wish list – Lyss Tyler Letters

The question I get asked most frequently is, “What are the best brush pens for beginners?”
You’ve asked and you shall receive! Here are three brush pens that I will always recommend for beginners. These are tried and true – I’ve given these to workshop students and friends who wanted to learn and all of them have received great reviews!
Don’t forget, you can also start with Crayola markers.

Pentel Fude Touch
The Best Brush Pens for Beginners This pen is always my first recommendation for beginners. The Pentel Fude Touch is the size of a regular pen, it has a short & flexible tip, and it comes in many different colors. A small pen is ideal for those who are just getting started because it is easiest to manage. I love that I can write more words in a smaller area while I’m using this brush pen. The tip is firm enough that it’s great for beginners, but still has a brush pen’s flexibility. This is the pen that will come along with your Brush Calligraphy Guide when you purchase one!

Zig Clean Color
Here we have another great brush pen for beginners, the Zig Clean Color. This is also a small pen, but instead of a felt tip (one solid tip), this pen has bristles. That makes this pen more like a paint brush than the other two pens I’m featuring here. This pen is also available in many different colors – more than the Pentel Fude Touch. It is small enough that it is easy to manage, but has a very flexible tip, which gives your thicker and fuller letters. The bristles help to create a more brush-like feel to your letters. I highly recommend you try this one out!

Tombow Fudenosuke Soft Tip
Last but not least, we have the Tombow Fude, Soft Tip. This pen is almost indistinguishable from the Pentel Fude Touch, but it only comes in one color. There are two variations of this pen: soft and hard tip. Both of them are great options for beginners! The tip of this pen is slightly longer than that of the Pentel Fude Touch, which makes some newbies choose it as their favorite! Once again, this pen is small and easier to manage than other brush pens might be. This is another pen that often comes with my Brush Calligraphy Guide.

I would love your input!
Have you tried any of these brush pens before? Did you love ’em or hate ’em?

Looking for more tips and brush pens to try? Come follow along on Instagram where I post most regularly!

PS. Grab a FREE alphabet practice sheet bundle here!
**And monthly freebies after that! 😉

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Did you miss the first step? Click here to start with step one!

So, you’ve got your Crayola markers* now. And I know what you were thinking…I had no idea that you could letter with Crayola markers when I first started! I thought that you had to have fancy brush pens to even remotely start brush lettering!

SO. Go grab those Crayola markers again. This time you’re going to create a few different kinds of strokes. These are the strokes that are a tiny little piece of the Brush Calligraphy Guide. You’re going to start with those first thin & thick strokes that I mentioned and then move to some new strokes!

Now, I thought that perhaps you’re wondering HOW to create those thin and thick lines with a Crayola marker. I was right there with you, too! BUT hopefully this will help you.

When you are creating a THICK line you want to angle the pen (like shown in the photo below) so that a greater area of the pen will be touching the paper! You don’t want to use the tip and push the tip down for a thicker line- this won’t work as you will probably just bleed through the paper! If you tip the pen to the side, you’ll naturally be able to create a thicker line because there is a greater area to work with!

TIP: Focus on using the side of the tip of the pen so that more of the pen is touching the paper. It’s not about pushing down harder, but using a larger area of the pen.

When you are creating a THIN line you can use the tip of the Crayola marker!
The trick for creating a thin line is to lighten up your pressure – pull up on your pen. While you use the side of the tip for thicker lines, focus on lightening up your pressure and moving toward using the tip of the pen for thin lines.

So, here’s another important tip about lettering…

You do NOT need to be writing fast. The pace of lettering is much slower than writing in cursive. You can take your time transitioning between those thin and thick strokes. Take your time creating each letter (we will talk about building letters soon, but not quite yet!). Don’t feel like you need to write fast when you are lettering because it is actually a much slower process than you might think!

AND most important of all, be nice to yourself! You are learning something new and you won’t become a professional overnight! Have some grace with yourself and enjoy the process of learning a new skill. Have some of your friends join you in learning this new skill & encourage each other as you finally start to like the lines (or letters!) you create!

What’s next?!
Use the Basic Strokes to Build Letters

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Lyss Tyler Letters

Calligraphy tips & tutorials for beginners!

Tag: wish list

The THREE best brush pens for beginners.

Start Lettering with Crayola Markers.