Brush lettering is one of the fastest ways to make a card, journal page, or sign feel handmade, even if your handwriting is just okay. The trick is not fancy flourishes, it is getting consistent pressure changes without shredding your paper or your patience.
In this roundup, we pulled together beginner-friendly pens, a starter kit, a practice workbook, and paper that plays nicely with brush tips. We compared tip feel, control at small sizes, and how forgiving each option is while you build muscle memory.
Pick a pen that matches your grip and the letter size you want, then practise the same few strokes until they look boringly consistent. The results come quickly.
Tombow Fudenosuke 6-Pack Brush Pens – Hard and soft tips included
- Start smaller A small, firmer brush tip makes basic strokes easier to control than a large, bouncy tip.
- Match your paper Use smooth paper to avoid feathering and to keep brush tips from fraying early.
- Repeat strokes Practise a few core drills, like upstrokes and oval turns, before you chase full alphabets.
- Build a kit One black pen, one colour set, a workbook, and a good pad is enough to progress quickly.
How We Chose Brush Lettering Picks
For this brush lettering shortlist, we compared tip options, learning curve, and versatility for common beginner goals like drills, small wordmarks, and simple headers. We also looked at how each choice supports good habits, including consistent pressure and cleaner transitions.
We aimed for a balanced mix: a few black pens for daily practice, a colour set for blending, a starter kit to reduce guesswork, and paper that helps your strokes stay crisp. Each pick suits a different comfort level and lettering size.
What to Look for in Brush Lettering
A firmer tip helps you control thin upstrokes and prevents accidental blobs while you learn pressure and release.
Small tips suit drills and tight words, while larger brush tips make bouncy headers and smoother blends with less effort.
Smooth paper keeps brush tips sharp longer and reduces feathering so your downstrokes stay clean and readable.
If a soft brush tip feels uncontrollable, start with a firmer tip and write smaller. You will learn pressure control faster and waste fewer sheets.
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Hard and soft tips included
Tombow Fudenosuke Hard & Soft 6-Pack gives you both firm and flexible brush tips for controlled strokes, sketch notes, and modern calligraphy. It is a handy set when you want consistent feel and easy handling.
- Hard and soft tips
- Easy to use
- Good grip in hand
- Only black ink included
- Limited line variation range
Tombow Fudenosuke Hard & Soft 6-Pack is a practical brush lettering set that bundles both tip feels, so you can choose more control (hard) or more bounce (soft) as your lettering style develops. Based on product details and user feedback, it is widely liked for everyday art, sketch notes, and clean, precise strokes. The six-pen format also makes it easy to keep backups in your kit or share a couple in a class setting.
02
Soft tip for bigger lettering
Tombow Fudenosuke Soft Tip 3-Pack is a beginner-friendly brush pen set with a firm yet flexible soft tip for stroke variation. The water-based ink is tidy on many papers, with minimal feathering and bleed-through.
- Soft tip with control
- Good line variation
- Low feathering on paper
- Black ink only
- Not ideal for tiny text
Tombow Fudenosuke Soft Tip 3-Pack is a reliable choice for brush lettering when you want expressive thick-to-thin strokes without wrestling an overly floppy tip. Based on specs and user feedback, the water-based ink behaves well for everyday paper use, with little feathering, ghosting, or bleeding unless you heavily layer ink. The compact pen body also makes it easy to carry in a small pen case, which is handy for journaling and on-the-go practice.
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Small brush strokes, crisp control
Pentel Fude Touch is a compact brush-style sign pen with a flexible felt tip and quick-drying black ink. It is a simple, reliable choice for brush lettering drills, kanji practice, and clean message cards.
- Flexible felt brush tip
- Smooth, controlled strokes
- Quick-drying black ink
- Only black ink included
- Small tip limits big letters
Pentel Fude Touch is a handy, pen-sized way to get brush-lettering contrast without jumping straight to large brush pens. Its flexible felt tip makes it easy to shift from thin upstrokes to thicker downstrokes, and reviews often mention how smoothly it writes for practice and character work. The quick-drying black ink helps keep smudges down on casual projects like message cards and simple illustrations. This set includes three pens, which is useful for keeping a backup on hand.
Five tips for brush lettering
Kuretake Bimoji 5-Piece Set gives you five brush-tip sizes, from extra fine to a larger brush, with a comfy rubber grip. The black, water-based pigment ink dries water-resistant, helping reduce smudges once fully dry.
- Five tip sizes included
- Comfortable rubber grip
- Water-resistant after drying
- Some pens arrive dried out
- Ink can run low
Kuretake Bimoji 5-Piece Set is a practical way to explore brush lettering with multiple point options in one kit: extra fine, fine, medium, large, and a medium brush. We like that the hard brush tip on the fine pen supports controlled strokes for practice and illustration. The rich black, water-based pigment ink is water-resistant once dry, and it can play nicely with alcohol markers or watercolour if you let it fully dry first. A few users report low initial flow or pens drying out.
Muted tones for easy blending
Tombow Dual Brush Pen Muted 10-Pack gives you 9 soft, earthy colours plus a blender, with a flexible brush tip for pressure-based strokes and a fine tip for details. Water-based ink blends without strong odour.
- Flexible brush and fine tip
- Water-based ink blends easily
- Muted palette plus blender
- Blender pen may underperform
- Pens are long to store
Tombow Dual Brush Pen Muted 10-Pack is a handy set for brush lettering practice when you want softer, less neon colour. Each pen has a nylon fibre brush tip for thicker downstrokes with pressure control, plus a fine tip for consistent monoline details. The water-based ink is blendable, odourless, non-bleeding, and acid-free, and the set includes a colourless blender. Based on user feedback, the pens feel high quality, though the blender pen can be hit or miss and the barrel length can be awkward for some cases.
Beginner kit for brush lettering
Tombow 56190 Lettering Set bundles a few core tools for brush lettering practice, including Dual Brush Pens and a Fudenosuke. It also includes a small tips pamphlet, so you can start with basic strokes right away.
- Includes brush and calligraphy pens
- Handy tips pamphlet included
- Solid quality starter bundle
- Only two Dual Brush Pens
- Limited colours and variety
For learning brush lettering basics without overthinking your shopping list, Tombow 56190 Lettering Set is a tidy, beginner-friendly bundle. We like that it mixes two Dual Brush Pens with a Fudenosuke for smaller, controlled strokes, plus a MONO Twin permanent marker for outlines and details. You also get a MONO drawing pencil and eraser for sketching, along with a short tips pamphlet to guide warmups and letter shapes.
Big pages for daily drills
Hand-Lettering Practice Workbook is a simple, practice-forward workbook that walks you through uppercase and lowercase alphabets in multiple lettering styles, with tips and technique notes. The large 8.5 x 11 format gives you room to repeat drills.
- Multiple alphabet styles included
- Large 8.5 x 11 pages
- Lots of practice sheets
- Paperback cover can crease
- Not a pen or ink set
Hand-Lettering Practice Workbook is built for repetition: alphabet pages, technique notes, and plenty of space to practise letterforms. Based on the description and reader feedback, it suits beginners who want structured drills for modern calligraphy and hand lettering, including uppercase and lowercase practice. The 8.5 x 11 size helps if your brush lettering strokes need room to breathe, especially when you are working on spacing, pressure control, and consistency.
Smooth dot grid for planning
Rhodia DotPad No.18 A4 is a dot grid notepad with 80 sheets of smooth 80 gsm Clairefontaine paper. The micro-perforated pages tear out cleanly, and the cardboard backing keeps the pad steady on your desk.
- Smooth Clairefontaine paper feel
- Handles fountain pen inks well
- Micro-perforated clean tear-out
- Stapled, not spiral bound
- 80 gsm may wrinkle
Rhodia DotPad No.18 A4 is a clean, flexible dot grid pad that suits layout practice, draft sketches, and brush lettering planning. The 5 mm dot spacing gives you guidance without heavy ruling, and the 80 gsm Clairefontaine paper is widely liked for its smoothness, including with fountain pens. We also like the micro-perforated sheets for neat removal and the cardboard backing for writing support when you are not at a table.
| Rating | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|
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Tombow Fudenosuke 6-Pack Brush Pens
Best Overall for Brush Lettering
|
9.6/10 | C $17.10 | BUY NOW |
|
Tombow Fudenosuke Soft Tip Pens
Top Pick for Practice
|
9.4/10 | C $8.38 | BUY NOW |
|
Pentel Fude Touch Brush Pen
Also Great
|
9.4/10 | – | BUY NOW |
|
Kuretake Bimoji Brush Pens
Strong Runner-Up
|
9.3/10 | – | BUY NOW |
|
Tombow Muted Dual Brush Pens
Worth Considering
|
9.2/10 | C $31.50 | BUY NOW |
|
Tombow 56190 Lettering Set
Best Starter Kit
|
9.1/10 | C $22.99 | BUY NOW |
|
Friwanta Kutchi Hand-Lettering Workbook
Editor's Pick
|
9.0/10 | C $12.22 | BUY NOW |
|
Rhodia A4 DotPad Notepad
Reader Favourite
|
8.9/10 | – | BUY NOW |
How to Choose the Right Brush Lettering Supplies
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Hard vs Soft
Tip firmness changes everything, from control to stroke contrast. Hard tip: Better for small letters, drills, and shaky hands. You get cleaner hairlines with less accidental pressure. · Soft tip: Better for larger lettering and a more elastic feel, but it can feel slippery until your pressure is consistent. · Mix set: A hard and soft combo helps you discover what you like without committing to one feel.
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Tip size
Choose a tip that fits the words you actually write most often. Small brush: Great for 1 to 3 cm letters, notes, and practice drills in a workbook. · Medium brush: Best for headings and smoother downstrokes when you want visible contrast. · Multiple tips: A set with several sizes is useful if you switch between journals, cards, and posters.
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Ink behaviour
How the ink sits on paper affects legibility, especially on slow downstrokes. Feathering risk: On absorbent paper, edges look fuzzy. Pick smoother paper if your strokes spread. · Dry time: Slower-drying ink can smear under your hand. Left-handers often prefer faster-drying combos. · Blending: If you want gradients, choose markers meant for layering and keep a scrap sheet for tests.
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Paper quality
Paper is not just about bleed-through, it protects your pen tips. Smooth surface: Reduces fraying and keeps lines cleaner, especially with repeated drills. · Dot grid: Helpful for consistent slant, x-height, and spacing without heavy rules. · Sheet weight: Thicker pages handle layers better and feel nicer for slow, controlled practice.
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Practice tools
A workbook can speed up progress by keeping your drills structured. Big pages: More room to warm up and repeat the same stroke without cramped wrists. · Stroke drills: Look for basic lines, ovals, and entry-exit strokes, not just pretty alphabets. · Consistency focus: The goal is repeatable pressure, not perfect style on day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is brush lettering, exactly?
Brush lettering is a style of drawing letters using a flexible tip that makes thin strokes with light pressure and thick strokes with heavier pressure. You are not writing in one constant line weight, you are switching pressure on purpose. Beginners usually practise a few core strokes first, then combine them into letters and words.
Do beginners need a hard tip or a soft tip brush pen?
Most beginners do better with a firmer tip because it resists pressure and makes thin upstrokes easier to keep light. A softer tip is great for larger, bouncier letters, but it can feel slippery and create thicker lines than you intended. If you are unsure, a mixed set with both feels is the most practical start.
How do I hold a brush pen for cleaner thin upstrokes?
Angle the pen so the tip brushes the page rather than poking into it, and keep your grip relaxed. On upstrokes, think “glide” with almost no pressure, then add pressure gradually on downstrokes. If your upstrokes look thick, slow down and write smaller until your hand learns the motion.
What is the difference between brush lettering and calligraphy?
Brush lettering is typically drawn lettering, meaning you build each letter shape with pressure changes and small corrections as needed. Calligraphy usually refers to writing with a consistent tool angle, like a broad-edge nib or pointed pen, where the tool itself creates the stroke contrast. Both overlap, but brush lettering is often more forgiving for beginners.
Can I do brush lettering on regular printer paper?
You can practise basic strokes on printer paper, but it tends to be rough on brush tips and can make ink feather. For cleaner lines and longer-lasting pens, switch to a smoother pad when you start writing full words or doing repeated drills. Keep printer paper for quick warmups and rough layouts.
Which is better for small writing: brush pens or dual-tip markers?
For small writing, a small brush pen usually wins because you can keep the downstroke narrow and controlled. Dual-tip markers are great for colour and blending, but their brush ends are often larger and can overwhelm tight letters. If you want both, use the fine tip for outlines and the brush tip for larger headers.
Where can Canadians buy brush lettering supplies locally?
In Canada, you can often find brush lettering pens and notebooks at places like Michaels Canada, DeSerres, Indigo, Staples Canada, and Walmart Canada, with wider selection at dedicated art shops like Curry’s Art Supplies, Opus Art Supplies, and Above Ground Art Supplies. Wonder Pens and Blesket are also popular for lettering-focused finds. Stock varies by location, so it helps to call ahead for specific pen models.
How do I keep brush pen tips from fraying?
Use smooth paper, avoid textured sketchbook pages, and do not press hard to “force” thick downstrokes. Cap the pen right away so the tip does not dry out, and store it horizontally if the manufacturer recommends it. If a tip starts to split, write smaller and use lighter pressure to extend its usable life.
- Want the easiest learning curve for small letters? Start with Pentel Fude Touch and practise smaller drills daily.
- Not sure whether you prefer firm or bouncy tips? Choose the Tombow Fudenosuke Hard & Soft 6-Pack to try both feels.
- Building a simple starter bundle in one go? Grab the Tombow 56190 Lettering Set and add a smooth pad.
- Practising every day and want structure? Add the Hand-Lettering Practice Workbook and repeat the same 3 to 5 strokes.
- Planning layouts and keeping spacing tidy? Use Rhodia DotPad No.18 A4 as your draft pad before you letter the final.
If we had to choose one place to start, it would be the Tombow Fudenosuke Hard & Soft 6-Pack because you can compare tip feels right away and settle into a pen that matches your control level. If you want crisp, compact strokes for drills and small words, the Pentel Fude Touch is a straightforward pick. Pair either with the Hand-Lettering Practice Workbook and you will progress faster with less guesswork.
Recommended Reading
If you want to go beyond product picks, these books are worth shelf space. Each link goes to the current Amazon.ca listing.
- The Calligrapher’s Bible, 100 Complete Alphabets and How to Draw Them by David Harris. A shelf reference of alphabets to graduate into once the drills feel easy.
- Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton. A friendly grounding in how letters, spacing and layout work together.
Interesting to see the Kuretake Bimoji set on here – I’ve been using the Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip for ages. Is the Bimoji “small brush” feel closer to the hard Fudenosuke, or more like the soft tip? I like crisp hairlines but I don’t want it to feel scratchy.
Quick question – would the Rhodia DotPad No.18 A4 fit in a regular school backpack without getting all bent up? It’s for my teen and their bag is pretty standard size, not one of the huge art ones.
Yep, it’ll fit in most regular backpacks. A4 is about 21 × 29.7 cm, so it’s basically “letter-ish” but a touch taller. If their bag has a laptop sleeve or a flat back compartment, slide it in there to keep the cover from curling. If the backpack is smaller than a typical 15″ laptop bag, you might want an A5 pad instead.
The Rhodia DotPad with the Dual Brush pens is such a good combo. Practical tip: flip the sheet and do your heavier blends on the back side first – the dot grid still shows enough, and it keeps the front cleaner if you’re making a finished quote card. 🙂