Tombow 56187 Dual Brush Pen Art Markers, Pastel, 10-Pack, Blendable Brush and Fine Tip Review (2026)

What the 10-pack includes

This set contains ten Tombow Dual Brush pens in pastel shades, including tones such as Carnation, Pink, Light Ochre, Pale Yellow, Mint, Sky Blue, Process Blue, Mist Purple, Lilac and Cool Gray. Every pen in the Dual Brush line has two ends, a flexible brush nib on one side for lettering with pressure-sensitive line variation, and a hard, fine bullet tip on the other for outlines, detail work and small text. Because the whole set shares the same soft palette, it is built around a cohesive, muted color story rather than the bold primary shades found in Tombow's standard sets.

Why the dual tip and water-based ink matter

The brush tip is made from a flexible nylon fiber bundle designed to hold up under repeated use rather than fraying quickly like a cheap felt marker, and it responds to hand pressure the way a natural brush does, producing thin upstrokes and thick downstrokes in a single pen. Tombow's Dual Brush ink is water-based, which means colors can be blended by touching two wet tips together or by adding a water brush over dry ink to soften edges, a technique widely used to create the ombre and gradient effects associated with modern pastel lettering. The fine bullet tip on the opposite end uses the same ink family, so journaling notes or fine outlines match the brush lettering in tone.

Living with a pastel-only palette

A dedicated pastel set like this is a deliberate choice rather than a general-purpose starter kit, since every color leans soft and desaturated by design. That makes it well suited to spring and wedding-themed lettering, soft watercolor-style backgrounds, and journal spreads where a gentle palette is the goal, but it means the set alone cannot produce high-contrast or bold lettering the way a standard Tombow set with saturated primaries can. Pastel ink can also look faint when written directly on plain white paper, so many letterers pair these pens with kraft paper, toned backgrounds or layer multiple light passes to build up visible color.

How it compares with other pastel brush pen sets

Zebra's Mildliner brush pens, sold in both a 25-color highlighter-brush set and a 15-pack no-bleed dual tip version, cover a similar soft palette at a different price point and with a slightly different nib feel than Tombow's nylon brush tip. ARTEZA's 12-pastel dual tip set and Faber-Castell's 4-color Pitt Artist pastel pack are smaller, more limited alternatives, while Ecoline's 5-piece pastel brush set uses liquid watercolor ink rather than Tombow's water-based marker formula, giving a wetter, more fluid blend. Tombow's advantage across these options is its long track record for durable brush tips and predictable, repeatable blending.

Verdict and who should pick another set

At our score of 9.0 out of 10, this is a well-built, cohesive set for anyone whose lettering style leans soft, romantic or spring-themed, and the dual brush and fine tip combination covers both expressive lettering and small detail work in one pen. Choose it if you specifically want a pastel palette and plan to blend colors for ombre effects. Look elsewhere, toward a standard Tombow Dual Brush set or a brighter assortment, if you need bold, high-contrast lettering for posters or signage, since this pack's entire purpose is a muted, gentle color range rather than versatility across styles.

Frequently asked questions