Best Brush Pens for Calligraphy Beginners (easiest to use)

So you know you need a brush pen to do calligraphy. But which one should you pick?

In this post, you’ll learn my top 3 brush pen picks for any calligraphy beginner that are the easiest to use.

(In a hurry? My #1 recommendation is Tombow Fudenosuke brush pens, or Stabilo brush pens if you want a bigger pen size.)

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What is a brush pen?

A brush pen is a pen with a flexible brush tip.

We use them for brush lettering and calligraphy because you can press harder on the tip for a thicker line, or use a light touch for a thicker line.

So with just one pen, you can get both thick and thin lines just by adjusting pressure.

(Note: you can also do this to some degree with pencils or regular markers, so if you don’t have a brush pen, try using what you have at home!)

Thick and thin strokes is part of what sets calligraphy apart from regular handwriting.

What to look for in a brush pen

Brush pens have a bit of a learning curve, since we don’t typically add and release pressure on the pen while we’re writing.

To make it as easy as possible to use this different kind of pen, it’s important to choose the right pen.

Not all brush pens are the same!

Some are very hard to use for calligraphy, while others are easier to use.

Here are a few important things to consider when buying a brush marker.

Small vs large pens

Brush markers come in all sizes: small, medium, large, and everything in between.

If you’re new to calligraphy, start with only small or medium-sized pens.

Avoid big brush pens, because those will always be harder to control.

Your writing will also have to be huge to compensate for the large brush tip!

When I first learned calligraphy, I started with big, soft brush pens (Koi coloring brush pens). Everything I wrote had to be so big, you could hardly fit words on a greeting card.

While it’s totally fine to write big and use large pens, it’s much easier to start smaller and use larger pens as your confidence grows.

Left handed calligraphers may prefer a slightly bigger pen, like a medium size.

Hard vs soft tips

There are also hard tip and soft tip brush pens available.

Just like it sounds, “hard tip” brush pens have firmer tips, while “soft tip” brush pens are more flexible and sometimes even floppy.

Here’s something you should keep in mind:

As a calligraphy newbie, the softer and “floppier” the brush pen, the harder it will be for you to use.

Firm, hard tip brush pens are the way to go if you’re a beginner.

They’re still plenty flexible, but they feel firm instead of soft.

Ease of use

Ease of use is a big deal!

You want a brush pen to be as easy to use – and control – as possible.

So by “ease of use” I mean things like…

• Is the pen comfortable to hold?
• How easy is it to add and lift pressure?
• Is it easy to write with the pen?
• Does it write smoothly?

The last thing you want is for the pen to make your lettering experience more frustrating.

Yes, sometimes it’s totally the pen, not you!

Top 3 brush pens for calligraphy beginners

Of course, you don’t have to go start searching for the best brush pen.

Below you’ll find what I consider to be the best small and medium brush pens for calligraphy beginners.

These will be the easiest options for you as you start learning this fun, new skill.

1. Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip brush pen (small)

In my opinion, these are hands down the best brush pens for calligraphy beginners.

(And anyone who does calligraphy, for that matter! I use these pens alll the time myself.)

Tombow Fudenosuke brush pens come as hard tip pens, or a soft tip pen, so just make sure you know which ones are the hard tips.

There are limited colors available, but to me, ease of use matters more than the colors you get!

Here’s why I highly recommend these pens.

• They have small, firm tips – which means they’re way easier to control than other pens
• They dry quickly because they’re not super wet pens
• They’re widely available and easy to find in your local art store or online
• The ink is waterproof which means you can use these pens on envelopes or with watercolor art

Having used Tombow Fudenosuke pens for the past 7+ years, I can tell you, they’re some of the best 🙂

(Pentel Brush Sign pens are a very popular rival to the Tombow pens. Check out my comparison of the two here to learn why I think Tombow still comes out on top for ease of use.)

2. Stabilo Pen 68 brush pens (medium)

If you’d prefer a slightly bigger brush pen, Stabilo Pen 68 brush pens are a fantastic choice.

They come in gorgeous colors and blend beautifully, but most importantly, they are SO easy to use for lettering!

Here’s why I love them so much.

• Beautiful assortment of colors available!
• Water-based ink means you can blend them like watercolors
• Brush tips “bounce back” so well when you add pressure
• They write really smoothly and easily

Stabilo makes high quality pens and these are no exception!

The only downside is that Stabilo pens are really juicy, so they smudge very easily.

So, if you’re left-handed, you might want to go for this next pen…

3. Sharpie brush pens (medium)

I absolutely love these Sharpie brush pens!

They are a small medium size and are very easy to use… and fun to use.

Here’s what I like about them.

• Crisp, clean lines
• Excellent “bounce back”
• Quick drying, water resistant ink

The only con is that they seem to dry out a little more quickly than others.

There are 12 colors available, and the quick drying ink is great if you’re left handed or just tend to smudge your writing.

An excellent medium-sized pen option for someone new to brush lettering!

Although there are soooo many brush pens and markers out there, these are three of your best options if you’re new to calligraphy.

I’ve used a lot of brush pens, and I find Tombow Fudenosuke, Stabilo Pen 68, and Sharpie brush pens to be some of the easiest to use.

Once you have a brush pen, learn how to hold and use it the right way in this post!