Today I would like to introduce you to my very personal list of lettering essentials. These are all products that I have trialled and tested in the seven years that I’ve been brush lettering for.
I don’t own lots of different pens as I found and settled for my favourites over the years. And I’m really looking forward to sharing those with you. I would strongly encourage you to try out loads of different pens for yourself and grow your own go-to essentials.
But first of all, let me tell you what you shouldn’t do, because we all like to know which mistakes to avoid, don’t we?
How it all started - and almost failed
When I started lettering, I started out by using Brush pens which were specifically designed for artists who used them to colour in their work. I loved that these pens offered me a wide range of colours. They also had both a brush tip and a hard tip, which was great! This versatility was perfect for me as a beginner.
Although I quickly learned that I loved brush lettering, I also realized that these pens weren’t the right fit for what I wanted and needed to improve my lettering. The tips of these pens were too soft and flimsy, so my brush lettering strokes quickly made them fray out. Plus, they also dried up quickly. So I had to look for pens that would serve me better.
That is when I found the Tombow brush pens.
Tombow ABT - brush pen
The first Tombow brush pens that I tried out were the Tombow ABT brush pens. My first love, so to say.
Similarily to the very first artist brush pens that I tried, these Tombow brush pens come in a huge colour range and had both a fine brush pen tip and a hard tip. It was – and still is, so much fun to get creative with them.
I would recommend that when starting your brush pen journey to buy the Tombow ABT, just like I did (or start with my current favourite, the Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip. More on that in the next paragraph.). It will make it easier for you to get used to brush pens, learn to hold them the right way and practice your strokes. That is the case as the Tombow ABT brush pen has a bigger and softer but still quite firm tip. In the beginning, writing in bigger letters can help you build up a muscle memory and the firm tip will make it is easier to form letters. It is a bit like learning to ride a bicycle with training wheels. As a beginner, it can be hard to create letters in general, so we’ll take all the help we can get, right?
The Tombow ABT brush pens are perfect if you want to create bigger lettering pieces. And are so fun to use too! I still use these pens till this day and like to expand my colour range. I like using them for my bullet journal spreads to create accents or for big lettering compositions. Definitely go ahead and try them out!
They are not the right choice to create small, delicate pieces, which brings me to the next brush pen that I count to my essentials list.
Tombow Fudenosuke Hard tip brush pen
I loooove using the Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip brush pen. The hard tip is perfect for beginners to practice with and test out the different strokes. It doesn’t give way so easily, so you can work up a muscle memory to create the characteristic strokes for lettering – thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes. The softer the tip of a brush pen is, the harder it is to maintain control over the pen. This is also the reason why I would recommend the Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip brush pen for beginners.
I love how the small hard tip allows me to create small and delicate lettering pieces. It is the brush pen that I reach for the most because it is so versatile. I use it to create loads of different lettering pieces – for quotes, name cards, letter addressing or my bullet journal etc.
For many years, this pen was only available in black (which I loved! Such a rich black tone), but now you can get it in many different colours and have fun with those too! I for example also own an orange Tombow Fudenosuke now.
Pentel Touch brush pen
Another one of my brush pen crushes – I just adore the soft tip of the Pentel touch brush pens! The tip is buttery smooth when it hits the paper, but a bit larger than the one of the Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip. The Pentel brush pens come in a wide range of colours as well, so I’m sure you’ll find the one(s) for you too! I own an amber and a pink coloured one. I often reach for them – for my lettering practice, for lettering quotes or for my bullet journal. With this soft tip you can create more thicker strokes. The softer tip also makes it a bit harder to control, but mastering this is totally worthwhile – trust me!
Paper
To get started with Brush Lettering, it is important that you choose some smooth, white paper. Any paper surface that has texture or grit, will cause the brush pen tip to fray, and then it won’t last you very long.
I always recommend that you make the „touch test“, as I like to call it, before you choose a paper: „Is it bumpy? Does it have any grainy bits?“
If you answered any one of the questions with yes, then I highly recommend you look for something else to work with. When you stroke over the paper, you shouldn’t feel any unevenness.
What is my favourite paper to use, you ask?
Honestly, I don’t have one favourite brand of paper – but several. These are all super smooth and suitable for different purposes. I would recommend paper from Hahnemühle, Canson or Rhodia for Brush Lettering. These are perfect for your lettering practice as they sometimes have grids – like the Rhodia Pad. Or they come in many different sizes like the Hahnemühle or Canson paper, so you can use it for smaller or larger lettering compositions.
Translucent paper
Additionally, I would highly recommend that you get yourself some translucent paper. It is perfect for practising your strokes because you can lay it over the lettering guidelines. In this way you can practice as much as you want and don‘t have to worry about smooth paper as the translucent sheets are perfect for Brush Lettering!
I started by using Wintex translucent paper and have been very satisfied with it. The surface is smooth, the paper is not too thick (102 g/qm) and the transparency is exactly how I like it to be. There are also different sizes available to choose from but I’ve been buying A4 paper and it suits me best.
Maybe you’d like to share your own too? You can find me on socials @zamaviprints.
