Top 5 Favorite Hand Lettering Supplies

Hello everyone!

I figured I’d change pace this week and write a post about hand lettering!  I’ve been lettering for a little over a year now, and I’ve learned a lot and developed a few favorites along the way!

So today I’m sharing with you my all-time favorite lettering supplies!

1. Brush Pens!  Below is a breakdown of all the brush pens I own!

Tombow Dual Brush Pens

I’ve tried MANY different brush pens over the last year, and Tombows are the best!  As you can see, I have quite a few of them! Seventy-four to be exact!  I have a few duplicates though.

I’ve gotten the majority of these online, either from Amazon or Jo-Ann Fabrics.  Unfortunately, no one in my area sells these markers, so I’ve had to buy all but four of them online.

Here’s an example of my lettering with the Tombow Dual Brush Pens.  Tombows have the largest brush tip out of all of my brush pens (see below), so I always use them for my larger works.

To make up for the fact that I can’t buy Tombows in person, I buy every other brush pen I come across!

Marvy Uchida makes my second favorite brush pen.  These are the ColorIn Brush Marker.

I purchased these at Michael’s and Hobby Lobby.  I have also seen some for sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics.  For some reason, I am unable to find them online at any of those stores.  However, I was able to find them on Scrapbook.com.

Here’s some of my lettering with the Marvy markers. The tips on these markers is a little bit smaller than the Tombow markers.  I like to use them when writing small, more compact words and phrases.

Crayola markers are also great for lettering!  They don’t have a brush tip like the pens above, but the broad tip does create a brush-like effect when used correctly.

My work with the Crayola markers.

When shopping for Crayola markers, I decided to buy the Pip-Squeaks because that pack had the most color variation of all the markers that Jo-Ann had in stock.

My only complaint about the Pip-Squeaks is that they are a little too small for my hands! I should have expected that when I bought them, but I didn’t realize the pressure from my writing would snap the cap off the back of the marker almost every time I go to use them! That’ll teach me to be a little more gentle!

I’ve seen lots of great work with the Super Tips, so I think I’ll end up purchasing and trying those next!

Here are a few other pens I’ve tried.  I really like the markers on the left side of this image, but I don’t really care for the types on the right.

Starting in the bottom left-hand corner and then going clock-wise:

• Tombow Fudenosuke: These are my favorite markers for really small work. They come in both a hard nib and a soft nib. I’ve tried both nibs and have determined that I like the hard nib the best! I have more control and make smoother lines with the hard nibbed pen.
• Hampton Art Studio G Marker: These are the best metallic brush pens I’ve found so far!  They are very pigmented and smooth! I bought mine at Michaels for less than $1 with a coupon.  What a deal!!
• Copic Markers: These are the most expensive brush pens I’ve ever purchased, and they are also my least favorite.  They have a brush tip, but I believe they’re better suited for coloring in illustrations than lettering.
• Pigma Brush by Sakura: These markers aren’t bad.  I just prefer my other ones!

Here’s some smaller writing with a Marvy pen and Tombow Fudenosuke.

   2. Rhodia Paper Pads

Over the past year, I’ve tried several different types of paper for my lettering.  I’ve tried all different kinds of sketch pads and notebooks papers.

The best paper I’ve come across is the Rhodia pad.  I have both dotted pads and blank ones in various sizes.

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you may have seen little, tiny dots on my lettering pages.  The dots are more subtle than lines, and help me space my lettering and such.  Right now, I prefer the dotted pages to the blank ones.  That may change in the future though!

The easiest place for me to buy these notebooks is on Amazon.

3. A sharp pencil is always nice to have.  Some people like to write their words in pencil first and then trace over them.  I’m more of the wing-it type, so I mainly use my pencil for drawing straight lines!

4. An eraser is also good to have on hand.  I like white erasers because then you don’t have to worry about any dyes transferring to your paper.  I believe I got this PaperMate eraser at Staples or maybe Target.

5. A lettering challenge is a must for when you run out of things to write!  After a few weeks, you may run out of new things to write.  This is when a monthly, lettering challenge is ideal!

A monthly, lettering challenge is just what it sounds like.  Every day of the month there is a new word or phrase for you to practice writing.

I’ve been participating in a lettering challenge with @randomolive for three months now.  You may have been wondering why a lot of the examples above are apples names. That’s because apples were the theme of the September challenge with @randomolive.

You can search hashtags like #brushletterpracticechallenge, #letteringchallenge, #brushletterchallenge, etc. to find other challenges and letterers to follow!

Along with @randomolive, I also enjoy following @amandaarneill and @piecescalligraphy on Instagram.

I discovered @amandaarneill on Instagram last summer and that’s where my lettering journey started.  I spent hours watching her 15 second lettering videos over and over again while I waited for my Tombow Dual Brush Pens to come in the mail! 🙂

This month’s challenge with @randomolive involves Halloween candy!  Be sure to follow me on Instagram (@pinkbowstwinkletoes) to see what I do with this month’s challenge and theme! 🙂

Happy Lettering!