It all depends on the right tool: BRIGITTE will show you the best hand lettering pens for every occasion. Because it doesn’t matter whether it’s a fineliner, brush pen or marker: the material is at least as varied and creative as hand lettering itself.
Hand lettering is a popular hobby for many because it is a great way to relax and unwind. In addition, you don’t need much to create great works of art: in addition to suitable paper, practice and creativity, the right hand lettering pens are the key to success. We will show you what is important when making your selection and what you should consider when making a purchase.
Which hand lettering pens are there?
You can use any pen you want for hand lettering. The possibilities for the pens are just as varied as the designs that you can create. For the special Brush lettering do you need Pens with a brush pen tip. This is similar to a brush, but does not consist of individual hairs, but of a synthetic material and is therefore easier to use. There are also different papers that you can choose from. To start with, you can use a smooth piece of paper on which both fineliner and felt pensbut the more sensitive brush pens also work well.
Hand lettering pens with a small tip
Pens that have a small brush pen lead are usually the easiest to use. The tips of these hand lettering pens are not too soft and forgive you for small mistakes. You can also use the fine lead to draw particularly small and elegant letters.
The is suitable for filigree hand lettering Tombov Fudenosuke particularly good. With this pen you can choose between different colors and degrees of hardness: On Model in black with a hard tip is a reliable companion for hand lettering beginners. The delicate yet firm tip of this hand lettering pen is particularly easy to control. The ink was developed to be water-based and can therefore be blended with a watercolor pen and water afterwards.
In contrast to the Tombow Fudenoske, the Faber Castell PITT Artist Pen Brush water resistant. This means that you can paint over it, but you can no longer blend it. This handlettering pen has an intensive color scheme.
Medium-sized brush pens as handlettering pens
Medium-sized brush pens are a good one, especially for beginners compromise to get started: The brush tips are often relatively soft and flexible, but can still be easily controlled. Especially when you are still at the beginning of your hand lettering career, you need a lot of patience and sure instinct. Hand lettering pens with a large tip make trembling hands or small wobbles when drawing quickly visible. You can practice with small or medium-sized pens before trying the larger models.
The Edding brush pens have a flexible tip that is also very insensitive. The set offers a wide range of colors and is not expensive. Therefore, these hand lettering pens are particularly suitable for the first attempts.
While many brush pens have a synthetic tip, these score Crayola Supertips with a mine consisting of a pad of paint. This makes these hand lettering pens insensitive and almost indestructible because they do not fray. At the same time, you can use them to draw both thin and wider lines.
Large brush pens for hand lettering professionals
With handlettering pens that have a large tip, you can generous lettering draw. However, because they have a wide range of motion, they are also more difficult to control: Patience, practice and sure instinct are required here. For thin lines, the pen is held vertically, for thicker lines you can move it in an inclined position over the paper.
The absolute classic among the brush pens are the Tombow Abt Dual Brush Pens. They are of particularly high quality, but are also priced in a higher category. You can choose your favorites from more than 90 colors. The brush tip of these hand lettering pens is very sensitive. That’s why you should only use it on very smooth paper and not press down too hard, otherwise the lead can quickly fray. For small touch-ups, the pens have a felt tip in the same color at the back end.
Although the Tombow Abt Dual Brush Pens can also be blended with water, you can use it most professionally Amteker Brush Pen Set work if you want to achieve watercolor effects in your handlettered artwork. The color application of the individual shades is very strong and can be applied undiluted to paper with the brush pen tip. If you want to mix two colors or create a lighter tone, you can work with the enclosed water brush and dilute the ink.
Which fineliners and markers are suitable as hand lettering pens?
Many brush pens already have an integrated fineliner tip. But because you don’t necessarily need brush pens for hand lettering, you can also work with just markers: You can use them not only to correct small mistakes or add decorative elements to your lettering, but also to draw “faux calligraphy”. Translated, this means “false calligraphy” and means imitating brush pen fonts with fineliners. With these handlettering pens, make sure that you only apply light pressure when you draw with them. Fineliners in particular often have a sensitive tip that can break quickly.
The Staedtler Fineliner come in a set with 6 different line widths. So you are equipped for all eventualities and can experiment with thicknesses between 0.05 and 0.8 millimeters. You can even use these hand lettering pens in combination with watercolor pens and water: The Staedtler Fineliner are waterproof and do not run if you work with moisture on the paper.
The combination of two different nibs in one hand lettering pen is Tombow Twintone-pens particularly practical: you have a very fine lead with a diameter of 0.3 millimeters as well as a slightly thicker one in one colour.
The Stabilo Point 88 pencils are the classic among fineliners. They are available in almost countless colors and tones and sets. The tip is only 0.4 millimeters thin and is particularly suitable for filigree drawings. The ink in these hand lettering pens is water-based. So if you want to use these fineliners in combination with watercolor pencils, you should use the latter first and wait until the ink has dried completely.
With pencils you score in the preparation
Even if it often seems that hand lettering artists can draw seemingly perfect lettering freehand: It is usually not that easy even for professionals. With a Pencil you can sketch out your handlettering design or insert auxiliary lines – and then simply erase them from the finished lettering.
Hand lettering pens are particularly good Pencils with a so-called “fall lead” again Faber Castell clutch pencil TK9400. Thanks to the special mine, you can work more delicately with this hand lettering pen than with a normal pencil, which dulls quickly. The degree of hardness “HB” is a good middle ground between soft mines, which can be easily smeared (“B”), and harder mines (“H”).
A clutch pencil also becomes dull over time. You can sharpen the lead again and again – but this only works with one special sharpener. A normal device is more likely to damage your hand lettering pen. This Lead sharpener from Dahle has an automatic sharpening stop to sharpen your pencil in the best possible way and at the same time not to grind too much. This sharpener is suitable for different lead strengths and can therefore be used flexibly for different hand lettering pens.