THE BEST BRUSH PENS FOR KIDS

Is your child just starting out on brush lettering? Or maybe yourself? The most asked questions from parents and students are, “What are the best brush pens for a beginner like me?” Or, “What are the most value for money brush pens for my child?”

As I have been teaching lettering workshops, I have seen brush pens that students love and other brush pens that are hard for beginners. I like to share a bunch of pens and markers with my students during my workshops so they can try out different tips. Being a mother of two myself, I know that as parents, we want a brush pen that’s good enough for our kids to learn but not too expensive. So here’s the rundown of the best 4 brush pens I think your kids can start with. I’ve only listed water-based pens and markers because they are easy to wash off.

The list below are the pens and markers recommended for kids. If you're an adult looking for my list of favourite supplies, check them out here.

1. Pentel Brush Sign Pen

This is my number one small brush pen for ALL students of different ages. A small brush pen means the nib is smaller and works well for lettering smaller words. Many beginners find Pentel Brush Sign Pen the easiest to start with because of the flexible tip. I’ve used it in many children workshops and they love it too! What’s even better is that the Pentel Brush Sign Pen comes in an array of colours – which makes it even more fun for kids because they can do rainbow lettering.

Size of nib: small
Number of colours: 24
Price: S$2.00 each or a set of 6 for S$11.77

2. Tombow Fudenosuke (Hard Tip)

Tombow Fudenosuke is another small brush pen suitable for kids who are starting out lettering. Because the nibs are small and slightly harder compared to the Pentel Brush Sign Pen, it may be suited for people who write with a heavy hand. If this is your child, the Tombow Fudenosuke may be a better option for them compared to the Pentel Brush Sign Pen. As a heavy handed writer, I have personally used Tombow Fudenosuke when I first started out lettering so I do recommend it to beginners. Tombow recently released a bunch of new colours for this series so your child can use a variety of colours to spruce up his or her lettering.

Size of nib: small
Number of colours: 16
Price: S$3.50 each or a set of 10 for S$34.90

3. Crayola Super Tips (Washable Markers!)

Crayola’s tagline is “washability you can trust!” – exactly what I want to hear as a parent. These markers have thicker and harder nibs compared to Pentel Brush Sign Pen and Tombow Fudenosuke. I would consider these as medium-large nib. They are really hardy to use, easy to letter with and, comes with 100 colours! The best part about Crayola Super Tips is that they are not only value for money but also washable!

Size of nib: medium-large
Number of colours: 100
Price: set of 20 for S$9.90, set of 50 for S$24.90 or set of 100 for S$68.90

4. Artline Stix Brush Markers

This is a great alternative to Tombow Dual Brush Pens (which are very pricey S$4 a piece and frays easily if you don’t use the correct paper). I have used Artline Stix Brush Markers in big brush lettering workshops with kids and they love them especially when we are doing blending. These brush markers have larger tips and are much more flexible compared to Pentel Brush Sign Pen. Using these means that you would need to write larger to differentiate between thick and thin strokes. They are also not as easy to control compared to the smaller tip brush pens. Artline Stix Brush Markers do comes in many different colours – best part among the list, they come in metallic colours too! You can definitely use metallic colours brush pens during the holiday season for writing on kraft or black paper!

Size of nib: large
Number of colours:
Price: S$1.39 each, set of 12 for S$16.69, set of 20 for S$27.82, set of 4 metallic (decorite brush marker) for S$6.42

Do you like my list? Have you tried each of these 4 best brush pens for kids? If your kid wants to learn more about lettering, do check out my workshops! We go through all the basics required in starting brush lettering and I break down everything so it’s easier for your child to understand!

If you are looking for supplies for yourself, do check out my recommended list of supplies!