Brush Pens for Calligraphy

For calligraphy, most beginners do best with a brush pen that has a small, firm tip, because it is easier to control while you learn to change pressure. Larger and softer tips make bolder, more dramatic strokes but take more practice. Use smooth paper, or the tip will fray.

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The same word, every pen

A side-by-side writing sample shows the difference between pens better than a spec sheet. Look at the width of the thick downstrokes, how fine the hairlines are, and how evenly the ink covers the paper.

Quick comparison

How to choose a brush pen

Tip size: small or large

Brush pen tips fall into two broad groups.

• Small tips make smaller letters and finer hairlines. They are easier to control, so small mistakes are less visible. They suit practice sheets, cards, journals and envelopes. A small tip is the usual first pen.
• Large tips make wide downstrokes and big, bold letters. They suit signs, headings and larger pieces. The wider tip makes pressure changes more dramatic, so inconsistencies show more.

Your guidelines should match the tip. A small tip works on guidelines with an x-height of around 8 to 10 mm. A large tip usually needs 12 mm or more. The guideline maker lets you set any x-height.

Firm or soft

Firmness is how much the tip bends when you press.

• Firm tips resist pressure and spring back quickly. They give you more control, which is why they are recommended for beginners. The contrast between thick and thin is smaller.
• Soft tips bend easily and give a bigger difference between thick and thin. They are expressive, but a small change in pressure makes a big change in the line, so they take practice.

Some pens come in both versions. The Tombow Fudenosuke, for example, is sold in a hard tip and a soft tip with the same small size, which makes it easy to compare the two.

Tip material: fiber or brush hair

Most brush pens for lettering have a molded or felt fiber tip shaped like a brush. Others have individual bristles, like a small paintbrush. Fiber tips hold their shape and are more predictable. Bristle tips can make very fine and very wide strokes, but they are harder to control and behave more like a paintbrush. For calligraphy practice, most beginners use fiber tips.

Ink: water-based or alcohol-based

• Water-based ink is the most common in lettering brush pens. It can usually be blended with water or a blender pen, and it bleeds less through ordinary paper. It can smudge if it gets wet and may reactivate if you paint over it.
• Alcohol-based ink is common in art markers. It dries quickly, layers well and is more water-resistant, but it soaks into paper and bleeds through thin sheets. It is usually used on special marker paper.

Some pens use pigment ink, which tends to resist water and fading once dry. Check the maker's description if your work needs to be water-resistant or lightfast.

Paper matters

Brush pen tips wear out fastest on rough or fibrous paper. The fibers catch the tip and fray it, and a frayed tip cannot make clean hairlines. Smooth paper keeps the tip in shape much longer.

• Use smooth, heavier laser paper or paper made for markers.
• Avoid textured watercolor paper and rough copy paper for practice.
• Test a new pad with a few strokes before filling it.

Refills and cost over time

Many brush pens are disposable: when the ink runs out, you replace the pen. Others take replaceable ink cartridges, or can be refilled from a bottle. If you practice daily, refillable pens can cost less over time and create less waste. Check what refills are available, and whether replacement tips are sold, before you commit to a pen.

Color range

If you want to letter in color, look at how many colors a pen comes in and whether they can be blended. Learn with black first, though. It shows your strokes most clearly.

The pens on this page

These are the pens selected for this guide. Once each one has been bought and written with, its card will include our own writing sample, what the pen is good at, what is not so good, and who should skip it.

Small, firm tips

The easiest place to start. Both pens below have small tips that resist pressure.

Small, flexible tips

The same small size, with more give for more contrast between thick and thin.

Small, refillable

Large, flexible tips

For bigger letters and bolder downstrokes. Use larger guidelines with these.

The Tombow Dual Brush Pen has two ends: a large flexible brush tip and a fine bullet tip. Its ink is water-based and can be blended.

Brush pens compared with other calligraphy tools

A brush pen is not the only way to learn calligraphy, but it is the simplest. Here is how it compares with the other main tools.

• Brush pen vs pointed dip pen: both make thick and thin strokes through pressure, and both suit modern calligraphy. A dip pen makes finer hairlines and is the traditional tool for copperplate and Spencerian, but it needs ink, nib care and more practice. A brush pen is ready to use and more forgiving.
• Brush pen vs broad-edge pen: a broad-edge pen makes thick and thin strokes through the angle of a flat tip, not pressure. It is the tool for italic and gothic. If those are the styles you want, start with a broad-edge marker or a Pilot Parallel instead.
• Brush pen vs regular pen: an ordinary pen makes the same line at any pressure. You can still imitate calligraphy with it through faux calligraphy, by adding weight to each downstroke afterward.

Many people learn the strokes with a brush pen first, then move to a dip pen once their pressure control is steady.

How to start with a brush pen

1. Hold the pen at a low angle, around 45 degrees, not upright.
2. Press on downstrokes so the side of the tip makes a wide line. Lighten up on upstrokes so only the point touches.
3. Practice the eight basic strokes on the free beginner drill sheets before you write letters.
4. Move on to letters with the brush lettering guide and the alphabet sheets.

For a full walk-through of each stroke, see calligraphy basic strokes. If you would rather buy a matched set of tools, see beginner calligraphy kits.

Frequently asked questions

Can you do calligraphy with a regular brush pen?

Yes, as long as the tip is flexible enough to change width with pressure. Brush pens sold for art or coloring work for calligraphy too, though very soft or bristle tips are harder to control. A stiff marker that makes the same line at any pressure will not give you thick and thin strokes.

Why is my brush pen fraying?

Usually rough paper. The fibers in textured paper catch the tip and pull it apart. Pressing much harder than you need, or pushing the tip against its direction on upstrokes, also wears it faster. Switch to smooth paper and let the tip flex rather than forcing it.

Fudenosuke hard or soft tip: which should I start with?

The hard tip is the usual recommendation for beginners, because a firmer tip is easier to control. The soft tip gives more contrast between thick and thin once your pressure is steady.

Do brush pens work on practice sheets?

Yes. Print the sheet on smooth paper, or slide it into a sheet protector and trace on top. Print at 100% scale so the guidelines match the tip size.