Top 5 Budgeted Brush Pens (Malaysian Edition)

My Personal Top 5 Brush Pens

S A I N T O G R A P H .

P I L O T .

P I L O T .

S H A R P I E .

S A K U R A .

Hey there :)

Many of you have asked me where I pick up my brush pens, and surprisingly, I get most of them in Malaysia! Many people have told me that they think brush pens in Malaysia are overpriced, so I thought I’d share with you a couple of cheap(er-ish) alternatives to help you out!

1. Pilot Fude-Makase Colour Brush Pen

This is by far my favourite brush pen of all time. The tip of this pen is pretty small, so it’s perfect for bullet journaling and lettering on smaller surfaces. The ink flows pretty well, it’s ink doesn’t really bleed, which makes it perfect for lettering on even 70gms paper. It’s got a firm felt tip which means you can nail the smallest details with ease. This range of pens come in a wide variety of (very) pigmented colours from black all the way to pink. They are also super inexpensive (they were a little under RM6 when I got them at MPH.) The only downside about this pen is, you can’t really use it to achieve thick downstrokes, especially if you intend on lettering on larger surfaces. The firm brush can also be quite tough to work with if you haven’t achieved fluidity of your hand movement. The ink isn’t waterproof either, plus, if you’re a heavy-handed person, the ink may pool especially at the tips of your lettering. But with practice, you’ll learn to work with it. The ink isn’t refillable and the tip can’t be replaced, but this pen really gives you good wear.

You could also buy it here : https://www.stickerrificstore.com/collections/pilot/products/pilot-fude-makase-brush-pen-black

2. Pilot Futayaku Double-Sided Brush Pen

Now this is also, my favourite brush pen of all time. There’s two felt tips (hence the name Futayaku), the medium tip and the small, firm felt tip. I generally love this one because it gives you the flexibility to work with different fonts and sizes because of the two tips (I mean you could totally just use two different pens to do that, but this has both!) I really love travelling with this one because of its two-in-one brush. Once again, pilot never fails to deliver excellent ink quality. This pen costed me RM6.50 at MPH, which in my opinion is a really good deal. With this pen, you can achieve both thick and thin downstrokes. It’s just super versatile and it gives you the flexibility to really try out all kinds of stuff. I would definitely recommend this pen if you’re new to brush lettering because not only do you get to try out what kind of tip suits your style best, but both of the tips are generally very easy to work with (unlike the Pilot Pocket Brush Pen that can be quite hard to work with especially for lettering.) Similar to the Pilot Fude-Makase Colour Brush Pen, the ink isn’t waterproof and it does pool too, but with time, it gets easier to work with. As with the Fude-Makase, the ink can’t be refilled and the tips can’t be

replaced.

3. Sakura Pigma Brush Pen

If you’re looking for a pen that feels just like a real brush, this one’s perfect for you. The ink is not only waterproof, but it also is archival, so you can keep your work for ages without them fading. The brush of this pen is definitely larger than the Pilot Fude-Markase Colour Brush Pen, making it a better option for lettering on larger surfaces. One thing I don’t really like about this pen is, the tip tends to give way after a while (it happened to all my Sakura Pigma Brush Pens! Perhaps it’s simply the way I use it) so if you’re anything like me, this pen may not stick with you very long. Other than that, I would say this is a pretty good brush pen especially if you’re new to brush lettering (and of course, ;) if you’re a pro). It’s a really good one to get you started. It costed me RM7 (I got it in a lovely, tiny, old shop in Ipoh during one of my visits.)

Alternatively, you could get it here : https://www.stickerrificstore.com/collections/sakura/products/sakura-pigma-brush-black

4. Saintograph Chinese Calligraphy Brush Pen

This was my first brush pen ever, before I knew anything about brush lettering, let alone brush pens. It’s got two tips, a felt brush tip and a marker tip, making it versatile for any use. The brush tip isn’t very firm, nor is it very soft, which again, is great for beginners. The ink, isn’t very pigmented either, giving it a really nice, “natural” effect. The marker tip is great for switching between fonts, or even cleaning up your letters. The brush of this pen is generally larger than the brush of the Sakura Pigma Brush Pen, however, you can achieve roughly the same thickness of your downstrokes with this one.

5. Sharpie Stained Markers

As crazy as it sounds, these pens are honestly one of the best brush pens I’ve used. Initially, the brush is a little firm, but after pressing on it for a while, you’ll start to produce really nice, thick downstrokes. It also has a really nice natural ombre effect which I really love. The wide range of colours is also another thing I love about these markers. The felt tips are could range from small to medium, depending on how seasoned the marker is. The ink does bleed slightly (pretty similar to a regular fine point Sharpie) Pooling at pressure points is pretty regualar, but to be completely honest, it creates a really nice ombre effect that I like. I’ve seen it in pretty much every bookstore I’ve been to, so hunting this pen down shouldn’t be an issue. It’s also pretty reasonably priced (I don’t remember the exact price, but I’m sure it wasn’t too expensive.) They come in packs of four, which make them more economical.

I guess that's pretty much it. Of course, this is just my personal opinion. Nonetheless, I really hope you've found this helpful!

Till next time :)

#lettering #tips