When we imagine a painter in our mind’s eye, we might picture a person in Breton stripes delicately balancing a wooden palette in one hand, a pencil-like paintbrush in the other, with a pair of round glasses resting at the very tip of their nose. When they begin to paint, their wrist swishes around in comically large movements, the paintbrush flicking dramatically after every stroke.
As young artists, we might have copied this imagined technique, only to find it resulted in unruly splatters of paint and ink across the canvas or paper. The idea was to create beautiful, naturally sweeping movements with a sense of texture and precision, yet the reality was a veritable mess.
But what if we told you there was a way to achieve this dreamy effect, without the hassle involved in using inks, dyes, paints and paintbrushes?
Contemporary brush pens made with felt or fibre nibs are a popular artistic tool for all ages and levels. Invented in 1973 by Kuretake in Japan as a modern alternative to the ancient art of calligraphy, they allow for a more painterly approach to graphic design, offering a greater sense of fluidity.
We spoke to illustrator and animator Jessica Leslau, who recently worked on the BBC adaptation of Charles Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse for some insight into what the professionals use.
What exactly are brush pens and what makes them different?
“Brush pens have finer fibres than felt tips. This makes the tips of the pens much finer, softer and more flexible for working with,” explains Leslau. “Typically, they look like a ‘sable’ brush tip – long, fine strands going to a point. Brush pens can use any number of inks but tend to use higher-quality ink which differs from the inks used in felt tips”.
What are the benefits of using brush pens as a designer or artist?
“Artists and Designers benefit from using brush pens for the quality of the tool, its deftness and its useability. They’re usually more consistent to work with over felt tips, as felt tips tend to vary in ink density or sometimes splatter on application and dry out much faster,” says Leslau. “Brush pens are designed to stay supple and not dry out fast. They’re softer and smoother to work with and definitely better for more precision in working too”.
What is the difference between a soft and hard brush pen?
Leslau’s brush pen of choice is the soft-tipped Pentel because “It’s like an actual brush, you can get the effect of different strands of ink on applying to your work sometimes.”
However, when using hard-tipped brush pens or industry-standard markers by Copic, she describes their various additional benefits, “Copic markers are a kind of dense sponge which come in a variety of ‘cuts’ – some thick blocky tips for filling large areas, or a brush shaped one for precise work and smooth gliding strokes.”
She does make clear that “Either soft or hard tips are good and would likely just depend on what the artist wants to achieve in their artwork”.
What is the difference between brush pens with synthetic hair nibs and those with felt nibs?
“Synthetic hair nibs will give the effect of an actual brush being used,” says the animator. “When you have a brush pen with strands of hair, they can separate and so sometimes when applying on paper you’ll get flecks of ink from these thin strands coming away from the main shape of the tip.”
She continues, “In general, it just feels more like you’re working with a brush than a pen, which is fun to use and is obviously less messy than actual paint or ink used with actual brushes. Just one tool for a brush-like effect! On the other hand, felt nibs will give a more solid application.”
We’ve rounded up a selection of the best professional-approved brush pens on the market. Shop our top picks below.
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Pentel Pocket Brush Pen
Beloved by professional artists, illustrators and animators, the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen has been crafted to harness the effect of traditional brush and ink calligraphy. The jet-black ink is water-based, meaning it doesn’t have a strong alcohol-based smell which isn’t conducive to long hours of working. It's also waterproof and non-fading.
The brush tip is made from nylon and has been designed to produce variable line widths. This pack comes with two refill ink cartridges.
Buy now £9.40, Amazon
Tombow "Fudenosuke" Soft Brush Pen - Black
This soft brush pen by Tombow is a fan favourite for a multitude of reasons. The flexible, elastic short brush nib responds beautifully to varied pressure, making it a brilliant choice for calligraphers. The ink is also water-based and odourless, so you can doodle for hours without a headache.
Buy now £2.63, Amazon
Tombow "Fudenosuke" Hard Brush Pen
Both variations of the “Fudenosuke” brush pen by Tombow are an essential addition to any illustrator’s stationery arsenal. The hard-tipped brush pen allows for greater precision, making it better suited to intricate detail work.
Buy now £4.38, Amazon
Kuretake Bimoji Fude Brush Pens
Available in a variety of widths, the Kuretake Bimoji Fude brush pen looks just like a traditional Japanese calligraphy brush. Designed with the writing of Japanese characters – otherwise known as Kanji – in mind, this pen allows for the creation of beautiful, sweeping lettering with impeccable detail and precision.
Buy now £4.99, Cult Pens
Copic Marker MLSP-BS Multiliner
Copic Multliners are available in a range of widths. When it comes to the two liners designed with calligraphy in mind, the BS has a slightly thinner tip than the BM, making it slightly more versatile for switching between writing and detailed drawing.
Refillable and equipped with interchangeable nibs, you’ll only ever need to purchase one aluminium-bodied pen for all of your artistic needs. Copic Multiliners are also waterproof, marker-proof and are filled with lightfast pigment ink.
Buy now £13.22, Amazon
Faber-Castell Pitt Big Brush Pen Black
Perfect for filing in larger areas, every illustrator needs a chunky brush pen in their stationery kit. This option by Faber-Castell uses lightfast, waterproof pigment ink that is acid-free and pH-neutral.
Buy now £5.00, Cult Pens
Pentel Arts Sign Pens with Brush Tip
Fantastically flexible, these colourful brush tip pens from Pentel will add glorious technicolour to all of your work – whether it be professional or personal. A particular favourite amongst journal enthusiasts and avid notetakers, these acid-free pens produce a 0.7mm line which may vary depending on the pressure applied to the nib.
Despite their lovely, sparkly shells, these pens produce solid colours without glitter.
Buy now £29.86, Amazon
Uni POSCA Marker Pen PCF-350 Brush Set of 10 Assorted
Posca pens aren’t your traditional type of brush pen. Filled with permanent, opaque water-based pigment ink, Posca markers produce an acrylic paint-like effect and can be used on any surface imaginable.
The PCF-350 brush-tipped pens are a newer addition to the Posca range, and have been designed to give the tool a more flexible feel and a fluid finish.
Buy now £40.00, Cult Pens
Karin Brushmarker Pro
Manufactured with innovative ‘liquid ink’ technology, the Karin Brushmarker Pro pens are equipped with a super flexible, Japanese-style nylon tip for supreme fluidity and durability. Each pen contains 2.4ml of water-based ink, which makes them suitable for creating watercolour-inspired illustrations.
The metallic DécoBrush Marker by Karin is an alternative option which is better suited to crafters since it can be used on almost every surface.
Buy now £48.11, Amazon
Zebra Mildliner Double Ended Brush Tip Pen & Fine Tip Marker
These pastel-hued pens from Zebra offer the best of both worlds, with a dual-ended brush and bullet tip. The versatile, acid-free colours make this set a back-to-school essential in our eyes.
Buy now £13.00, Amazon
Verdict
Approved by professionals, the best black ink brush pen for illustration and calligraphy is the Pentel Pocket Brush. The Tombow hard and soft brush pens are also essential tools for any designer.
We love how the Copic brush-tipped multiliner is smudge-proof, especially when used alongside traditional Copic markers. For a colourful set of brush-tipped pens, you can’t go wrong with the Pentel Sign Pens.
