What is a brush pen and which one do I need?

A brush pen has a flexible nib which is what differentiates it from a normal felt tip marker (koki). For your zoom course you will need to supply your own pen, but it is not necessary to spend a lot of money on a ton of different brush pens (unless you absolutely want to!).. When you are new to brush lettering it is better to use a small hard nib pen, and my first choice (and the one that you receive at my face to face workshops) is the Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip. By the way, Fudenosuke is pronounced ‘foodenoshki’.. who would have thought!? Have a look at this video where I explain the different brush pens.

There are lots of different brands and sizes, and it can get extremely confusing… here is a a guide to help you decide what to get.

Small Brush Pens

These pens have very small nibs, and almost look like normal felt tip markers. They are perfect for beginners (especially lefties) as the nibs are harder and easier to control than the bigger brush pens. I also sell a range of small brush pens, all suitable for beginners.. click here to shop the range!

Examples of small brush pens would include the following (pics are shown in the order of this list)..

• Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip brush pen (black or colour, permanent ink)

• Tombow Fudenosuke soft nib brush pen (black)

• Zebra brush pens - super fine, fine or medium (black) - go for super fine if you can, navy blue barrel

• Pentel Touch Sign brush pen - soft nibs (black and colour, water soluble ink)

• Kelly Creates small brush pens (set includes black and colour, water soluble ink)

Large Brush Pens

These pens have large nibs, and are more difficult for beginners than the small brush pens. Most large brush pens are water soluble and are perfect for blending and creating watercolour effects.. I have a whole range of large brush pens available as well.. shop the range!

Examples of large brush pens would include the following (pics are shown in the order of this list)..

• Tombow Dual ABT brush pens - soft large brush nib on one end, small bullet nib on the other end (black and colour, water soluble ink) - large and fairly durable as long as you use a light touch and smooth coated paper

• Koi brush pens - soft large nib (black and colour, water soluble) - large and fairly durable as long as you use a light touch and smooth coated paper. Cheaper than the large Tombows, but the quality is not as good - perfect for learning how to use large brush pens.

• Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen - brush pens with a fairly hard medium sized nib compared to the Tombow and Koi (black and colour, permanent ink) - go for super fine if you can, navy blue barrel

• Lyra brush pens - soft large nibs (black and colour, water soluble ink) - very similar to the Tombow ABT pens, but much cheaper and therefore won’t last as long (nibs fray quicker) - perfect for learning how to use large brush pens.

• Ecoline brush pens

• Faber Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour brush markers

• Kelly Creates large brush pens (set includes black and colour, water soluble ink)

• Edding brush pens - large soft nib (black and colour), colours are slightly muted but lovely. Quite cheap pens for the quality that you get - perfect for learning how to use large brush pens.

• Pigma Brush soft nib (black) - fairly soft, swishy nib, not recommended for beginners