Tombow Handlettering Mistakes You Might Be Making
Have you ever bought a new brush pen thinking that it was the key to creating that beautiful handlettering that you’ve seen on Pinterest? But once you got it home, you realized it wasn’t so easy!
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The Tombow Dual Brush Pen is commonly used for handlettering & it can be easy to think that this pen alone will make your handlettering dreamy. But that’s not always the case! Sometimes brush pens can come with a learning curve. I know from experience!
So today I’m going to share some common Tombow handlettering mistakes that you might be making & how to fix them!
Mistake #1: Starting with words
The first mistake that I want to talk about is the mistake of starting with words. What I mean by this is that I kind of jumped in with the brush pen expecting to be able to create the kind of lettering that was in my head right away. And with ease. But what I found is that when using a brush pen, it’s super helpful to start with the basics of handlettering. That might mean starting with practicing your individual letters one at a time before starting to handletter entire words or phrases.
However, that also might mean that we back up a little further and start with simple handlettering strokes! These simple strokes are the shapes that you draw that help to make up our letters. They can also help us to get a feel for how to use this new brush pen.
You see, a big part of brush lettering with a pen like a Tombow Dual Brush Pen is that you draw thicker strokes on your down strokes and thinner strokes on your upstrokes. Instead of doing this by changing the angle of your brush pen, you do it by simply applying more or less pressure. It sounds simple, but it feels a little weird if you’ve never used a brush pen in this way. And it can be really tricky for beginners!
If you’re struggling with your Tombow Dual Brush Pen, I’d suggest going back to the basics of handlettering drills and really getting the feel for this style of brush pen. And if you need some help, I have a free handlettering course that starts with the basics AND includes printable worksheets that can be used with your Tombow Dual Brush Pen. You can join my free course today by clicking here!
Click: Join my FREE 7 day handlettering course here
Mistake #2: Using the wrong paper at the wrong time
The second mistake that I want to talk about is using the wrong kind of paper at the wrong time!
Tombow brush pens can fray over time, which can be normal. But also frustrating! In the beginning of my handlettering journey, I was just using regular printer paper. This paper was pretty textured compared to other types of paper that I’ve since found. I’ve since learned that a toothy or textured paper like this just isn’t ideal for a delicate brush pen. So for me, when it came to fraying, it seemed to happen super quickly!
Then I found out about other types of paper. Some were made specifically for markers (like marker paper) and another was just a higher quality printer paper that was really smooth. Switching to a smooth paper was a game changer for me in my handlettering! Here are a few that I use and recommend:
Rhodia This one is a dot-grid style of journal, but with super smooth pages!
HP Premium 32 This is my go-to loose leaf paper. It’s super affordable when you break it down by cost per page, which is a huge bonus!
Canson This is a larger sized (9x12) paper pad with really smooth pages.
Now, at first this change was about trying to prevent frayed brush pens. But I have to say, once I tried the smooth paper, I just couldn’t go back to my regular copy paper! I don’t know how to explain it, but smooth paper just makes handlettering with a brush pen feel so much nicer.
But here’s the thing… all of this isn’t to say that you can’t ever use your brush pens on a textured paper. In fact, Tombow Dual Brush Pens can be used to create a watercolor look when used with watercolor paper by using a paint brush to add water over the top of your lettering. I simply prefer to wait until a brush pen is a bit more worn down to use it in this way. Then I can save my fresh, crisp brush pens for handlettering on smooth paper!
Mistake #3: Being afraid of pressing too hard on your brush pen
Mistake number three is actually one that I don’t remember as well in my own handlettering journey. But it’s something that I think a lot of beginners struggle with and it’s one of those things that you kind of don’t know until you know. So for that reason, I didn’t want to leave it out!
And that is being afraid of pressing too hard on your brush pen.
It might feel wrong to push super hard on your brush pen, especially an expensive one because you might feel like you’re going to ruin it! But these brush pens are flexible and have a great bounce, so don’t be scared to press down firmly on your brush pen.
I think if you’ve watched a brush pen tutorial, you likely know that you need to apply more pressure on your downstrokes and less pressure on your upstrokes. But just how much pressure isn’t really talked about very often. And a bit of this is a personal preference.
How firmly you press down on your brush pen can give you a completely different look. You can have super chunky downstrokes or just a slight variation between thick and thin. Neither are wrong, so don’t be afraid to experiment and see what works best for you! You may just be surprised that such a subtle change in technique can create such a big difference in the outcome!
Mistake #4: Expecting hairline upstrokes from a large brush pen
I talked a little about my big Tombow expectations at the beginning. And while I quickly found out that it wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought, this lesson about upstrokes may have taken me a bit longer.
But here’s the thing… a Tombow Dual Brush Pen has a pretty large brush tip. And it’s reasonable to think that you might have a little bit thicker of upstrokes than something super small like a Pentel Touch. So don’t be disappointed if you aren’t able to achieve hairline upstrokes
This doesn’t have to be the goal. Just try to work on getting a variation between your up and down strokes, even if it’s just a slight variation. Over time, you’ll probably start to develop your own style and that may look different than what you were originally trying for anyway!
I hope this helps you to take some of the frustration about lettering with a new type of brush pen! What brush pen questions do you have for handlettering?