Best Brush Pens for Lettering
Updated How we research
ARTEZA Hand Lettering Pens Set of 12 - Calligraphy and Brush Pens with Guidebook, Pencil, Eraser for Beginners
An ARTEZA hand lettering set of 12 with calligraphy and brush pens, a guidebook, pencil and eraser.
Pentel Arts Sign Pen Touch, Fude Brush Tip, 12 Assorted Colors (SES15CPC12)
Pentel's Sign Pen Touch brush tip pens in 12 colours, a flexible fude tip for small brush lettering.
A brush pen puts a flexible, brush-shaped tip on a portable pen body, letting you create the thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes of modern calligraphy with pressure alone, no dipping or ink bottles required. Brush pens are the gateway tool for most hand letterers and remain daily workhorses for professionals sketching compositions, addressing envelopes, or filling sketchbooks. Beginners benefit from firmer tips that forgive shaky pressure control, while advanced calligraphers often prefer softer tips for dramatic contrast. When comparing brush pens, weigh tip size against your working scale, tip material since felt is durable and bristle is expressive, ink saturation and drying speed, and how well the tip resists fraying on rough paper. A tip that snaps back reliably keeps strokes consistent.
The short version
We compared 7 picks. Our scores range from 7.6 to 8.6 out of 10.
- Best overall:ARTEZA Hand Lettering Pens Set of 12 - Calligraphy and Brush Pens with Guidebook, Pencil, Eraser for Beginners. Highest overall score in this guide at 8.6/10.
- Also great value:Pentel Arts Sign Pen Touch, Fude Brush Tip, 12 Assorted Colors (SES15CPC12). Value score of 9/10, overall 8.6/10.
- Solid build:Tombow 56190 Beginner Lettering Set - Includes Essential Tools to Start Hand Lettering. Build and materials score of 8/10, overall 8.4/10.
- Feature-rich:Brusarth Calligraphy Pens - 8 Size Brush Pens Calligraphy Set for Beginners, Hand Lettering Pens. Features score of 8/10, overall 8.0/10.
Scores are our editorial assessment, not customer ratings. How we score
- 1.ARTEZA Hand Lettering Pens Set of 12 - Calligraphy and Brush Pens with Guidebook, Pencil, Eraser for Beginners8.6/10See on AmazonCheck price
- 2.Pentel Arts Sign Pen Touch, Fude Brush Tip, 12 Assorted Colors (SES15CPC12)8.6/10See on AmazonCheck price
- 3.Tombow 56190 Beginner Lettering Set - Includes Essential Tools to Start Hand Lettering8.4/10See on AmazonCheck price
- 4.Brusarth Calligraphy Pens - 8 Size Brush Pens Calligraphy Set for Beginners, Hand Lettering Pens8.0/10See on AmazonCheck price
- 5.Speedball Hand-Lettering Brush Marker Set, 12-Piece7.8/10See on AmazonCheck price
- 6.Kuretake Bimoji Brush Pen, 5 pcs set (Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Large, Medium Brush), great for Calligraphy, Hand lettering and Illustration, for Beginners and Professional, Made in Japan7.8/10See on AmazonCheck price
- 7.Staedtler Double-ended Brush Marker Brush Letter Duo, Creative Lettering, Flexible and Fine Tip, Blendable Ink, Set of 12 Assorted Colors, 3004TB12A67.6/10See on AmazonCheck price
#1An ARTEZA hand lettering set of 12 with calligraphy and brush pens, a guidebook, pencil and eraser.
Fit for the job 9/10 · Features and specs 9/10 · Build and materials 7/10 · Value 9/10
- + Includes a guidebook plus pencil and eraser for sketching layouts
- + 12 pens combine brush and calligraphy styles
- + Complete starter kit for beginners
- - Guidebook is introductory and will be outgrown quickly
- - Mixed pen types may not suit one specific lettering style
#2Pentel's Sign Pen Touch brush tip pens in 12 colours, a flexible fude tip for small brush lettering.
Fit for the job 9/10 · Features and specs 8/10 · Build and materials 8/10 · Value 9/10
- + Fude brush tip gives thick and thin strokes with light pressure changes
- + 12 assorted colours are great for journaling and cards
- + Pentel Touch pens are a popular choice for small brush lettering
- - Water-based ink can bleed on thin paper
- - Small tips are less suited to large display lettering
#3Tombow's beginner lettering set bundles the essential pens and tools a new letterer needs to start.
Fit for the job 9/10 · Features and specs 8/10 · Build and materials 8/10 · Value 8/10
- + Curated by Tombow specifically for people new to hand lettering
- + Combines small and large brush pens so you can learn both scales
- + Trusted Tombow pens hold up well to regular practice
- - Check exactly which pens are bundled before buying
- - Costs more than generic starter kits with a similar number of pens
#4A Brusarth calligraphy pen set with 8 brush sizes, designed to help beginners practise different stroke widths.
Fit for the job 8/10 · Features and specs 8/10 · Build and materials 7/10 · Value 9/10
- + 8 brush sizes cover small to large lettering
- + Beginner-focused set for learning stroke control
- + Good for practising both script and bold styles
- - Brand is newer and less established
- - Tip durability is not proven like premium pens
#5A 12-piece Speedball hand lettering brush marker set from a long-established lettering brand.
Fit for the job 8/10 · Features and specs 8/10 · Build and materials 7/10 · Value 8/10
- + Speedball is a familiar name in lettering supplies
- + 12 markers give colour variety
- + Brush tips suit hand lettering practice
- - Listing gives few details on tip size
- - Newer Speedball marker line has fewer reviews than their classic nibs
#6Kuretake Bimoji brush pen set of 5 (extra fine, fine, medium, large and medium brush) with water-based black pigment ink, made in Japan.
Fit for the job 8/10 · Features and specs 8/10 · Build and materials 8/10 · Value 7/10
- + Five tip sizes in one set let a beginner move from small to bold strokes with pressure changes.
- + Black water-based pigment ink is described as water-resistant after drying and safe with alcohol markers.
- + Rubber grip and a cap that posts on the back of the pen, from an established Japanese brush pen maker.
- - Costs more than the budget multi-packs it replaces, and all five pens are black only.
- - The listing says ink flow may be low at first and writing can look faint if done too quickly.
#7Staedtler Brush Letter Duo, 12 double-ended markers with a super fine and a broad flexible brush tip. A colored alternative to the black-only sets in this guide.
Fit for the job 8/10 · Features and specs 7/10 · Build and materials 7/10 · Value 8/10
- + Dual brush tips on every pen give line widths from about 1/2 mm up to 6 mm.
- + Twelve assorted colors with blendable ink add color lettering that black-only sets do not offer.
- + Listed for beginners and professionals alike, from a well-known European pen maker.
- - Colored markers, not the black practice pens the old pick was, so the style of use differs.
- - The listing gives few details on ink type or lightfastness beyond blendability.
Before you buy: trade-offs we flagged
No pick is perfect. These are the main compromises we noted for the top products in this guide, so you can check they will not matter for you.
- Guidebook is introductory and will be outgrown quickly (ARTEZA Hand Lettering Pens Set of 12 -...)
- Water-based ink can bleed on thin paper (Pentel Arts Sign Pen Touch, Fude Brush Tip,...)
- Check exactly which pens are bundled before buying (Tombow 56190 Beginner Lettering Set -...)
- Brand is newer and less established (Brusarth Calligraphy Pens - 8 Size Brush Pens...)
- Listing gives few details on tip size (Speedball Hand-Lettering Brush Marker Set,...)
- Costs more than the budget multi-packs it replaces, and all five pens are black only. (Kuretake Bimoji Brush Pen, 5 pcs set (Extra...)
Frequently asked questions
›What is the best choice among brush pens for lettering?
ARTEZA Hand Lettering Pens Set of 12 - Calligraphy and Brush Pens with Guidebook, Pencil, Eraser for Beginners is our top overall pick. An ARTEZA hand lettering set of 12 with calligraphy and brush pens, a guidebook, pencil and eraser. It earns our score of 8.6/10, based on fit for the job, features, build and value.
›What is a good budget option?
Pentel Arts Sign Pen Touch, Fude Brush Tip, 12 Assorted Colors (SES15CPC12) is the strongest low-cost pick in this guide. Pentel's Sign Pen Touch brush tip pens in 12 colours, a flexible fude tip for small brush lettering.
›How much should I expect to spend?
Picks in this guide span See on Amazon price bands (roughly: $ = under $30, $$ = $30 to $100, $$$ = over $100). We never display exact prices because they change constantly, so the buttons above always show Amazon's current price.
›How were these products chosen?
We shortlist products that fit the job this guide solves and compare their published specifications, such as size, capacity, materials and what is included. Each pick gets an editorial score out of 10 for fit, features, build and value, and we write the pros and cons from those details. Our score is not an Amazon customer rating. We earn a commission if you buy through our links, which never affects the ranking.
Calligraphy Nest independently selects every product; we may earn a commission from links above.
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