Review by Laura Cameron
I have always loved Ana’s lettering. A few weeks ago, as I browsed JetPens for some new materials to review, I stumbled upon their Brush Lettering Pen Sampler, and decided to give it a whirl ($29 for 6 pens). I knew I needed some instruction so I headed over to Amazon to see what they might have in the way of books. I settled on The Ultimate Guide to Modern Calligraphy and Handlettering for Beginners, and based on the pricepoint ($6.99) and the reviews (4000+ positive) I decided to give it a try.
The Brush Lettering Sampler includes (from left to right):
- And a Zebra Disposable Brush Pen (Extra Fine)
- A Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen (Hard)
- A Pilot Futayaku Double-sided Brush Pen (Fine/Medium)
- A Tombow Dual Brush Pen
- A Pentel Pocket Brush Pen
- A Kuretake ZIG Letter Pen Cocorio Pen Body with a Kuretake ZIG Letter Pen Cocoiro LP Refill in Extrafine and Black
From past experience playing with pens, I started with the firmer pens before playing with the larger brush pens (like the Tombow). I find that brush pens need a lot of control and I don’t have it yet!
The book had a good introduction to terminology and more information about the craft and then I got right into tracing and then practicing some simple strokes, and letters.
I found that I liked different pens for different letters. As you can see in some of my photos, some of the letters came out well, and others did not! I know that I’m struggling between a light touch and skipping the pen on the page. So I definitely need more practice.
While I don’t have a lot of experience or knowledge, I like how this sampler provides me a way to test out a variety of brush pens to figure out what I’ll be most comfortable with. I plan to keep practicing and share my progress over the next few months.
For now, if you’re looking for a fun way to get started in brush lettering, the combination of the set and book ran me about $40, which I consider fair for what should be hours of fun!
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
