5 Tips to Avoid Brush Pen Fraying and Better Your Hand Lettering
A brush pen can be a wonderful tool to make your hand lettering or calligraphy look professional and unique. However, one of the main concerns when using a brush pen is keeping them from fraying. Frayed brush pens can hinder the art of lettering by not providing the thin upstrokes and clean edges required for beautiful lettering. In this blog post, we delve into five ways to prevent your brush pen from fraying which will also improve your hand lettering skills.
How to Avoid Brush Pen Fraying
If your goal is to keep your brush pen from fraying, you probably shouldn’t be using them at all. Well, clearly, that’s not the goal, right? The goal is to have a creative outlet and make something that feels like your best self, which means we will be using the pens. Unfortunately, felt tip brush pens will eventually fray over time. All we can do is extend their non frayed life.
And if you’re asking, why do we care if they fray? We are mostly concerned about a frayed brush pen when it comes to hand lettering and calligraphy. If you are using your brush pens for coloring or making backgrounds, it’s not going to matter as much if they’re frayed. With hand lettering, a frayed brush pen is working against you instead of working with you to achieve that beautiful lettering that you crave.
1. Choose Quality Brush Pens
Years ago, I shared a video when I tried the cheapest brush pens that I could find, and they were basically frayed on the first use even on smooth paper. It had nothing to do with the paper or the way I was using them. They’re just cheap and poor quality. Compare those with Karin markers that are a lot more expensive, but I’ve had some since 2018, and most of them are not frayed. There are a few colors that are definitely not as firm as when they were brand new, but I’ve been using them on all types of paper, including rough watercolor paper.
In my opinion, the quality of pens is more important than the smoothness of the paper. Simply by choosing higher quality, it might actually save you money in the long run. And finding pens that help you feel like your best self might be worth the cost, but you will have to make that decision for yourself.
Also, you may want to try small brush pens like the Pentel sign brush pens. They don’t fray in the same way that large brush pens do. They may wear down a little, but I’ve had some of these since maybe around 2017, and they’re still doing great. I’ve even used them on watercolor paper.
It’s super overwhelming to know which pens are good quality. I have tried so many brush pens, good and bad! Here is a list of 5 Types of Brush Pens for Hand Lettering Beginners. You will find my favorite ones with all different price points. I hope that helps!
2. Hold Your Brush Pen Correctly
Years ago, I was teaching my dear neighbor how to hand letter. She kept doing the oval with a thick underside that I call a soggy bottom instead of a clean, thin transition from thick to thin. I kept trying to tell her how to fix it, but we couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t get it.
Then I realized this tiny detail that we changed, and her letters magically looked better. It was a tiny little detail of how to hold your brush pen and it can improve your lettering drastically, and it’s so easy. That is: Hold the pen perpendicular to the downstroke. Instead of turned down, just turn it so it’s perpendicular to the downstroke. If you’re left handed, it’s the same, just on the other side. My neighbor was holding her pen down and the brush tip had to drag around the curve. There was no chance she wouldn’t get a soggy bottom. The brush pen was working against her.
When you hold your pen correctly, not only will it work with you to get beautiful hand lettering, but it will also extend the life of your brush pen. It is going to last longer when you aren’t pushing it at a weird angle.
By the way, this is one of the many helpful tips you will find in my book Hand Lettering for Beginners!
3. Faux Calligraphy
When I first started lettering, I learned that you can do calligraphy with a brush pen by drawing in your thick downstrokes manually. So I started lettering anytime I was holding a pen or pencil. If you are worried about fraying your brush pen, you’ll love this one.
Do faux calligraphy. All you do is letter your word and then go back in and thicken up all of the downstrokes wherever your pen went down. You can do this on any paper and with any pen in any size. And because you can do any size, you can get really large lettering, really small lettering because you get to choose the thickness of the downstrokes instead of relying on the width of the brush tip.
Before you say, well, you’re not doing real calligraphy, just remember that your hand lettering and calligraphy doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. The supplies you use will be just as unique as you are. Use the things that light you up and make you feel good. Hand lettering should feel like your best self. It’s not going to feel like you if you’re only using the supplies that someone else says you have to use. Give yourself room to explore your own creativity.
4. Using a Brush Pen That Doesn’t Fray
When I first started hand lettering, I was a high school teacher, and in my classroom, I had a whole bucket of Crayola markers. So that’s what I started hand lettering with. They’re not brush pens, so they won’t fray, but they work really well for calligraphy because the squishy tip is flexible, so you can get thick and thin strokes. You can use them on any paper, and they’re generally cheaper than brush pens. So it’s a win win. It’s a great budget friendly way to start hand lettering.
It takes a lot of practice and mistakes when you are starting to hand letter. If you use really expensive brush pens before you know how to keep them really nice, they may fray sooner. Crayola markers are cheap and work just as well. And you don’t have to worry about ruining them when you are making inevitable mistakes in the beginning.
I experimented with markers that are similar to Crayola markers but in other countries for my followers who can’t get Crayola markers. I also made a video with all of the brush pens I love that don’t fray. For example, someone told me that you can use Staedtler Triplus highlighters as brush pens and I didn’t believe them. A highlighter? Really? But then I tried them and now they’re some of my favorites!
5. Smooth Paper for your Brush Pen
We do need to talk about smooth paper. For years, I’ve taught that the way to avoid fraying your brush pens is to use smooth paper. Unfortunately, that’s the thing that kept me from starting a hand lettering journal or a sketchbook because I was so afraid of using the wrong paper and fraying my brush pens. And you know what? I still had some brush pens fray even while being so rigid about using smooth paper. So, yes, paper does matter. Be intentional about the paper you use, but don’t let it hold you back.
Instead, choose the paper to match the thing that you’re trying to create. What I mean by that is if you want to do some blending, you aren’t going to be able to do that on printer paper. You’ll need Bristol smooth paper. When you’re just starting out and you’re practicing a lot, smooth paper can really help so that your pen is not getting stuck on the rough paper. So you may want to use tracing paper to practice. If you want really smooth lettering, the rough texture of watercolor paper is not going to do that for you. If you love the textured look, use your pens on rough watercolor paper. It’s really okay.
Start a Journal
If you want to start a sketchbook or a journal, use your brush pens in the kind of journal that makes you feel fancy. For example, I love Archer and Olive journals. The paper is high quality and really thick, but it’s not as smooth as the buttery soft Rhodia notepad. However, I like the binding and the feel of the Archer and Olive as a journal, so use the paper that makes you want to create. Maybe that is smooth paper for you, but maybe it’s not. Don’t let the paper type or even pen type stop you from simply creating.
Let Your Brush Pen Fray
Create with what you have right now as you’re working towards something more. Use the pens on whatever paper you have. Use them up. That’s what they’re made for. Create as much as you can because you are a creative person and you want to get that creativity out on paper. That is how you’re going to make hand lettering that feels like your best self, simply by creating over and over and over again. And brush pens help you do that. The joy of creating far outweighs the need to protect your brush pen. So grab those pens and start lettering!
Check out the video here:
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