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  • Welcome to TPK! This is your first of 2 free articles. For unlimited access to tutorials and articles, join TPK Premium for less than the cost of a latte.

    Not Your Average Brush Pen Calligraphy Drills

    December 2, 2016

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    Brush Pen Calligraphy, Calligraphy, Calligraphy Drills, Free Printables, Printable Goodies, Worksheets

    Whether you’re a brush pen novice or a seasoned pro, you’ll benefit from this drills worksheet! In it, you’ll find engaging exercises like “Hills” and “Frequency” to help you regulate your brush pen pressure exertion and master writing motions. Feel free to print out the drills sheet as many times as you need to; it’s…

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    Not Your Average Brush Pen Drills Sheet | The Postman's Knock

    A couple of weeks ago, I released a free printable dip pen calligraphy drills worksheet. It featured a few traditional drills; but mostly it explored new, fun drills to help regulate pressure and improve technique. I received a lot of positive feedback for its effectiveness, which inspired me to create a brush pen drills sheet as well!

    Not Your Average Brush Pen Drills Sheet | The Postman's Knock

    This brush pen drills sheet can be used with any brush pen that you have on hand! If you’re looking for a good beginner brush pen, though, try starting with the Pigma MB. It’s got a nice, medium flex to it that will ride out any pressure exertion learning curves!

    Not Your Average Brush Pen Drills Sheet | The Postman's Knock

    Regardless of your skill level, you’ll find this brush pen drills worksheet to be helpful for a number of applications. These include:

    • General practice – If you’re a beginner, doing these calligraphy drills will help you to gain better control over your brush pen.
    • Getting to know new brush pens – Brush pens vary widely! Some, like Tombow Dual Brush pens (my personal favorite) have long, super flexible tips. Others, like the Pigma MB, have somewhat smaller tips and are comparatively conservative with flex. You can use these brush pen drills to become accustomed to any new brush pen.
    • Warmup – If you need a couple of minutes of writing before you delve into a project, this is a great resource to help get your hand acclimated to calligraphy for the day!

    How to Use this Brush Pen Drills Sheet

    First, download and print the brush pen drills sheet by clicking here (it’s free!).

    Not Your Average Brush Pen Drills Sheet | The Postman's Knock

    Next, take a moment to look at the sheet. You’ll notice that on the left, you have squares with designs that are pure black. These are exemplars to show you what you ideally want your drills to look like. The second box on the left features dots and arrows and faint gray strokes to show you how to form the drills. Each dot you see represents an opportunity to pick up your pen. As you know if you are currently working on the Kaitlin Style Brush Pen Worksheet, the more you pick up your pen, the easier it is to achieve stroke contrast!

    Not Your Average Brush Pen Drills Sheet | The Postman's Knock

    The third box has a light gray impression of the drill for you to trace over. Go ahead and trace over that impression. Remember to exert pressure on the downstrokes and let up on upstroke and horizontal stroke pressure! As you trace, reference the drill with dots and arrows on your left.

    Not Your Average Brush Pen Drills Sheet | The Postman's Knock

    Once you’ve finished tracing the drill, try making your own version of the drill in the box that’s farthest to the right.

    Not Your Average Brush Pen Drills Sheet | The Postman's Knock

    Finally, use the Blank Practice Squares Sheet (included in the drill sheet download) to write four more freehand versions of the drill. Don’t forget to keep the original drill sheet at hand so you can reference the dots and arrows!

    Not Your Average Brush Pen Drills Sheet | The Postman's Knock

    Continue to fill out all of the drills. As you write, pay special attention to your hand position. As I mentioned in Tuesday’s blog post, your grip with a brush pen differs from your grip with a regular pen! The pen should be held more out to the side rather than vertically. You can see an example of this in the photo below, which shows a page from the Kaitlin Style Brush Pen Calligraphy Intensive Word Practice.

    *NEW* Premium Brush Pen Calligraphy Worksheet Set {Kaitlin Style} | The Postman's Knock

    What Makes this Brush Pen Drills Sheet Unique

    I think that adding artistic flair to your brush pen practice can help a lot with motivation! That’s why all of the drills in this worksheet are fun and engaging. You’ll recognize four of the drills from the dip pen version of this worksheet, but “Hills” is exclusive to this brush pen drills sheet and happens to be my favorite!

    Not Your Average Brush Pen Drills Sheet | The Postman's Knock

    This drills sheet also provides you with help so you don’t go into it “cold”. The arrows and dots show you exactly when to push your pen up, pull it down, and pick it up! I also like providing you with something to trace over so you can get acclimated to the forms.

    Not Your Average Brush Pen Drills Sheet | The Postman's Knock

    If you want a brush pen “practice powerhouse”, you can pair this worksheet with the new Kaitlin Style Brush Pen Calligraphy Worksheet Set. Try using this drills sheet to warm up before you start your practice for the day! You can skip filling out the Blank Practice Squares if you’re pressed for time!

    Again, you can download this free brush pen drills sheet by clicking here. I sincerely hope that you enjoy it. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments! Thanks very much for reading today’s post, and enjoy your weekend!

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock

    *This post contains affiliate links to Amazon

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About the author

Hi, I’m Lindsey Bugbee, the illustrator, calligrapher, and author behind The Postman’s Knock (TPK). Since 2012, the TPK Blog has been a vibrant creative space filled with tutorials and lessons on modern calligraphy, hand lettering, and illustration. After publishing The Calligraphy Book, I wanted to elevate the quality of content even further—so I launched TPK Premium. You can join here to receive access to some of the internet’s best creative inspiration and project tutorials.

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Previous post: Introducing TPK’s First Brush Pen Calligraphy Worksheet Set
Next post: Holiday Calligraphy Printable Exemplar + Worksheet

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23 responses

  1. lyndiegf Avatar
    lyndiegf
    July 15, 2019

    Hi Lindsey, I mailed you a while ago about using Fudenosuke pens for these drills, which can be used but it was a little big, so I thought I’d give my Tom bow dual tips ago, OMG it’s turning out to be the challenge I needed, well worth trying it, and it’s free brilliant 😁
    Thank you

    Log in to Reply
  2. Fanny Ho Avatar
    Fanny Ho
    August 27, 2018

    Hello, can this brush pen calligraphy tutorial used watercolor brush?

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      August 29, 2018

      Hi Fanny! Yes; the same principles will apply! You just won’t exert as much pressure on the tip of the brush. You can find tips for writing calligraphy with a brush in this tutorial. 🙂

      Log in to Reply
  3. Shelly Avatar
    Shelly
    September 19, 2017

    Thank you very much, Lindsey. These practice sheets are so helpful for me to practice!

    Log in to Reply
  4. gigi Avatar
    gigi
    February 4, 2017

    These are super Lindsey! I love the box format! Makes practice seem more fun! Thank you so much!

    Log in to Reply
  5. Margi Elena Avatar
    Margi Elena
    January 3, 2017

    THANK YOU. I am a beginner and am most grateful for you drill sheets.
    Do you recommend Kaitlin Style Brush Pen Calligraphy Intensive Word Practice class for a beginner?
    Thank you again

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      January 13, 2017

      Hi Margi! If you are interested in learning brush pen calligraphy (and then segueing into dip pen calligraphy), then absolutely! It would be fantastic for a lettering/calligraphy beginner. 🙂

      Log in to Reply
  6. Joyce Blodgett Avatar
    Joyce Blodgett
    December 22, 2016

    Thank you so much for the free printouts! I do a lot of drawing, and I make my own greeting cards, but am not proud of my lettering. This will make the cards look SO much nicer!

    Log in to Reply
  7. Ksenia Carvalho Avatar
    Ksenia Carvalho
    December 5, 2016

    Thank you very much, Lindsey! This practice sheet is fantastic!

    Log in to Reply
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Beautiful autumn leaves outside 🍂 inspire beaut Beautiful autumn leaves outside 🍂 inspire beautiful leaves inside ✨. You can find a tutorial over how to make this stunning bookmark in “The Calligraphy Book”. (Confession time: I don’t actually use this bookmark as a bookmark. It ended up being too pretty to be hiding inside a book! 🙈 Instead, I display it on my bulletin board.)

#bookmark #decoratedbookmark #autumnleaves #pointedpen #finetec #colirofinetec #metallicwatercolor
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For the worksheet link, see my stories today (10/9), or shoot me a DM. Happy Halloween, and enjoy!

#halloweencalligraphy #pointedpenpractice #pointedpen #dippen #halloweenart #macbeth
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#moderncalligraphy #learncalligraphy #calligraphy #handwritten #writingcalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #calligraphyvideo #tseliotquote
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✨ Watch the full chat on the TPK Blog (link in bio → “Blog”).

✨ Join us for the next coffee chat on October 17th by signing up for TPK Premium! I’m thrilled to announce that @sdionbakerdesign will be our special guest. (Her Patreon members can join, too!) And yes, there will be a giveaway. 🎁

👯‍♀️ Fun fact: Jess and I met as roommates studying art history in Paris + Florence way before The Postman’s Knock or Greenleaf & Blueberry existed. Over the years, we’ve nicknamed ourselves Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, Lucy and Ethel… you get the idea. That familiarity definitely comes through in our chats.

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#chalkboardart #chalkart #procreateart #procreateartist #janeaustenquote #artprocess #artdraft
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Link in bio to enroll in the course! If you’re not taking it, **do**!! It’s already got 3+ hours of video instruction in just two lessons.

#calligraphyadvice #moderncalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #artcreation #calligrapher #artstudio
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