The five best lettering pens for beginners
Do you want to learn lettering? Maybe you like seeing all those enchanting videos on social media and would love to start yourself but don’t know how? If so, read on.
As free and wonderful as lettering can be, it can be tricky to know where to start. When it comes to learning the basics and techniques, few things beat a workshop, but if you can’t attend one, practice sheets are a great way to learn new hand movements.
But what about pencils? There’s a whole host of them! What are the best ones to start with?
Well, many of us know that lettering can very well be a material sport. There are LOTS of nice, fun and absolutely lovely pens to draw or write letters with, but if you want a really good starter kit, it’s not really very expensive or complicated. Here are my suggestions:
1st Pentel Brush Sign Pen
Pentel Brush Sign Pen is probably the pen that I have used the most of all the pens I have (and then I’m still a pen hoarder of RANG).
The brush tip is relatively small and therefore quite easy to handle for a beginner, which is one of the reasons why many of my practice sheets are adapted to it. But I still use it just as much, so it’s great whether you’re a beginner or have been at it for a while.
The water-soluble, easy-to-maneuver and incredibly useful brush pen comes in a whopping 36 different colors, so you can assemble your own bag of pencil candies to make practicing easier and more fun.
2. uni pin fine line brush
Uni Pin is perhaps best known for its fineliners (i.e. markers with a narrow tip, type) but they have also made a small, easy-to-use brush pen that just swooshes in as number two on the list!
Uni Pin Fine Line Brush is similar to Pentel Brush Sign but is cheaper and becomes waterproof when it dries (which is great if you want to shade the letters or work with watercolor or other water-soluble pens on top or next to it) and is available in four neutral colors. Just keep in mind that it won’t be waterproof until it dries, so take a breath or two before adding watercolors.
It’s affordable and that’s important when you’re starting out with lettering – if you have overpriced pens, you’ll be hampered so easily. uni Pin Fine Line Brush is definitely a bargain thanks to its small and flexible tip, and the two gray colors can be used for fine little shadows.
