly by most letterers I followed so I decided to give them a shot. There are two - the soft tip is the green/black one' and the hard tip is the blue one. Both have the same tip size and a black ink.
I won't go into much detail about the technical stuff here, but I will tell you the important things, The tip on this pen is very small, It's tiny, actually. The hard tip is what I find best for complete beginners. This is the one that help me finally succeed. At first it's a little scary to put pressure on it because it seems like it's going to break, but when you get the deal, it gets easier.
I do love the soft tip. I find myself grabbing the soft tipped one a lot nowadays. But for the beginners I believe the hard tip is better.
2. Pentel Fude Touch / Pentel Brush Sign Pen
There are two names up there, simply because their name is an issue I haven't figured out just yet. They come in different colours, and I have the two pictured above. They have the same sized tip as the Tombows in (1), but they are slightly softer than the soft tipped one, which make them a little harder to control in my opinion. I got these right after I got my Fudenosuke pens, because I wanted more colour options, and I immediately found that I can make these work as well. An important thing with these, though, is to pay attention that you actually buy the brush pens and not the regular ones, because they have a version that looks the same but lacks the flexibility completely.
3. Generic Brand Brush Pens
I just recently got these three from eBay. All three together were about 2 USD with free shipping, but I know they also sell them on Wish. the only way I have of telling you how to recognize those is the serial numbers - SB56, SB57 and SB58 going from the small "Fude" tip similar to the pens mentioned abouve, to a medium "Fude" tip and finally all the way to the big brush with the SB58. Since they are so cheap, and they are really great, I find that I use them all the time. My favourite is the SB57 which is a great medium between the tiny and the large tips, offering a great contrast between its hairline thin upstrokes and bold thick downstrokes.
4. Kuretake Fudebiyori Metallics
First of all, a little note. The fact that they are metallic is not at all important. It's just a fact.
After trying my luck with both pen types mentioned above, I felt like I was finally ready to try bigger brushes. The Kuretake Fudebiyori are not like the "Fude" pens mentioned above, which means that the brushes are bigger and have a lot of flexibility. It's harder to control and I really was scared to fail with these.
At first my lettering was a mess with those, because they are really harder to control. This is why I only recommend them to those who feel like their lettering with Fude brushes is great. Now I have a lot of fun with those, and they show up amazing on black paper, but it took some time to get there.
5. Sakura Pigma Brush
Now, this pen was my first ever brush pen. Which was a big mistake. At that point I've been wanting to start studying handlettering for quite some time and when I say it in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam I couldn't help myself.
But this pen has a big brush tip that is very flexible and really fragile. I worked with the right paper, and at first I was too afraid to push on my downstrokes, but the problem was that by the time I was ready to really apply pressure it was already completely frayed - there was no way of getting a thin upstroke.
My point is - it's a great pen that also comes in various colours, but it's a big no-no for beginners, in my opinion.
6. Tombow Dual-Brush
I know most people like to get these ones first. They appear this far on the list because of two reasons. The first, is that where I live there is absolutely no way of getting these. This is why I got them only recently as a present from a European friend that came for a visit. The second reason is that they are more expensive than any of the pens mentioned above, and as such I find myself thinking of them as more luxurious. Personally, I think that they are great pens that you wouldn't want to break because you are still a beginner. This is why I recommend leaving them to a later stage.
They have a bold tip and 96 amazing colours, and on the other side of the pen you'll find a fineliner.
7. Edding 1255 Calligraphy Pen
I got this pen before I fully understood pen varieties. This is a calligraphy pen - which means it has a chisel tip. It's not a brush pen in any way, which means its not flexible and you don't use it the same way. There is absolutely no point in applying pressure on it.
Again, I got this pen way too early, which means that by the time I was ready to understand how to work with it it was already completely ruined. I don't have much to say about this one, because I can't really use it, but I thought I'd include it here so you know it exists.
Bonus: other useful pens - Muji 0.25 and Pilot G-2 07 in white
The Muji 0.25 is a regular, ballpoint pen. It has black ink and I mostly use it for finer detail in my lettering works and for my bullet journal.
Te Pilot G-2 is a 0.7 point ballpoint pen. It has white ink and I use it for my lettering works on black paper, and as a way to add detail on black ink. However, this isn't the best option in the market. The UniBall Signo shows up a lot whiter and I would suggest you check this one as well. I just couldn't find it in the stores here.
So, for those of you who made it all the way here, I just want to point out one more important issue. Paper. Paper is really important in order to keep you brush-pens working great. This is an issue for a completely different post, so for now just make sure you buy smooth paper or a Markers specific paper to practice on.
Until next time,
Amit.