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  • “Juicy” Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    , ,

    In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use a few common art supplies to make “juicy” lettering that pops! Feel free to modify the supply list to accommodate the items that you have available to you.

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    The other day, I saw a video on Instagram that inspired me to develop this “juicy” brush pen calligraphy tutorial! In it, the artist utilized several common art supplies to make playful and eye-catching lettering letters. I modified the supply list to fit the things that I have available to me, and I hope that you’ll do the same! To create this tutorial, you’ll need:

    • Brush pens (or broad-tipped markers such as Crayola)
    • A pencil + eraser
    • A fine-tipped paintbrush
    • A white gel pen (such as Gelly Roll) + a black pen

    1. Make a Draft of the Letters

    Before you begin writing, you’ll want to use a ruler and a pencil to map out some guidelines. You can either make straight, uniform guidelines, or you can make playful guidelines, like I did.

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I’ve got four sets of guidelines here, which I will use to write four address lines.

    Next, exert significant pressure on your pencil to make a draft of your letters. Try to write as neatly as possible, as you’ll be tracing over these letters with your brush pen later!

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    Feel free to use a mix of print and cursive!

    Complete this step by lightly erasing over your guidelines and letters. You should be able to see the letters just enough to be able to trace over them in the next step!

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    The fact that you wrote with significant pressure ensures that you will be able to see the lettering even after you erase it.

    2. Trace Over the Lettering with Brush Pens

    Get out your brush pens (or broad-tipped markers) and use them to trace over your pencil draft. Try to use two tones of marker for your lettering!

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I used Janet Style calligraphy for the top line and Sans Serif lettering for the bottom line.

    Continue writing until you’re happy with the layout and color scheme!

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I used the vintage handkerchief background as the inspiration for my color scheme here.

    3. Add Water

    Use a fine-tipped paintbrush and clean water to write over the lettering. The goal here is to get the colors within the letters to bleed into each other a bit!

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    You can blend up the two tones of colors within your letters by going over them with a wet paintbrush.

    4. Trace Around the Letters

    Once the water has dried (~3 minutes), use a black pen to trace around all of the letters.

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I like to use a Pilot G2 05 pen for this step!

    Once you finish, your brush pen calligraphy should look something like this:

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    5. Add Shadows

    Now, take your pencil and use it to draw shadows to the right of every letter. The shadows should hug the contours of all the right-side edges of every letter! Each shadow should extend about 2 mm (1/16″) to the right.

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Continue to draw shadows until every letter has a shadow.

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    It’s best to use a non-mechanial pencil for this step because the lead tends to be softer!

    6. Add Highlights

    The last step in this “juicy” brush pen calligraphy tutorial is to add some highlights. The highlights will give the letters some great dimension! To add highlights, simply use your white gel pen to draw a contoured line along the left edges of every letter. Some letters, like the “P” in “Soprano”, may have more than one left edge!

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I like to use Gelly Roll white pens for this step, but you could also use Bleed Proof White ink and a small brush or a dip pen!

    Drawing in these highlights is important because the highlights work together with the shadows to convince the viewer that the light source is coming from the left.

    That’s It!

    If you use this lettering technique for mail art, consider treating the envelope with Microglaze. You can read more about that in this article! A color coordinated postage stamp collage won’t look out of place here, for sure.

    "Juicy" Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I love the Janet Style calligraphy (“Sara Cooper”, “Cheyenne, Wyoming”) on this envelope!

    If you aren’t familiar with using brush pens, take a look at the Using Brush Pens for Calligraphy article. In it, you’ll find tips for using brush pens as well as links to free printable brush pen worksheets!

    I hope that you enjoyed this lettering tutorial! Try using this technique on anything — it’s great for bullet journals, sketchbooks, posters, and anything else you want to add lettering to.

    Thanks very much for reading TPK, and enjoy the rest of your week!

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock