Brush pen lettering for beginners: grip, angle, connecting letters and common mistakes

TUREFF• •0

Brush pens are the most popular way into lettering: no ink pots, little cleaning, and a single pen can make both hairlines and bold strokes. They do behave differently from ordinary pens, though, and a few habits make the difference between frayed, wobbly strokes and clean ones.

Small tip or large tip?

Small, firm tips are easier to control and forgiving of pressure mistakes. They suit beginners and smaller lettering.
Large, soft tips give dramatic thick strokes but need more control, and fray more easily if used badly.

Many people start with a small firm tip, learn the strokes, then move up to larger sizes.

How to hold a brush pen

Hold it as you would a normal pen, but a little further back from the tip so you can see the stroke.
Tilt the pen at a fairly low angle to the paper, roughly 45 degrees, rather than holding it upright. This lets you use the side of the tip for thick downstrokes.
Keep the angle the same throughout the word.
Let the side of the tip touch the paper on downstrokes and only the very point on upstrokes.
Keep your grip relaxed; a tight grip makes strokes shaky.

The basic strokes

Every letter combines a few shapes. Practise them as rows before attempting letters:

Thin upstrokes and thick downstrokes.
Underturns, as in u.
Overturns, as in n.
Compound curves, as in m's last stroke.
Ovals, as in o and a.
Ascending and descending loops, as in l and g.

Connecting letters

Brush lettering looks joined up, but it is not written in one continuous movement.

Lift between strokes. Finish a stroke, lift the pen, then start the next one, slightly overlapping where they meet.
Exit strokes become entry strokes. The thin upstroke that ends one letter carries straight into the next.
Watch the joins. Overlap only slightly, keep the join thin, and do not press as you connect.
Keep spacing even. Look at the white space between letters rather than the letters themselves.

Common mistakes and fixes

Writing too fast. Most beginners rush. Slow down to about the speed of drawing.
Pushing upwards with pressure. This frays the tip. Upstrokes should barely touch the paper.
Changing pressure suddenly. Thick strokes should swell and taper, not appear abruptly. Ease in and out.
Holding the pen upright. This makes thick strokes hard and wears the tip unevenly.
Using rough paper. Textured or absorbent paper frays felt tips quickly. Use smooth paper for practice.
Inconsistent slant. Use guide sheets with slant lines, or draw your own in pencil.
Rotating the pen during a word. Keep the same grip throughout so the tip behaves the same way.

Looking after your pens

Put the cap on as soon as you finish, or the tip dries out.
Store pens horizontally unless the maker's instructions say otherwise.
Keep a separate set of older pens for rough surfaces like card or envelopes, and save fresh ones for smooth paper.

From drills to words

Once your strokes are fairly even, move to short words. Words made of simple shapes are good starting points: minimum, mum, union, hello. Then try a short phrase, a name or a quote. Write each one several times and compare the copies; the improvements become visible within days. Have you noticed a mistake you keep repeating? Ask in the comments, or share a tip that helped your brush lettering.