The Best Brush Calligraphy Pens For Beginners

The best brush calligraphy pens for beginners: everything you need to know about which ones are best for beginners and why.

THE BEST BRUSH CALLIGRAPHY PENS FOR BEGINNERS

You want to get started with brush calligraphy. But after seeing what feels like an infinite amount of calligraphy pen options, you are completely overwhelmed. I feel your pain! There are way too many options when it comes to calligraphy pens. If you are looking for the best brush calligraphy pens for beginners, you are in the right place.

Which calligraphy pens should I buy?

Where can I buy them? I’m a total newbie.

Which pens do I need to start calligraphy with?

If you have any of those questions, I’m glad you are here!

In this blog post, I’ll tell you precisely what calligraphy brush pens you need to start, and I’ll share with you why I recommend these brush calligraphy pens for beginners.

I’ll also show you some other options so you are on the right track to start your calligraphy journey.

Even with only pen and paper, you can begin learning calligraphy TODAY! In this blog post, I will show you exactly how to do this and give you a FREE calligraphy practice sheet to help you start immediately. 

After trying many brush calligraphy pens, I recommend a few for beginners. I’m basing this list on my personal experience using them.

Small Tip Brush Pens

First, I have to start with the Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens. The Tombow Fudenosuke are must-have calligraphy pens for beginners. The Tombow Fudenosuke family has three members:

1. Tombow Fudenosuke Hard Tip.

2. Tombow Fudenosuke Soft Tip.

3. Tombow Fudenosuke Twin Tip.

These are the pens that I used when I first started, and I recommend to anyone beginning this calligraphy journey. These calligraphy brush pens are fantastic even after the beginning stage. You will use them no matter your calligraphy expertise level. The cool thing is that they now come in a value pack so that you can try them all at once.

The Tombow Fudenosuke Hard nib is my favorite for calligraphy beginners. But I know everybody is different, so having a couple more options is good.

But how do you even pronounce that?

I’m sorry. I should’ve gotten that out of the way first. After many, many, many, many, (did I say many) attempts at getting this word right, I just gave up and started calling them “Fudes,” which is short, sweet, and straightforward. If you must know, the correct pronunciation is “foo-den-OH-ski.”

THE PROS

• Their small, long-lasting, flexible tip: This is the #1 reason why I recommend these pens for beginners.  Using a brush pen with a smaller brush tip makes it easier to control the brush pen, which makes them great beginners to learn the pressure differences. No matter how much pressure you add to these pens, the tip won’t break. The stiff tip makes it easier to get thin lines.
• Water-based and pigmented black ink. Being water-based means it’s easier to remove if it gets on your clothes. The pigmented black ink is permanent and bleed-proof.
• They are made of recycled polypropylene plastic. It’s one of the best eco-friendly brush calligraphy pens you can get. This characteristic is a plus for me!
• Odorless & Non-toxic. 
• Affordable. You can get the set of hard and soft nibs for about $6, and the set of 3 is about $8 on Amazon. Michaels and Hobby Lobby also carry these pens. You can always use a coupon when buying from these craft stores.

The Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip was and still is my go-to brush pen. These pens can last a long time. I’ve had a few that didn’t have a long life, but for the most part, I’ve gotten good use from most of the ones I’ve had. I use this pen almost daily. Since I learned calligraphy, I must use it to write (nearly) ALL things. Even simple notes!

I also love the Tombow Fudenosuke soft nib and use it often, depending on the project. When they first learn calligraphy, people tend to go for one over the other. That’s why it’s excellent this pen comes in a pack.

The Tombow Fudenosuke Twin Tip has a small tip as well. It has a black nib on one end and a gray nib on the other — like the best of both (gray and black) worlds.

The brush tip on this pen (both sides) is like the Tombow Fudenosuke Soft Tip.

THE CONS

I honestly don’t think there is anything wrong with these pens. I’m basing this “con” on personal preference.

• They don’t come in different colors. The Tombow Fudenosuke only comes in black. The twin tip gives you the option of gray. But that’s about it. There are no other colors (sad face). So, the only thing that could improve these pens is if they came in colors.

UPDATE: AS OF SEPTEMBER 2018, THE TOMBOW FUDENOSUKE COMES IN COLORS!!!

• The Tombow Fudenosuke now comes in 10 different colors. They have the same brush tip as the Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip and are just as impressive as the rest of the Tombow fudenosuke brush pens. You can read the full pen review I did in this blog post.

OTHER GREAT BRUSH CALLIGRAPHY PENS FOR BEGINNERS

If having color options is your thing, then don’t worry. The Pentel Touch Sign Pen, Fude Brush Tip, has 12 different options for color. Their brush tip is like the Tombow Fudenosuke Soft Nib. They are also a great choice of calligraphy pens for beginners because of their small tips.

Now, make sure that when buying the Pentel Touch, you pay close attention to the package. It needs to say “Fude Brush Tip.” Pentel has another set of sign pens. The difference is that their tip is not flexible AT ALL!

These pens are usually cheaper than the ones with a brush tip. I bought the wrong ones by mistake. I thought I had scored a great deal, but my happiness was over rather quickly. Once the pens arrived home, I discovered I bought the wrong ones. Don’t be like me. Read the product description.

Large-Tip Brush Pens

Now, If you are bold and like to live on the edge (okay, I’m a little dramatic here), you could start learning calligraphy with brush pens with a larger tip.

I still recommend you get comfortable with the small tipped brush pens first. Yes, before you move to the larger tipped brush calligraphy pens. But in the end, it is entirely up to you.

Tombow Dual Brush Pens

Regarding larger-tip brush pens, my favorites are the Tombow Dual Brush Pens. Tombow does it again by providing excellent brush calligraphy pens. (

These pens come in 96 colors. The cool thing is that they are water-based, so you can use them to blend and create even more colors.

I recommend you get the packs if you can’t get the whole package of 96. You will invest more upfront, but it will save you money in the long run. They will be more cost-effective in packs than buying them individually.

Art Line Brush Pens

The Artline Stix Brush Pens is another excellent option for larger tip brush pens.

I discovered these pens after the Tombow Dual Brush Tip, but these are just as good. I love how juicy they are! The only difference with the Dual Brush is the width of the down strokes (usually thinner) and the upstrokes (not as small as the Dual Brush Pens).

Beginner Lettering Set

Tombow put together a fantastic beginner lettering set. This set has everything you need to start hand lettering in one place. This option is excellent if you don’t want to search separately for all these pen options.

The Beginner Lettering Set Includes:

• 1 Fudenosuke Hard Tip.
• 2 Dual Brush Pens.
• 1 MONO Twin Permanent Marker.
• 1 MONO drawing pencil.
• 1MONO eraser. (my favorite eraser).
• Bonus points – It includes a pamphlet with helpful tips to get started.

One thing to remember:

If you want to learn calligraphy, what matters the most is your willingness to practice. Having many calligraphy tools and brush pens won’t improve you if you don’t do the work. All you need to start learning calligraphy is pen and paper. Yes, that’s all you need.

This blog post shows you how to start making beautiful letters TODAY. I’ll show you the one technique you can use immediately to create calligraphy. Plus, you can get access to my FREE calligraphy worksheet so you can get started right away.

Final Thoughts,

The best brush calligraphy for beginners is the Tombow Fudenosuke Brush pens because of their small tips. Their small tip makes them easier to control, and it’s great to learn the pressure differences. On the other hand, if small brush tips are not your thing, I recommend the Tombow Dual Brush Pen or the Artline Stix Brush Pen.

Modern Calligraphy for Beginners

Now that you know which pens are best for calligraphy beginners, it’s time to start learning.

Grab the free calligraphy practice worksheet below to learn basic calligraphy drills.

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS FOR LATER? SAVE THIS YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!

Thanks for reading today’s blog! I hope you find it helpful and that it makes it a little easier for you to start your brush calligraphy journey.