The art of calligraphy part 7

By: Lady T Powers & JetPens

Now For the letter F
Several posts ago we started you out with some practice sheets so you can start getting the feel of playing with lettering.  You will also be able to print those sheets out as many times as you like to have extra space to practice the above lesson.  You can get them here: Practice Sheets.   You can also see the previous posts you missed starting with the Letter A here : Lesson A Get the print outs here: Letter A Printouts , Letter B Printouts , Letter C , letter D, and  letter E Printouts!

Want to share these with someone else? We ask that you do not share our files, instead share our link above to this post. Thanks. Be sure to read the first post for letter A as it will have some important hints to help you along with the rest of these lessons.

Lets Move on to to the letter F.

Following the instructions laid out in our last posts on the letter A, B, C,D and E be sure to print out your letter F files to follow along. The Letter F Lesson will be available free until October 26th 2018, at which point it will then become a $1 to help support the site.

All lessons in this blog are for letter formation and tips for learning Hand lettering and may apply indirectly towards the kit you are working on.  However these lessons should assist in most if not all cases in developing your lettering skills with these lessons.  We will assume you now have read the posts on the letters A,B,C,D and E plus have printed out your F files and practice sheets, and are ready to work! 

Today we are going to talk about best brush pens for lettering and calligraphy. PART1 Beginners

 It takes practice and control to use a brush pen, but you don't have to be a serious artist or calligrapher to create beautiful script. There are many different types of brush pens to choose from and I've compiled a guide to help you find some of the best brush pen for calligraphy. Read on to see our top recommendations for brush pens that suit beginners, dramatic lettering, and Asian calligraphy.

Tip Types
There are three main types of brush tips: natural hair, which is made from animal hair like weasel; synthetic hair, generally made from nylon; and felt. Felt tips are good for beginners because their firm tips are marker-like and offer good control. Synthetic and natural hair brushes are softer, so they require more practice to use.

 

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Fineness
Different brush tip thicknesses can be advantageous for different uses. Thin tips allow for more detail but can feel scratchier to use. Broad tips produce less fine details but they feel smoother to write with and create bold, expressive strokes.

 

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Ink Flow
A brush pen with good ink flow dispenses ink consistently so that you don’t get unwanted streaking or ink pools. Some brush pens have fast ink flow and create wet lines as soon as the nib touches the paper. Other brush pens have slower ink flow, so you can let the tip linger on your paper without creating ink blobs.

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Firmness
Brush tips range from soft to firm, depending on their bristle type, density, and size. Felt tips are firm and produce predictable strokes. Loosely packed nylon tips offer more flexibility, but they do have a tendency to fray and lose their shape over time. Bristle tips with individual hair fibers are the softest so they respond best to subtle hand movements and allow for more effects. However, they do require extra practice to master.

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Elasticity
An elastic brush tip is springy—that is, it demonstrates flexibility and has the ability to bounce back to its original shape. An inelastic brush tip tends to stay deformed even if you release pressure from it.

 

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  Pigmentation
Most standard brush pens come in black ink unless they’re designed for coloring or other special uses. Black inks vary in darkness across different brands. Some pens have a soft black ink like the Sailor Mitsuo Aida Double-Sided Brush Pen while others have a rich, dark black ink like the Pentel Pigment Brush Pen.
Pigmentation is a priority if you want your work to be bold and noticeable. If you desire a subtle gradient or a softer look, try brush pens with a muted black ink.

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Beginners 

Most people are familiar with the feel of a firm felt-tip marker and intuitively know how to control them. Good brush pens for beginners are more marker-like than brush-like. If you’re a beginner, try brush pens with firm tips for easy control and predictable strokes. With some practice, you too can create the beautiful lettering featured on social media. 

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let's take a look at the Pentel Fude Touch Sign Pens.   A simple plastic body and secure snap-on cap. Fude means “brush” in Japanese. The Fude Touch’s thin, firm tip demonstrates flexibility. Although thin, it feels buttery smooth to write with, making it suitable for long writing sessions. The Pentel Fude Touch Sign Pen comes in 12 different colors. The ink is made of a bright, water-based dye that is perfect for colorful, expressive lines. You can use this marker for brush pen calligraphy or simply as a felt-tip marker. Write in your regular hand then press down on the tip to add a few twists and twirls. As a fellow beginner The Pentel Fude Sign Pens Helped me tremendously.

The special elastomer tip of the Tombow Fudenosuke line allows calligraphers to control strokes with precision. Elastomer is an elastic material that can be stretched. When released, it returns to within 90% of its original shape. The Fudenosuke tip retains its shape even as you apply various levels of pressure. The firm composition of the tip is great for creating extra crisp hairlines for invitations, greeting cards, and other crafts. The brush pen yields a neutral black ink that is fade-resistant and is my personal choice because it is waterproof. It’s also available as a double-sided brush pen with a black tip and a gray tip.

The pen comes with a blue plastic template for writing kanji characters on money gift envelopes. In Japan, it is customary to gift envelopes to family and friends for occasions of celebration or grief. For occasions of grief, one would traditionally use gray ink.

In Japanese, “Kokoro” means heart and “iro” means color. This is the CocoIro which was specially created for customizing your pen to match your heart and mind. You have plenty of color options for building a pen that’s truly your own, from the pen bodies to the ink refills. the refills come in 11 colors.

The CocoIro’s extra fine tip is flexible, but also firm enough that it’s easy for newbies to create thin, elegant letters. Available in 11 different colors, the ink is water based and water soluble. The separately sold bodies have streamlined bullet shapes and soft surfaces. To assemble a CocoIro pen, remove the transparent cap from the refill and insert the nib into the pen body. Screw the threads of the refill and that of the pen body together firmly.

 

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Our last and second favorite choice for beginners is the Pilot Futayaku which means "two uses" in Japanese. This double-sided pen has two hard felt tips, one medium and one fine. Both tips will create seamlessly tapered lines with the right amount of pressure. The medium tip is softer and more flexible than its fine counterpart.
The pen’s ink delivery is constant and juicy. The ink itself is a satisfying opaque black color. It offers some water resistance but isn’t entirely waterproof. Also, keep in mind that its 30-second ink drying time is slower than some of the brush pens mentioned in this guide.

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Next time we will continue this post with Dramatic Lettering for beginners and the letter G.   Will you Share your work with us? We would love to feature you.  Contact us with what you have done so far and submit your images to us as well as any tips or hints you have found so far in your journey with us. 

We hope we have given you some additional insight into developing your hand-lettering.  Have fun working with the Letter F practice sheets. I highly suggest printing them on to  HP Printer Paper, Premium 32.  Now that you have the right pens (hints on practice sheets too) begin following the directions on your F Sheets. The entire alphabet will soon be ready to purchase as a complete set.  Until then G it was good seeing you!

Need Additional Space to practice?  Don't forget your calligraphy practice sheets, that track the pen type you use and has six brackets set up for practicing whole lines or single letters.  See you next time!
Thanks! ~ Lady T