Calligraphy Letters for a and R Paint Pad in Art

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Hello!

It's Jillian and Jordan from Loveleigh Loops, and we're excited to bring you an article that's all about brush lettering.

Nosotros're twin sisters who take taught tens of thousands of students how to master calligraphy tools and letter styles, ranging from pointed pen to flourishing to iPad lettering.

But castor lettering was our first real love, and we accept a lot to share with y'all today.

Here are the contents of this guide –

 1. What is brush lettering?

 2. What supplies do you demand?

• Supply #i: Newspaper
• Supply #2: Castor Pens

 3. Why are brush pens great for lettering?

 4. How do you use a brush for calligraphy?

 5. What'southward the right way to concord a brush pen?

 6. How to overcome the near common brush pen struggles

 7. Brush Pen Warm-Up Drills

• Warm-Up #one: Downstrokes
• Warm-Up #2: Upstrokes
• Warm-Up #3: Curved Strokes
• The 7 fundamental strokes

 8. FREE downloadable worksheets

 9. Summary

 10. Bonus ane –

• Brush pen characteristics (ink blazon, color selection, size, flexibility, duality, etc.)

 xi. Bonus 2 –

• Brush pen storage tips

Let's get started with the tutorial!

Pivot me!

 1. What is brush lettering?

Let's define "brush lettering" by breaking it autonomously into the 2 words: "brush" and "lettering."

• The Castor can be a brush pen, which is a felt-tip marker with a flexible tip, or an actual paintbrush with bristles.
• Lettering can exist broken down into manus lettering and calligraphy. The principal divergence is that in mitt lettering, you "draw" the letters, simply in calligraphy you "write" the letters and follow specific rules (larn more than nearly the difference here ).

In this article, nosotros'll focus on using brush pens to do calligraphy.

 2. What supplies do you demand?

You only demand two things to get started: a brush pen and paper.

Merely yous tin't just employ whatever old newspaper you lot have sitting effectually.

Why not?

Most brush pens are felt-tipped, and they're more fragile than they look.

Dragging them across rough surfaces, fifty-fifty paper that's just slightly textured can lead to fraying.

This breaks down the tip and makes information technology harder to become crisp, thin lines, and tin can damage the pen.

So what can we do to avoid this?

It's simple–use smooth paper!

Supply #i: Paper

Here are some of our favorites:

• High-quality printer paper, such every bit HP Premium 32lb
• Marker or tracing paper, such as Canson Marker Paper
• A pad of very polish paper, such equally Rhodia pads

If you don't take one of the recommendations above, nigh polish papers will piece of work.

However, you'll also want to keep in listen the absorbency.

The highly absorbent paper will drain the ink from the pen.

Choosing a smooth, depression-absorptive newspaper will brand your brush pens terminal the longest!

When choosing paper, you'll likewise desire to call back virtually using guidelines.

You lot can use a pencil and ruler to describe out straight lines, or you can impress guide sheets direct on the paper.

Another choice is to print a sail of guides to use with a light pad, or underneath transparent marker paper.

If yous keep reading, yous'll see a worksheet with unlike guide canvas options afterward on.

Let'due south talk about the next supply y'all need – castor pens.

Supply #2: Castor Pens

When it comes to castor pens, there are hundreds of options. Information technology can be intimidating, but nosotros'll break it downwardly for you lot now.

We at Loveleigh Loops surveyed over 2,000 letterers about their favorite castor pens, and the peak two results were the Pentel Sign Bear on and Tombow Dual Brush pen.

Both options are easy to use, easy to find, and reasonably priced.

The Pentel is smaller and has a firmer nib than the Tombow Dual.

A few of our other favorite castor pens include:

Zig Brushables.

They're dual-sided with 2 brushes, one calorie-free and one dark of the same hue. They're also pigment ink, and then they're long-lasting and fade-resistant. The nibs seem to resist fraying more than other like-sized brush pens.

Faber-Castell Pitt Creative person brush pen.

These pens are pigmented and fade-resistant. They come in a variety of lovely colors and are a medium-sized nib. The nibs are reversible, which makes them long-lasting.

Sakura Koi Coloring brush pen.

The Kois come in a multifariousness of really unique colors. The barrel of the pen is short, making them perfect for portability, and they tin can create a overnice dissimilarity in line thickness.

Zig Fudebiyori.

An excellent choice for medium-sized lettering. The neb is firm and creates delicate hairlines.

Tombow Fudenosuke.

This modest-nib brush pen is a staple in the lettering world. Information technology comes in a hard and soft option, perfect for different levels of flexibility and ink flow. They're durable and create beautiful hairlines.

Ecoline Watercolor Brushes.

Probably the juiciest castor pens always! The Ecolines create stunning natural gradients and have reversible nibs to brand them long-lasting. They come up in both vivid and pastel colors.

 iii. Why are castor pens great for lettering?

Brush pens are nifty for lettering because they are much easier to go started compared with a dip pen and ink.

The learning curve is much lower as well as the maintenance attribute – more than on that later on.

Besides the fact that they are very beginner friendly, here are a couple of more reasons why we dear brush pens.

First off, they come in a multifariousness of colors and ink types.

You lot can create some beautiful color schemes and peachy visual effects!

Here's an example of blending, which can be done with water-based pens:

Simply that's not all… you can also get a range of sizes for the brush tip.

Depending on how large y'all want to write, you can get fine-tipped pens (like the Pentel Sign Touch) and larger ones (like the Tombow Dual Brush).

Likewise, some pens are more flexible than others.

If y'all're very heavy-handed, you might have more success with a firm tip.

Very flexible tips are typically harder control and take lots of practice to feel comfy with.

By the style, practicing pressure command with brush pens can interpret to other tools, such every bit paintbrushes or dip pens.

The variety of colors, sizes, and flexibility makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to discover a pen that fits your needs.

Whether you lot're but practicing, or working on a project, or creating something to share on Instagram, at that place's a pen for you lot.

More about that subsequently!

Oh, and ane final reason we love brush pens:

they are SO much more portable (and mess-free) than inks or paints.

You can just throw a few in your bag, and yous're skilful to go 🙂
Now permit's talk about how to actually *use* them.

 4. How exercise you utilise a brush for calligraphy?

The affair that makes script lettering wait like calligraphy is the variety of stroke weights.

In other words, some parts of the letters are thicker than others.

And so how do you do that with a castor?

The central is to change the amount of pressure you're writing with.

By using lighter pressure (only touch on the tip of the castor to the paper), you can create a sparse line. Pressing downwards harder on the brush volition create a thicker stroke.

Sounds easy enough!

But when you become to try information technology yourself, you might be unsure of which parts you're supposed to make thicker.

Here's the hush-hush: Thick down, sparse upwardly.

On the word "force," you can see that the areas where the pen moves downward have a thicker line than the other parts of the letters:

The fashion to achieve this is to utilize more pressure on the downstrokes, and less on the upstrokes.

This creates a dissimilarity between the strokes and gives information technology the wait of calligraphy.

And so what does the pen wait similar on thick versus thin strokes?

Let's take a side-view await.

The beginning picture show beneath shows light pressure, with just the tip of the pen touching the folio.

In the second picture, more pressure is applied so that more than of the nib comes in contact with the paper.

Don't exist nervous about pressing down on the flexible tip.

As long as you're holding your pen at almost 45-degrees to the page (and not too upright), you won't damage it by pressing down.

In practice, using unlike amounts of pressure on the letters volition create a calligraphy effect.

Permit'southward expect at another example in the discussion "extraordinary" beneath.

You can see that anywhere the pen would travel in a downward direction, the stroke is thicker.

Everywhere else, it'south thin.

On curves, such as the top and bottom of the oval in the letter 'a,' there are smooth transitions:

the stroke gradually gets thicker or thinner.

On these transitions, the pen gradually changes from calorie-free to heavy force per unit area, or vice-versa.

Another characteristic of calligraphy is slant and proportions.

Using guide sheets helps with both of those! Come across how:

While traditional calligraphy scripts accept strict rules on the slant angle and how tall the ascender/descender line is versus the x-height, there's a lot more flexibility in modern brush lettering.

Whatever proportion and slant expect best to y'all works for u.s., every bit long equally you maintain consistency!

We'll talk more about how to practise consistency later in this commodity.

Okay, now that we know more almost what brush lettering looks like, let'southward talk virtually how to hold the brush pen.

 5. What'south the right way to concord a brush pen?

Lookout man any castor lettering artist on Instagram, and yous'll start to see that there are lots of unlike ways to hold the pen.

So the respond is: there isn't only one "right" way to practise it.

What's important is that you have a grip that is comfortable and allows you to make contrasting thick and sparse strokes.

Showtime by holding the pen the same way you write with any regular pencil.

Then, make 3 adjustments:

1. Relax your grip. Holding besides tightly can crusade pain in your manus.
2. Movement back. Make certain you're non holding as well closely to the tip. Your fingers should exist an inch or so away from the tip of the pen.
3. Angle your pen. Pay attention to the bending of the pen compared to the paper. Many people tend to hold it likewise upright, which makes it harder to get contrasting stroke weights, and tin harm the pen. Shoot for about 45-degrees to the surface of the table (but yous don't need to go out a protractor!)

This is what your grip might wait similar from a side view:

Information technology takes some time getting used to using a brush pen for lettering, just keeping those 3 tips in heed volition help.

 6. How to overcome the well-nigh common brush pen struggles

At present, castor lettering tin look really easy when you lot follow tons of talented artists who have been doing this for years.

But, it tin actually be quite challenging to get started.

Based on our survey of hundreds of beginner castor letterers, here are the nigh common struggles:

1. Knowing which supplies to use
2. Pressure command (shaky upstrokes)
3. Transitioning from thick to thin strokes
4. Consistency
5. Knowing what to exercise

Hopefully, our section well-nigh supplies earlier in this article (and the bonus at the end!) help you with Struggle #1.

Now for the difficult part: force per unit area control, thick-to-sparse transitions, and consistency.

The key to solving Struggles #ii-5 is practice…
…but you accept to do the right kind of practise.

Luckily, we made a resource to help.

Information technology's our brush pen warm-up worksheet, and you can get it for free.

Simply first, we'll go over some warm-up drills too every bit the seven bones calligraphy strokes

Once nosotros explain y'all how to practice these drills, y'all'll be able to download our brush pen warm-up worksheet – for both big and small brush pens!

It'south time to get your tools out and go to work.

 7. Brush Pen Warm-Up Drills

As you practice these strokes, we'd like to remind you of these 3 things:

1. Concord your pen at a 45-caste angle to the paper (i.east., not too upright)
2. Make your downstrokes thick past applying more pressure. The upstrokes will be thin, requiring less pressure level on the pen
3. Practice on smooth newspaper

And we besides have a BONUS tip for you:

• Get slowly! Really focus on the pressure level you're applying

Let's get into the drills. We'll start with downstrokes.

Warm-Upward #1: Downstrokes

Place your pen at the peak guideline and press the tip of the pen into the folio. As you draw the stroke, apply an even amount of pressure to produce a thick line. Create these at a slight angle to the baseline rather than straight upright.

Practice a full row of these and work on keeping them consistent.

Depending on the pen, you might hear a squeaky audio when you make the downstrokes—that's fine!

Equally long as you lot're keeping the pen angled at 45-degrees and using smooth newspaper, you won't ruin the pen.

Warm-Upward #two: Upstrokes

This drill is the complete opposite of the downstrokes!

We'll start at the bottom and move upwards, post-obit a slight slant.

Instead of applying pressure, you'll need to utilise a lighter bear upon.

Don't worry if the thin strokes look or experience shaky—that's totally normal and will better with exercise.

After practicing thick and thin strokes separately, information technology's time to combine them with curves.

Warm-Up #iii: Curved Strokes

For the showtime drill, you lot'll get-go from the baseline and get upwards, then curve around at the meridian.

As you start going back downwardly, add pressure to create a thick line, and then allow off the pressure once you lot hit the baseline again.

Continue support with a thin stroke.

The second curved drill is the contrary.

Starting with a thick downstroke, curving effectually to a thin upstroke, and then upward and over to a thick downstroke.

Lastly, try creating ovals.

Start at the top and motion counter-clockwise.

The left office volition be thick and the correct, thin.

This video demonstrates these drills in real time:

Side by side? Exercise, practice, practice!

Getting your manus used to create strokes with varying amounts of pressure is so important.

Information technology's best if you can become consistent strokes within these drills earlier you lot fifty-fifty move into messages.

Once yous accept them downwards, it will make writing with a brush pen much easier.

Key Strokes

When you're more than comfy using your pen after practicing the warm-up drills, we at Loveleigh Loops encourage you to try out the central strokes of the lowercase alphabet.

You'll run into that these strokes are simply a combination of the warm-up drills you merely learned.

The vii fundamental strokes, sometimes chosen basic strokes, are:

1. entrance stroke
2. underturn
3. overturn
4. oval
5. compound curve
6. ascending loop
7. descending loop

It'south of import to practice these shapes because the make up the lowercase letters of the alphabet.

For example, you'll detect the oval in lowercase "a" and "o", and the ascending loop in letters like "h" and "chiliad".

 viii. FREE downloadable worksheets

This worksheet gives you drills to help combat the struggles of pressure level control, thick-to-sparse transitions, and consistency.

You'll practice your thick downstrokes, thin upstrokes, and curves/transitions.

Nosotros included scans of our actual castor strokes and then that you lot can compare yours to ours.

You can do these drills with any size castor pen!

Simply sign up to the newsletter below and you will get total access to the Lettering Crate – an sectional member area with all the freebies available on Lettering Daily.

 nine. Summary

In this commodity, we've answered these questions:

• What is brush lettering?
• What supplies do you need?
• Why are brush pens great for lettering?
• How do yous utilize a brush for calligraphy?
• What'due south the right way to hold a brush pen?
• How practice you make the basic strokes?

Nosotros've barely scratched the surface of what's possible with brush lettering.

Just take a look at the #brushlettering hashtag on Instagram to see how many amazing works are being created each day!

Don't forget to grab your gratis worksheet for Brush Pen Warm-Upwards Drills that will help you overcome the well-nigh common struggles beginners confront with brush lettering.

Merely sign up to the Lettering Daily newsletter and get full access to the Lettering Crate and all the available freebies.

Want to larn fifty-fifty more than?

We've created a beginner-friendly, comprehensive online course called Brush Lettering Bootcamp that will take you from consummate beginner to being able to create lettering with a brush pen.

It includes over 6 hours of video lessons plus worksheets that walk you lot through every step—including details that you never even thought yous needed to know!

You lot'll learn –

• brush pen control
• thick and thin transitions
• how to analyze and critique your piece of work to improve
• the complete alphabet
• letter connections
• numbers and symbols
• and much more

We pause everything down, and our students continuously tell u.s.a. about the "lightbulb" moments they have throughout the lessons.

Interested in more info almost brush pens?

You're in luck!

We wrote a whole section for you virtually brush pen characteristics and storage tips.

Read more:

10. BONUS: Brush pen characteristics (ink type, colour selection, size, flexibility, duality, etc.)

While you can get started with merely a single castor pen and some smooth paper, if you're anything like us, yous want to attempt out ALL the pens.

And in that location are so many to choose from!

It tin exist overwhelming, so we'll intermission down all the characteristics for you.

One time you empathise these, you'll be able to cull which 1 will work best for your projection.

Here are the brush pen characteristics:

Neb blazon: Felt versus Bristle

Felt-tip brush pens are a solid tip fabricated of fibers that look like a sponge.

These are our favorites for beginners because they're easier to control.

Bristle-tip brushes take individual strands that come up together to form the brush.

They're usually more than challenging to control, only yous can become unique brushy textures with them.

You can also use bristle-tip brushes on textured surfaces, whereas felt-tip pens should be used simply on smooth newspaper.

The majority of popular brush pens are felt-tip, and those are also the kind that we prefer.

Flexibility: Soft to Business firm

One of the hardest parts about starting with brush pens is learning how to control them.

Using a firm, stiff nib allows for more natural control on the thin strokes because the tip returns to its original shape afterward applying pressure.

Firmer tips require that you press harder on the pen to create a thick stroke.

Flexible nibs are softer and react more speedily to changes in pressure.

This can make it harder to command the thin upstrokes, simply besides allows for beautiful, juicy thick strokes.

Ink type: Dye or Pigment

Now we're getting into some chemistry!

Dye-based ways that the colorant is dissolved into the ink solution (usually h2o), which pigment inks accept tiny, insoluble particles that don't deliquesce completely.

What you actually need to know almost this difference is that dye-based inks are generally easier to blend, but are more prone to fading.

Paint-based inks resist water and calorie-free, then they're longer lasting.

However, they're typically harder to blend.

This video demonstrates the difference.

The top two brush pens are water-based and alloy easily, even after drying.

The third is a pigmented ink and doesn't blend at all:

Size

Brush pens come in a variety of sizes, from extra-fine to actress-large.

Note: nosotros're referring to the actual nib, not the size of the barrel of the brush pen.

Smaller nibs are slap-up for item work and smaller calibration lettering, such as envelopes, and are typically firmer.

Larger tip pens are generally juicier because more ink can flow out, and they can range from house to soft.

Even though smaller pens can seem easier to learn with, we personally believe that it's all-time to start with a larger nib so that yous can see all of the strokes and connections and get used to pressure control.

Information technology's easier to embrace up your mistakes with a small nib, or not notice them at all, which makes it more challenging to transition to a larger size later.

Colors

We're lucky to live in a world where then many castor pen colors be!

While some brands just offer black, many provide at least a few color options.

Some have over 50 (!), and you can as well detect sets, such as pastels or jewel-tones, that become well together.

Other characteristics

Some brush pens are double-sided, with a bullet tip on the other end, or even another brush tip in a lighter shade.

Yous can also observe metallic inks, which evidence up beautifully on dark paper.

 11. Bonus – Brush pen storage tips

In general, the best way to store your brush pens is laying down flat, NOT continuing upright.

This is so that the brush tip doesn't dry out (if you stored them brush side up) or become over-saturated (if brush side downward).

To keep them laying flat, yous can store your brush pens inside of drawers or on shelves.

For a more organized solution, you can search for marker storage shelves or create your ain DIY storage.

Two notable exceptions to this rule are the Karin Brushmarker Pro pens, which must be stored upright, and Tombow Dual Castor Pens, which tin can be stored upright.

You can shop either of these options standing up with the cap at the top in the stand that comes with the full set or in cups.

Thank you for joining us for another tutorial.

We hope the contents of his tutorial were useful and that they will help you improve your brush lettering skills.

Until the adjacent time,

Stay AWESOME!

Well-nigh the author

Loveleigh Loops is an online educational resource for aspiring letterers, co-founded by twin sisters Jillian Reece and Jordan Truster. Jillian Reece is an analyst-turned-entrepreneur. She gravitates towards a mod brush calligraphy style and loves figuring out pace-past-stride ways to teach. Her dearest of art and lettering has turned into a full-time passion and there's zero she enjoys more than helping her students accomplish their goals. Jordan Truster is an engineer-turned-artistic business owner. She specializes in pointed pen, the Copperplate style, and flourishing. Her engineering background influences her arroyo to instruction calligraphy. She loves to pause downwardly complicated concepts into logical steps and teach students how to analyze their work. Jillian and Jordan grow up almost Cleveland, Ohio and now live a few houses autonomously in Dayton, Ohio. They've built a highly engaged and supportive online community.

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