5 Types of Brush Pens Every Hand Lettering Beginner Should Know!

your problem is there are so many pens out there as a handling beginner how can you possibly choose which one is going to work for you and there are some pens that actually make hand lettering harder the good news for you is that i've tried hundreds of pens over the years that's probably not the best news to my wallet regardless some pens are great some are not so great let's talk about five types of brush pens you should get as a hammering beginner so you don't have to try the hundreds of pens don't waste your money on pens that are no good get the pens that are good from the start pens that are gonna help you feel good about your lettering right now if you're new here i'm sarah from ensign insights and i have a lot of favorite pens my three favorite brush pens for beginners are pentel touch kiritaki futabiori and crayola markers these are great brush pens to start with you could get just those and go on your happy way if you're still here it means that's not enough for you welcome to the pen addiction you can stop anytime right yeah me too i wanted to organize pens in a more universal way to be the most helpful for you instead of just saying these are my 20 favorite pens that doesn't help you if they're too expensive for your current budget or don't fit with your style or if you can't find them in the part of the world where you live i don't think there is one universally perfect pen but instead there are universal types of pens here are those five types of pens that every handwriting beginner should have and just so you know i saved the best for last and i'm going to give you a little spoiler and tell you that the last ones are pens that don't fray so you'll want to stick around for that the first type of brush pen that every beginner should have are small brush pens why small they're easier to control than large brush pens you get a feel for how to work with the flexible tip and how to give it heavy or light pressure the first ones you see here are my monomi plus pen 3000 you might like these if you like a really firm tip they are firm so you can get monoline lettering with them so these are good for you if you like pressing really hard as you're lettering i personally love these they're really cheap and they have a lot of colors the next two are tombow furunosuke and pentel touch brush pens they're really similar and they are both really popular tombow has a hard tip and a soft tip if you get the pack of each of these that can help you decide which one you like best because it's totally a personal preference tombow has different colors in the hard tip if you like the soft tip pentel is also the soft tip and pentel comes in lots of colors if you have no idea where to start get a set of pentel for small brush pens i recommend starting with that first and lots of people have been very happy with that next are marvi le pen flex these ones have a really nice brush tip and i recommend them to anyone who is ready to try a new small brush pen the only problem for me is that the colors are deeper more natural tones which you may love i personally love bright rainbow colors and that's why i don't use these as often as other pens even though these are really really nice next is zebra funwari these ones kind of feel like they're in between the hard and soft tip they're pretty similar i haven't found these ones to be as easy to find as pentel or tombow but they do have some unique colors these are not all of the small brush pens out there these are my favorite ones or ones that i hear about the most but i have so many other random small brush pens that didn't make it on this list but these would work too you're going to find what works best for you you definitely want at least one small brush pen in your collection so get one that's available where you live and small brush pens are pretty good quality so they don't fray as soon as other larger brush pens if you're already feeling overwhelmed you can download this brush pen guide to reference and see where to buy each pen the details for that are in the description the next type of brush pen every hammering beginner should have are medium brush pens why medium they're easier to control than large brush pens and they have a different kind of bounce than small brush pens you can start to do some larger lettering but kind of ease yourself into it the first one i love is kiritaki fubiori it has a really nice balance and it's easy to find on amazon for a good price i like to get individual colors from jetpens these brush pens are great to start with next is dabulo 0.88 brush pens these were a more recent find for me but the tip is amazing it's easy to control and has a good flexibility it was a little more expensive for me in the us but i've heard from letters in other countries that these are a great price so that's really awesome next is faber castell they are so nice really good quality the tip has a really unique bounce and they're also water resistant so they're a little more expensive but if that's what you're looking for they are worth the cost they're a little easier to find i got some individual colors from my local art store i know they have them at blick and i've seen some sets at michaels and hobby lobby next is editing brush pens they are so nice the balance definitely helps you to get a good transition between thick and thin strokes they weren't the cheapest from amazon but once again i've heard these are cheaper in certain countries next is cairn dash fibralo they're so smooth and wow i love this tip so much it just feels so good to letter with like the rest of these medium brush pens i think these are all so good the full color set wasn't cheap so i just got black and pink individually next is the sakura koi coloring brush pen i'm mentioning these in case you like a softer tip these feel similar to the kuretake fudabiori but they're a little bit softer i personally prefer a hard tip but i know some people like these better for the soft tip so just keep that in mind when you're deciding you definitely need a medium brush pen in your collection because it's going to make you feel like you know what you're doing since the pen is working with you not making it harder for you and honestly you could get any of these medium brush pens and be happy you don't need all of them just choose the one that's easiest to find for you have you tried any of these medium brush pens which is your favorite the third type of brush pens is large brush pens if you love large lettering you may want more of these they can be a little harder to control but they definitely give a different look to your lettering than small brush pens can get in my opinion you don't need large and medium probably just the one that feels good to you so let me explain how it feels good brush pens should bounce back into place which helps you get better upstrokes because it's working with you and bouncing back against the paper instead of flopping around like a fish your brush pen can actually do most of the work as you use a brush pen it should feel good it may be hard to know how that feels as a beginner because it all might be kind of hard at first but i promise you even as a beginner if you compared a floppy fish brush pen and a nice bouncy brush pen you will be able to feel the difference and i've heard from so many people who told me that they thought they couldn't letter because they struggled getting thin up strokes and when they tried a better pen it solved it for them all of the pens you see in this video are ones that will help you feel good about your lettering instead of making it harder for you the first large brush pen is cairn markers of all the large brush pens i would say these are one of the easiest to control because they have a firm tip they are more expensive though so i understand that's not going to work for everyone in my opinion these are worth the cost if you're ready to spend a little bit more get these i haven't heard anyone who has regretted their purchase the tip is great quality so it won't fray as soon as others i also use them as watercolor so that's another way to justify the cost you wouldn't have to buy watercolor as well next is marvy color and brush pens if you love a really chunky look with really thick downstrokes and thin up strokes these are probably the easiest to get that look the way the nib is so flexible in just the right place makes them great for this style i have all of the colors because i really like these ones next is zebra mildliner brush pens i love these ones so much the tip looks like it's a similar size to tombow dual brush pens but they feel bouncier to me they also have a fine tip which is great i love the colors as well i think these would be a great large brush pen to start with next is ecoline brush pens these ones are really soft they're actually watercolor so they're really juicy if you love soft brush pens these are the best large brush pens for you they're a little more expensive but they are good quality i only have a few colors since i don't love soft brush pens as much that is my personal preference then we have the winsor newton watercolor markers they're not the brush markers those ones are different and those don't work well for lettering so these are the watercolor markers these ones are really smooth and bouncy not as firm as carrot markers but definitely not soft they also have a fine tip which is nice they are a lot more expensive but their ink and brush tip quality is really good but because of the cost i maybe wouldn't say these should be the first brush pens you get i just have a few individual colors that i got from blick next are tombow dual brush pens i think these ones are one of the most popular which means they're easy to find so that's definitely a bonus about these they have the bullet tip as well which i always love they're a little soft and not really bouncy so they take a little more control they come in lots of colors and i know some people love having the whole set of over 100 colors i personally just have a few colors here and there and that's enough for me if you try tumble dual brush pens to start and you notice that you're struggling with them try another kind of brush pen just to see the difference next are sharpie stained brush pens these have the best balance they're not advertised as brush pens but they're really good they are the kind of brush pen that actually helps you get thin up strokes because it's bouncing back on the paper they are water resistant because they're fabric markers and the colors are really neon which isn't my style so i only use the pink and the black next are kiritakis dig brushables these also have a really nice bounce and they help you get good lettering they're also water resistant i think they may be easier to find in some places but they've been really hard to find for me in the us lately they used to be in hobby lobby which is where i got them but they're not there anymore even though i think the brush tip works for everyone it's hard to recommend them since i don't have a reliable place to find them but maybe they're easier for you to find where you live along that note these next ones are kamlin brush pens they are from india and i found them on amazon for way more expensive than they are in india i wouldn't say someone in the us needs to get these but if you live in india these are great they're better than a lot of other cheap brush pens that i've tried they're really soft though and not everyone likes soft brush pens they're probably most similar to ecoline brush pens of all these other large brush pens to compare them to this just goes to show that it really depends on where you live have you struggled with large brush pens in the past do you have a favorite the fourth type of pen every hand lettering beginner should have is a bullet or fine tip pen i think everyone should have a bulleted pen you can have a fine tip too but i personally think a bullet tip is easier to letter with for faux calligraphy a bullet tip is just a little bit bigger which means it's a little more forgiving for faux calligraphy and you don't have to spend as long coloring in the down strokes i also think a bullet tip is a nice size for monoline lettering that goes really nicely with your brush pen lettering if you really like smaller lettering maybe you'd prefer a fine tube just find what size works for you i like my tombow twin tone pens because they have a bullet tip and a fine tip you can also use the bullet tip of the tombow dual brush pens or zebra mildliner brush pens these are definitely great options because then you have one pen with two types and that's great to only have to buy one pen to start next is the stabilo point 88 these are a nice bullet tip stabilo also has the fine tip if you would prefer that another pen similar to tombow twin tone are these monami live color pens and you don't need both they're pretty similar a little bit different here and there but honestly just whichever one is easier for you to get or maybe you'd prefer a totally different bullet to pen and that works too in my desk setup i have black white and gold pens right next to where i letter because i tend to reach for those most often i have so many because i haven't narrowed it down yet and i'm still trying to decide which ones are most essential i will say for a white gel pen i love my uniball signo and my favorite gold pen is the uniball as well i use these for any white or gold details in my lettering pieces and for a larger gold pen i love my marvy deco color you may have also heard of jelly roll gel pens i love these ones and they have a variety of options i really like my black one it's super smooth the reason you might want to get gel pens over other fine tip pens is because they are opaque so you can add details to your lettering i mostly add gold or white to colorful lettering before we move on to number five here is a quick side note maybe these are honorable mentions watercolor brush pens i wouldn't say everyone needs them more if you want to get into watercolor lettering or if you like lettering with a real brush with bristles like a paintbrush that can be harder to control because the individual bristles will not want to be controlled and will do their own thing i really like the brushy look it gives which you can't really get with brush pens there are several different brands and a lot of off brands that make these i used to have a few different ones but now i just have my color at watercolor brush pens and my kuretake zig clean color real brush once again i wouldn't say beginners need to have them but i get a lot of questions about these so i think they're important to know one plus side is that since they have the individual bristles they won't fray and that brings me to the last type of pen every beginner should have number five pens that don't fray i think it's pretty obvious why you might want these there's no worry that you are going to ruin these you won't you can practice heavy and light pressure without worrying about figuring out how to get a really thin up stroke they're also cheap and you can use them on any paper that's why these are great for beginners to start with the ones i started with are crayola broadline there are also crayola super tips it's a personal preference if you are going to like one or the other super tips are just smaller i'll also say that there are a lot of markers that are like crayola if you don't have easy access to crayola like my mama markers from ikea if you don't live in the us you probably have some form of this marker basically it's a kid's marker they have this squishy tip that can be flexible when given more pressure so even though they're not actually called brush pens they get the job done and they do it really well currently my favorite markers like this are the staedtler triplus highlighters they are more rounded and i feel like i have really good control with them i also like the pastel colors these were surprising i didn't know you could get any pressure with them so maybe look around at what markers you already have and try giving them a little pressure to see if they can do this too after seeing all of these pens just remember the best brush pen to start with is the pen that you have you definitely don't need all of them choose one from each section or just choose one to start so you just saw all these pens that i love and maybe you're still feeling a little bit overwhelmed i know it's a lot of pens so i have made a guide for you this brush pen guide it's totally free in my insider scoop library so that's when you sign up for my email newsletter you get access to everything that's in the insider scoop library i will leave the details for that below if you want to start learning lettering with me here on youtube i hope you'll subscribe so we can do this together i created this playlist right here with the most simple steps to get started in lettering right now i'll see you in that playlist

Channel: Ensign Insights

Views: 39,956

Keywords: how to hand letter, hand lettering for beginners, brush lettering, brush lettering practice, modern calligraphy, beginner hand lettering, beginner brush lettering, brush lettering for beginners, brush pen lettering, learn brush lettering, learn hand lettering, hand lettering, brush pen for hand lettering beginner, brush pen for calligraphy, brush pen for beginner, brush pen for hand lettering, best brush pen, best brush pen for calligraphy beginners, calligraphy beginner

Id: NN8nWjp_ETA

Length: 17min 15sec (1035 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 10 2021