What Is The Brush Pen?

van Lucía Alonso @lucialonso

Many calligraphers and lettering artists consider the brush pen their favorite tool. Today, we will explain to you what it is and how to choose one

Used primarily in calligraphy, the brush pen is a favorite tool for those who work with letters. What is a brush pen, you say? It is a marker with a synthetic fiber tip that imitates a brush. This allows the artist to obtain different stroke thicknesses in a single movement, varying the pressure exerted on the paper and/or the inclination.

Brush pen vs. brush

Although it is true that the strokes of the brush pen are not 100% identical to those made with a traditional brush, for many artists, it is worth overlooking this purely aesthetic detail to enjoy the advantages of working with a brush pen.

When doing calligraphy or lettering, both tools allow a similar stroke modulation. However, while brushes–no matter what material, quality, and shape–require to be constantly soaked in ink, brush pens usually come preloaded and are less cumbersome.

This isn't always an advantage. Using pigments with the brush means that the artist has infinite possibilities when it comes to the color range. This is something that does not happen when working with brush pens because the manufacturer preselects the colors.

That said, it should be noted that there are also brush pens that allow the user to select and refill the ink. Choosing between a brush pen or a brush, then, it's just a matter of preference.

Bego Viñuela. Calligraphy with rechargeable brush pen and watercolors

Types and characteristics of brush pens

As with brushes, brush pens are manufactured in all kinds of qualities, levels of hardness, and types of fibers; to these, we must also add a wide variety of colors. All these are the defining features you need to consider when shopping with a specific result in mind.

Some brands of brush pen that Colombian lyricist Ximena Jiménez recommends are Tombow, Koi, Prismacolor, Zig, Edding, Lyra, Kuretake, Faber Castell, or Sharpie. "However, if you find another brand, buy one and try it. [...] It is not essential to have the most expensive tools to create a good project," she explains.

Comparison of brush pens by Ana Hernández

Types of brush pens

Depending on the characteristics of the tip, brush pens can be cataloged as:

- Marker style or brush style.
- Long or short tip.
- Hard or soft tip.
- Flat or rounded tip.

Keep in mind that different manufacturers use different types of fibers for the tip.

Also, brush pens can come with a tank pre-filled with ink or with an ink or water injector so that you can choose the pigment yourself and use it directly as a brush.

If you want to know more about brush pens and learn how to use them in your calligraphy and lettering projects, the courses Italic Script with a Brush Pen, by Bego Viñuela; Introduction to Script Lettering, by Ximena Jiménez; and Principles of Brush Pen Calligraphy, by Ana Hernández; are a good place to start.