January 23 is National Handwriting Day, apparently. And what better way to celebrate than to talk about my favorite topic ever – HAND LETTERING! And then you should go have some hand lettering fun yourself!
I started this hobby about a year and a half ago, and once I started, I was HOOKED. Like never-let-a-day-go-by-without-lettering-something kind of hooked. I wrote on anything around me – which at that point was little scraps of paper lying around the hostess stand at the restaurant where I worked. When I was on the afternoon shift (which was notoriously slow and boring), I would practice writing out quotes and Bible verses in different ways. My coworkers all thought I had the most insanely beautiful hand writing, which is flattering because it could not have been worse at that time.
Insert months and months of practice with different pens to figure out what works for me, practicing in my journaling Bible, learning how to digitize my lettering, and then creating logos and other fun things with it. I’m excited to start a hand lettering series on my blog so you don’t have to do all of that research! This absolutely takes practice, but at least I can share with you my tools to make it easier.
One of the few cons of lettering is that your tools are really really important. They really make or break your art. But one of the pros is that your tools will last you for a while! I promise it’s worth it to invest a little bit in that nice brush pen.
Brushes you need
Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen
This is the pen that I use the most frequently. Every day actually! It’s my favorite to use in my journaling Bible because of the slightly thinner brush. It’s perfect for lettering something quickly. If I want to letter a quote for Instagram or my Etsy shop though, I use the Sakura Koi Water Brush.
Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen – Big Brush
This was the first brush pen I ever bought. Good times! 😉 Honestly, the brush is quite big, which is why I don’t usually use it in my Bible. It’s perfect for a larger project though! I found both of the Faber-Castell pens at Michaels!
Sakura Koi Water Brush
The first time I saw a water brush, I was floored. They’re so convenient for lettering because you don’t need to have a glass of water nearby – it’s right there in the pen! You just squeeze a little bit and a drop of water comes out! The synthetic bristles of this brush glide over paper really well too. I use this whenever I’m doing serious lettering because it’s the best quality, and also requires a little clean-up. This brush came with the Sakura Koi watercolor set, which I talk about below.
Tombow Dual Brush Pen
Tombow is the universally recognized king of brush pens! These are great pens. I actually don’t have black, (which is why I used purple) but I would probably get more use out of them if I did! There’s two tips, which can be so nice to have, although I prefer the brush tip over the smaller tip. I bought these in a pack of ten off of Amazon!
Other tools you need
I think that the brushes are the most important part of hand lettering, so I have a less strong opinion about which watercolors or sketchbook you should own. There’s so many great ones out there that really any will do the trick!
Canson Mix Media Sketchbook
Y’all I love this sketchbook. I have so many of them lying around filled up with designs and watercolor drawings and lettering. A mixed media sketchbook is, in my opinion, the way to go. You can use drawing pencils, watercolors, brush pens, and really anything else on the paper. So versatile! I buy mine at Walmart because they’re way cheaper there than Michaels!
Sakura Koi Watercolors
This is another of those tools that I can’t say enough good things about. Not only does it come with the water brush (which is amazing!) but the watercolors themselves are so beautiful. I use the black one for lettering A LOT. Like so much that I’m about to use it all up. Buy this!!
Happy National Handwriting Day! Let me know what your favorite hand lettering tools are so I can try them out!
