REVIEW: Brush Pens
In the market, there are so many kinds of brush pens you can choose from depending on your budget and the style you want to make. In fact, there’s just too many that it can get confusing especially if you’re starting out. In this post, we’ll review three current favorites from the brand Zig Kuretake and hopefully you can decide on which brush pen to get to kickstart your brush calligraphy adventure. But first…
What are brush pens and where do you use them? To keep it simple, a brush pen is a writing instrument that has varied tips (felt or brush) that you can use for calligraphy, hand lettering, and illustration. We’ll break them down into two categories for now:
Felt vs. Bristle
Felt Tip Brush Pen are pens that give us a feel of regular markers but with a tip flexible enough to allow us to create thick or thin lines. These are ideal for beginners because the firm yet subtle flexibility of the tip allows better control.
Bristle Tip Brush Pen mimics a paintbrush so the tip has synthetic bristles that offer a lot of flexibility and elasticity. Because of this, it’s harder to control but once you get a hang of it through constant practice, the possibilities of what you can write/draw are even greater! Most bristle-type pens are refillable making them a more sustainable choice for pens.
Tip Size
Fine tipped brush pens offer finer lines with crisp details, just like when you use a metal nib. Broader tipped pens allow the user to do more expressive strokes. In any case, the thickness of the lines that you can produce depends on the size and the amount of pressure you put when using these brush pens.
Top to bottom: Brush Pen No. 22; Fudebiyori Brush Pen and Mangaka Flexible Pen.
Zig Fudebiyori Brush Pen (Felt tip brush pen)
The Good Stuff
1. This is easier to use and recommended for beginners. The felt tip is flexible so you can make thick and thin strokes depending on the pressure you put into it.
2. The stroke it produces is not wobbly and it requires lesser control.
3. It comes in sets of six and twelve colors so you will have more colors to choose from. It is also available in eight metallic colors that will look really cool on dark colored papers!
4. You can also buy them individually in case you use up one color.
The Not so Good Stuff
1. The pens are not refillable.
2. It’s felt tip gets frayed out over time.
3. It is not waterproof. You cannot paint over it.
4. There is only one size for this type of brush pen.
Zig Cartoonist Mangaka Flexible Pen (Felt tip brush pen)
The Good Stuff
1. The tip is finer for more detailed lines.
2. It can be used in outlining watercolor illustrations.
3. You can create calligraphy artworks that look like they were written in pointed pen nibs.
4. This is available in fine and medium sizes and black and sepia colors.
5. It is water resistant.
The Not so Good Stuff
1. It only comes in black/sepia, there are no other colors to choose from.
2. This is mostly used only in outlining sketches so you might need to use other materials in finishing your artwork.
3. Since the tip is finer, you cannot create very thick lines compared to other brush pens.
Zig Brush Pen No. 22 and No. 24 (Bristle tip brush pen)
The Good Stuff
1. This is a self-inking brush. (The ink barrel is connected to the tip) You don’t have to dip it in ink and/ or watercolor. If it runs out of ink, just press slightly the ink barrel for ink to come out.
2. It is refillable. Overtime it might cost cheaper since you will only buy the refill and/or more environment-friendly (waste reduction).
3. Less pressure is needed to achieve thicker lines.
4. You can create effects/ texture in sketches/ illustrations since the tip mimics an actual brush.
5. It is waterproof. You can lightly paint watercolor over it once dry.
6. It is available in sizes no. 22 and 24.
The Not so Good Stuff
1. This is harder to use if you have unsteady hands since it requires more control. It is recommended for medium/ advanced users.
2. It is only available in black color.
3. If you store it downwards (tip down) for a really long time, there is a tendency that the ink might spill.
4. You might have ink residues in your fingers while using it.
Here’s a short video tutorial on how to use these Zig brush pens and where I (Jennicel) used them:
Jennicel shows how it looks like when brush pens run out of ink (top: Fudebiyori brush pen; bottom: Brush Pen no. 22/24)
Things to Note:
If you’re using the Brush Pen no. 22/24 (bristle tip) for the first time, remove the yellow ring first and then press the ink barrel for the ink to run to the tip. Don’t press too much or the ink might spill.
When you run out of ink, just press the ink barrel again. Slightly shake the ink barrel to know if there is still ink inside. It is time to buy a refill if there are no more ink inside.
Remember, create thin lines on upward stroke and gradually add pressure in downward strokes to make thicker lines. You can create thick or thin lines not only by adding pressure but also by angling the brush.
You should store the Fudebiyori brush pen/ Mangaka Flexible brush pen downwards (tip down) while the Brush Pen no. 22/24 should be upright (tip upwards) to prevent the risk of spilling the ink.
Felt tip pens get frayed out over time and when it does, you cannot use them to create thin lines anymore.
Some people might like the bristle tip more or the felt tip more but whichever material you use, it depends on how you’ll use its characteristics to the style you want to make.
Overall, I love using brush pens for its ease of use. These are greatly recommended when you just want to start out writing beautiful calligraphy artworks and you can also use them to make sketches.
Anina created varied styles of calligraphy using one brush pen.
If you’re keen on practicing, you can download the FREE ACTIVITY SHEET HERE that I used for my class back in 2014!
HAVE FUN!
xx
P.S. This article was co-written by my former intern Jennicel Agcaoili.