A small brush pen is the best tool to start your hand lettering journey with. Today I’m sharing everything I have learned about the Fudenosuke pens- I’ll share tips, examples, videos, and worksheets to start + improve your lettering!
As an artist, there is nothing as satisfying as Brush lettering with my large Tombow Dual Brush Pens, but sometimes a smaller pen is called for- like when you are lettering on envelopes, on DIY bookmarks or even in your journal. My go to small brush pen has been the Fudenosuke Pen and today I’m going to share all the reasons why!
Fudenosuke Pen YouTube Video:
I talk all about these Fudenosuke Pens in-depth and hand letter a quote with you! Watch my video Fudenosuke Pens, FAQs, quote lettering and more!
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What is the Fudenosuke Pen?
It is a small pen with a flexible brush tip that can create fine or medium strokes by varying the pressure applied to the pen tip.
How do you pronounce Fudenosuke?
It is pronounced as “Foo-doo-nu-su-kay”. I think!
It comes with two tip options
There are two popular Fudenosuke pen tip options that you can purchase- the hard tip and the soft tip. Both are very similar, but the hard tip has a firmer brush tip in comparison.
It is the best pen for beginner letterers
While larger brush pens might look tempting, starting with a smaller brush pen like the Fudenosuke pens is the best way to learn. This pen come with a smaller brush tip that is comparatively much easier to control and learn the basic strokes with.
Fudenosuke Hard tip vs Soft tip: Which one to choose first?
I started with the hard tip, it was much easier to control and I was able to get those thin upstrokes quickly! Once I had practiced with the hard tip for a few weeks, the soft tip quickly grew on me as I could do flourishes and swirls. The soft tip will give much more dramatic downstrokes, but you will have to learn to control the pen better to get a thin upstroke.
My advice, start with the Hard tip pen.
Wait, but did you know of the Twin Tip Fudenosuke pen?
Yes, the Twin Tip Fudenosuke pen is a dual-ended brush pen with both a black and grey ink barrel! It is not widely known but is super handy and cool to use.
You can easily add grey shadows and details to your lettering with this to create a shadow effect. Both the tips of the pen are brush tips.
How to use Fudenosuke Pens?
Holding a pen to write is different than how you would hold your pen to hand letter. To hand letter, I rotate my wrist 90 degrees clockwise and rest the pinkie edge of my wrist on the paper. This way, I am able to get those thick downstrokes easily!
Fudenosuke Colors
Once you have mastered the black pen, you can start using colored ones and there are so many fun ways to letter with them!
Hand-letter using the colorful Fudenosuke Pens in Rainbow colors in the video below. Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel!
What else can the Fudenosuke pens be used for?
Besides lettering, I love using these small brush pens for my floral illustrations! Unlike a Monoline pen, you can create thinner lines or thicker lines easily with these pens.
Is the Fudenosuke Pen waterproof?
The Fudenosuke pens have water-based ink, but I find that they dry quickly onto the paper, and often watercolors can be added on top. It depends on the paper.
These are the best pens for Addressing Envelopes
I love using this smaller pen to letter on envelopes and cards- they are a perfect size.
Fudenosuke Pen Lettering
Below are many more hand lettering examples to inspire you. Try mixing smaller and larger brush pens together and florals to create your own unique art.
Click on any of the below images to enlarge them to see them better
Free Printable Worksheet
You can download this and many more FREE lettering worksheets, and start practicing!
Conclusion:
The Fudenosuke pens are a great tool for any artist to have in their supplies. They are totally worth the penny, super versatile to use and I find myself reaching for them all the time.
Questions? Leave a comment below and let’s chat!
Thank you for being here today and spending some creative time with my friends! I’m so thankful for your kind words and support.
If you recreate this tutorial and share it on social media don’t forget to tag me! @smithakatti #smithakatti
Hi, this pen is Japanese. It’s not pronounced foo doo, it’s closer to foo de no skay.