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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…
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!
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!
Regardless of your skill level, you’ll find this brush pen drills worksheet to be helpful for a number of applications. These include:
First, download and print the brush pen drills sheet by clicking here (it’s free!).
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!
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.
Once you’ve finished tracing the drill, try making your own version of the drill in the box that’s farthest to the right.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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,
*This post contains affiliate links to Amazon
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