Brush Pen Comparison

About two years ago all I wanted was to learn how to hand letter. I have always felt like I was creative, but I could never find something that I felt I was good at.

I work for a landscaping company and in the winter we are slow. To keep myself busy during the off season I started to really teach myself how to draw. When I was in school I would doodle in the margins of my pages like other kids but never thought that type of art would become popular. Well was I wrong! Have you seen Instagram and Pinterest lately? You don’t need to have gone to a fancy college to be popular these days. I am in love with the simple floral and one line sketches that have become so popular, and they are so easy to learn! I would use Pinterest a lot for inspiration and this is where I found a link on how to do fake calligraphy. I was blown away how the blogger did this.

Here is the trick: you thicken the down stokes!

My mind was blown! I figured why not fake it until you make it? This opened up my world to so many avenues. My artistic life really changed when I learned about brush pens. I would always wonder how these artists could create these perfect prints. I never understood that there was a specific pen that was used until I really started researching the craft.

My first brush pen that I ever used was a Dual Tip Tombow. I bugged my husband to get me a pack for a Christmas present. They are on the expensive side, but with all of the coupons you can find at craft stores these days you can find some pretty good deals. I love the fact that they have two tips and come in so many colors. They have a larger tip so I would definitely use these for large lettering projects. They have an easy to control tip and are pretty popular among artists. They are water based so you can use them like watercolors and can create some really awesome backgrounds.

After getting the hang of the Dual Tip I found the Tombow Fudenosuke. These previously only came in black but they have recently added more colors. They also have two different tips, soft and hard. The hard tip is my favorite, I like the pressure I get from it. I haven’t been able to find these in a store around me but they are always available on Amazon. They can be used for smaller projects and I feel like these are a better beginner pen. They are easy to control and have a high margin for error. They are also better in my opinion to use for fake calligraphy.

I recently purchased the Pentel brush pen after seeing a lot of artists use them on Instagram and I have to say I think these are my favorite pens. They come in a couple of different sizes, and do have a lot of color options. I also get these from Amazon. I feel like they do tend to smudge easier than the Fudenosuke, but my brush lettering is definitely better with these pens.

I hoped this comparison helped you guys! My best advice would be to try multiple pens until you find the one that fits your style the best. And let’s be honest, we really don’t need another reason to buy more pens.

If you tried any of these pens I would love to see your artwork. Use the #unlockedcolors so I can see what you are up to!