BRUSH CALLIGRAPHY 101 PART 2 - CHOOSING YOUR FIRST BRUSH PEN


Are you looking for your first brush pen but are confused with the lot of options? Or you have decided what to buy but did not have yet the budget?  Then this article will provide you list of affordable brush pens for first time brush calligraphers YOU. 


Generally there are three types of brush pens based on tip material – felt, synthetic and animal hair tips.



1.       FELT TIP

Among the three, felt tip is beginner friendly. You can have better control of down and upstrokes. And it is cheaper than the other two. The downside is the felt tip wears off when used for a time.

Popular brush pens with felt are as follows:



choosing your first brush pen
Artline Stix Brush Marker
   

choosing your first brush pen
Tombow Brush Pen


choosing your first brush pen
Kuretake Fudebiyori

   
choosing your first brush pen
Koi Sakura Coloring Brush Pen
2. .       SYNTHETIC BRISTLE TIP

Synthetic bristle tip is for aspiring calligraphers who want to go to the next level. It made up of nylon.  It has medium flexibility so you can create better fine, medium, or broad strokes. Unlike felt tip, synthetic bristle tip is more durable and springs back quickly to its original shape. The price of bristle tip is a little bit higher than felt tip but still affordable for practicing brush lettering.


    

choosing your first brush pen
ZIG Real Brush Pen

   
choosing your first brush pen
ECOLINE Watercolour Brush Pen


Mostly the above examples has water-based, blendable, acid-free, non-toxic and built in ink which can be used in layering of colors. There are different set of colors available to choose from. Though it is technically not refillable, there are ways to reused it just in case you have a tight budget [This will be discussed in another lesson].


3.       ANIMAL HAIR BRISTLE TIP

Last but not the least, we have the animal brush tips. It is usually made from hair of animals. Difficult to control and expensive. This type of brush is usually used by experienced calligraphers. Mostly used in Japanese and Chinese Calligraphy. For beginners, it is not suggested to buy this kind of pen due to its not so user friendly characteristics.


CONCLUSION

In buying your first brush pen, consider your level of skill and budget as criteria in choosing what to buy. For beginners, it is recommend to buy felt tip brush pen. This is for you to get the feel of doing the up and down strokes. Once you get comfortable with using felt tip, you can try using bristle tip brush pen. It can give you sharper and crispier fine to medium to broad lines. If you are skillful enough and is opt for a challenge, you can buy and practice using animal tip brush pens.   

Just keep in mind that whatever you choose, learning the basics and practicing is still the key in mastering brush lettering.

On our next topic, which is Lesson 3: Guidelines, we will discuss about guidelines,  it’s anatomy and importance in learning brush lettering or any form of calligraphy. So stay tune!
Keep Writing,
Brian

Previous : Brush Calligraphy 101 Part 1: Introduction

 Next : Brush Calligraphy 101 Part 3: Understanding Calligraphy Guidelines



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