Best Paper For Tombow Brush Pens

What are the best paper for Tombow Brush pens? I get asked this SO many times on social media, and today I’m answering it here!

best paper for brush pens

disclaimer: affiliate links have been used below at no extra cost to you. Please read further here

Why Do you need special paper for Brush Pens?

For two reasons-

  1. Brush Pens have a flexible brush tip that is pointy when you buy them. This point frays very easily on rought/ wrong kind of papers
  2. Since the Brush Pens have water based ink, you can paint over the ink to create wonderful watercolor effects with the right paper. But this watercolor technique does not work on all papers.
paper matters

What are the Best Paper For Tombow Brush Pens?

Below, are the Best Paper For Tombow Brush Pens tried and tested! I’ve linked each sketchbook individually so that you can easily grab them.

4 Best Sketchbooks for Brush Pens

1. The Rhodia Classic Orange Notepad and Rhodia Black Dot Pad have smooth marker paper that is perfect for brush pens to glide on. Choose blank (orange) or dot grid (black)

Rhodia pad for brush pens

2. The Canson XL Mix Media Pad sketchbook is a great beginner choice and comes in many sizes. The paper is allows for watercoloring with Brush Pens and also is smooth enough for lettering.

canson mixed media-sketchbook

3. The Strathmore Mixed Media Pad has a smooth vellum surface finish to the paper. The sketchbook is larger in size and great for brush lettering quotes.

strathmore mixed media paper

4.   The Canson XL Series Watercolor Paper has a heavier 140lbs paper that is thicker than the mixed media paper. This paper definitely can hold more water on top without warping and works great with brush pens.

canson watercolor paper

5 More Brush Pen Papers I love:

  1. The HP Printer Paper is not a sketchbook, but a ream of loose paper. This is different than your regular printer paper as it has a glossy smooth finish. I use this to print lettering worksheets and practice.
  2. The Bee Paper Marker Pad, has the smoothest paper great for brush pens.
  3. This Strathmore Tracing Pad has a smooth finish and is transparent. You can lay this paper on top of anything and trace.
  4. I love these Strathmore Watercolor Cards for easy handmade cards. The Brush pen will watercolor easily on these cards. Bonus, the cards come with matching envelopes too!
  5. The Canson Montval Watercolor Pad is a higher quality watercolor pad that works beautifully with brush pens.

In conclusion, when shopping to buy the best paper for tombow brush pens if you plan to write/ letter look for the words “smooth” “glossy” or “marker paper”. There are many options and I hope today’s post help you get started! Let me in the comments below if you have any questions!

smitha katti

Inspiring you with simple doable Art and Craft ideas and tutorials that will encourage you to use your supplies, get messy and find your creativity.

6 Comments

    • Yes I’ve seen that one with the spiral binding too. Which do you prefer- spiral or any binding? Am I the only one who doesnt like the glue binding?

  1. Hi, I love to use the Tombows for watercoloring in my bullet journal. I have tried the Scribbles that matter one (160g/m2), but the color doesn’t look good on the paper and it doesn’t blend easily. The same happened with the Moleskine art sketchbook ((165 g/m2). I usually use the Leuchtturm 1917 (80 g/m2), because it’s the best I’ve found so far, even though there is some ghosting and bleeding. I also have to put some books on top of the bullet journal to flatten the pages once I’m done using the watercolor because the paper bends with the water. Do you have a special brand for bullet journal that works well with the Tombows dual brush for watercoloring?

    • Most dot journals I have used do not work well for watercoloring with Tombows. Mixed media papers or watercolor papers are the best really

    • My favourite paper is Canson. I’ve tested it with several pens and pencils and it works fantastically. I had no problems with this paper using the brush pens I have. The pens glide so effortlessly across its surface. It’s also acid-free, so the paper will not turn yellow over time.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *