Whats the Best Brush Pen?
With so many writing tools out there, how does a beginning letterer choose? I guarantee you most people that are just starting have scoured the internet and Pinterest for some direction. Most bloggers will suggest the Tombow Dual Tip, I, however, don't share the exact same thought.
Say, what?
Yup, you heard me right. I don't think that the Tombow Dual Tip is the most ideal First Brush Pen. The most difficult technique to get with brush lettering is the upstroke (any time you go up, light pressure). Because of the nature (size and flexibility) of the Tombow Dual Tip pen, its just not an ideal choice. The tip of the pen is so huge that you get these amazing downstrokes (anytime you go down, heavy pressure), but its a lot to control when doing an upstroke.
So, what's an "ideal" first brush pen?
I think an ideal first brush pen is one that has a tip that's flexible enough to give you a nice downstroke, and firm enough to make the upstrokes a little easier to help you build up the muscle memory. Here are my suggestions in order from most ideal to the least ideal (because lets face it, most of us love just buying all the pens).
1. Pentel Fude Touch Sign Pen
DO NOT. I repeat DO NOT confuse the Pentel Fude Touch Sign Pen with the Pentel Sign Pen. You will be severely disappointed. One is a brush pen, and the other is just a felt tip marker. I mean, it's great for fauxligraphy, but if you're trying to start brush lettering... you kind of need a brush pen.
By definition, fude is the Japanese term for brush pen. This particular pen is a part of the Pentel Sign Series, so they got this brush tip and used the Sign Pen barrel. For someone just starting to letter, I feel that the barrel makes it easier to control the pen because the Pentel Fude is like a marker, art pen, and brush all in one.
Is this a traditional brush pen? Absolutely not, but it creates that visual contrast in the down/upstrokes and provides easy handling with the sided barrel, so its a great starter pen.
2. Tombow Fudenosuke (Hard)
The Tombow Fudenosuke provides a fine, consistent thin line when light pressure is applied, and a really nice thick, dark line when heavy pressure is added. Aside from not being refillable, this pen is pretty much awesome. Its got a durable tip, and did I mention the ink is waterproof? Yup - making it your soon-to-be go-to project pen.
Why not the soft? Well, the soft gives off way more ink than the hard, so if you've got a heavy hand, be ready for some inconsistent strokes. But try it out - no two people are the same, right? Plus it comes in this awesome set here for an awesome price.
3. Kuretake Pocket Brush Pen - Extra Fine
As its name suggests, this brush pen has the potential to create an extra fine line. For all my heavy handed friends out there, this pen may be the best starter for you. This pen is used a lot in character writing (Japanese/Chinese) so the visual contrast between the upstrokes and downstrokes is very hight making for great variation in your strokes. PS: This is another waterproof pen.
4. Zebra Brush Pen Sign Fine Print
I personally feel like this pen is the love child of the Tombow Fudenosuke Hard and Soft pens. It has the potential to create a fine line, however it lets off a great amount of beautiful ink when the pressure is added. I think that for beginning brush letterers, this is a nice pen to have, but for another $1.60 you could get two pens with the Fudenosuke set. I do think that it requires a bit more hand control on the down strokes due to how juicy this pen is, but its definitely a pen that I'm happy with.
5. Tombow Dual Brush Pen
Let me start off by saying that I absolutely love this pen. Its so versatile and the color is gorgeous. There are so many applications for this pen - its great for coloring, they blend really well because the ink is water based, the tip is self-cleaning and is made out of nylon making it resilient, the ink is pressurized within the body so storing it isn't a problem (don't belive me, check this out), and it comes in 96 different colors (yup, 96). So why is it not an ideal starter brush pen? This tip is HUGE (thats what she said - sorry, couldn't help it). The downstrokes are going to be a breeze because of the quality of the ink and tip style, but the upstrokes are going to be a challenge because of its sheer size.
So should you get it? Absolutely. Will it be easy? Definitely not.
This is my current favorite color by the way - Sea Blue. Oh, did I mention this one comes in an advanced set with some other fun goodies that are perfect for you pen addicted letterers? You're welcome.
So now what?
It looks like you've got some difficult choices ahead, but I also feel like theres some pretty pens in your very near future. Share what pens you've gone with, give us pen suggestions to try, and please feel free to share this and join our group - practice makes progress and what better way to do it than with a positive and supportive community?
A hui hou! KP
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