Tombow Dual Brush Pens Review: Marker Happiness

Whether you are dipping your toes into hand lettering, setting up a bullet journal, or looking for versatile art supplies for watercolor illustrations, Tombow Dual Brush Pens are almost certainly on your radar

As a previous Tombow Creative Crew member, I have used these markers across hundreds of craft projects, watercolor paintings, and lettering tutorials on my blog. Today, this comprehensive Tombow Dual Brush Pens review breaks down everything you need to know about these markers.

What Are Tombow Dual Brush Pens?

Tombow Dual Brush Pens (often designated by Tombow’s “ABT” coding) are dual-ended, water-based ink markers. It has a flexible nylon brush tip on one end, and a fine bullet tip on the opposite end. Both tips draw from the exact same ink reservoir, ensuring consistent ink color regardless of which end you use.

Flexible Nylon Brush Tip: The large brush end responds to varying pressure. Pressing down creates bold strokes, while lifting up yields delicate, hairline upstrokes.

Fine Bullet Tip (0.8mm): The opposite end provides a sturdy, fixed fine tip, perfect for consistent lines, doodling, detailed cross-hatching, or clean writing in planners.

Unlike permanent or alcohol-based alcohol markers, these pens react dynamically with water, allowing you to blend, wash, and shade just as you would with traditional watercolor paint. The brush tip is also flexible which can create thick and thin lines with different pressures.

how to use tombow dual brush pens

There are so many ways that you can enjoy using your Tombow Dual Brush Pens! ! Explore each topic (with their own dedicated post) which will explain the technique in depth and have multiple examples for you to try!

1. Modern Hand Lettering & Calligraphy

The flexible brush tip is famous among modern calligraphers. By adjusting hand pressure, you achieve the classic thick-and-thin stroke contrast required that makes your letters looks amazing. Start here to explore brush lettering basics

Tip for Beginners: If you are brand-new to brush lettering and struggling with tip control, practice foundational strokes with smaller brush pens like Tombow Fudenosuke Pens before scaling up to large-nib brush pens like the Dual Brush series.

2. Direct & Palette Blending

Blending Tombow markers is intuitive. You can achieve smooth color gradients that I explain in depth in this how to blend tombow markers tutorial. The resilient nylon brush tip will self-clean preventing color contamination.

3. Watercolor Illustration & Backgrounds

Because these markers act like concentrated liquid watercolor, you can create soft sky washes, floral illustrations, and galaxy backgrounds. Learn how to turn marker ink into fluid paint in my comprehensive guide that shows 20+ incredible ways how to use watercolor markers.

4. Bullet Journaling & Rubber Stamping

The fine bullet tip is ideal for grid layouts, habit trackers, and color-coded notes, while the brush tip works well for header titles and subtle highlight washes- check out this brush pen drawing tutorial. You can also color directly onto rubber stamps, mist lightly with water, and press onto paper for a watercolor stamped impression as I show in Colorful Stamping with Markers Tutorial

How Do They Compare?

Understanding how Tombows fit alongside other drawing tools helps you pick the right marker for each technique for your fine art purposes.

Tombow Dual Brush Pens have a waterbased ink that works on watercolor paper vs their Tombow ABT Pro Alcohol Markers which work on marker paper with streak free coloring. Dive deeper into the detailed comparison on Alcohol vs Water-Based Markers

how many tombow dual brush pen colors are there?

Tombow first released their 96 Color set of Brush Pens, which were later updated with the addition of 12 new colors to make the full Dual Brush Pen Art Markers, 108 Color Set! The colors are each unique and beautiful. See how these markers look on paper and create your own handy reference 108 Tombow Dual Brush Pen Color Chart

Curated Color Palettes & Set Options

While you can purchase Tombows open-stock, curated 10-packs are the most popular way to build your collection. Each 10-pack includes 9 themed colors plus 1 Colorless Blender (N00).

• Galaxy 10-Pack: Rich jewel tones, deep blues, purples, and magenta—perfect for dark night skies and cosmic art.
• Pastel 10-Pack: Soft, muted shades ideal for subtle planner layouts and floral washes.
• Bright 10-Pack: High-energy primaries and vibrant secondary tones for bold hand-lettered cards.
• Secondary 10-Pack: Earthy greens, warm oranges, and deep violets that balance out primary sets.
• 6-Pack Marker Sets: Compact starter sets focused on specific color families (like portrait, gray scale, or botanical).

are tombow dual brush pens worth it?

Yes! The come in a huge array of 108 colors, which can be purchased individually or in curated packs. Because the ink is water based, you can blend colors and have so much fun! The brush tips are self cleaning, the pens are odorless and non toxic. There are so many creative ways to use these pens, you will enjoy having them in your art supplies.

But keep in mind, for the best experience, you will need to use the right paper/ sketchbooks. The artwork you create will always bleed if exposed to water and might fade if displayed in the sun.

Best Paper For Tombow Brush Pens

To keep brush tips pristine and prevent fraying use the following papers,

• For Lettering & Sketching: Use smooth surface art papers like HP Premium 32lb laserjet paper, tracing paper, vellum, or smooth Bristol board. I have a list of best paper for hand lettering that you can refer
• For Watercolor Techniques: Use heavy, non-textured paper made for watercoloring (140lb / 300gsm) or smooth mix media paper. Avoid rough cold-press paper unless you are picking up ink from a palette with a wet paintbrush. Here are the best paper for watercolor markers.

Tombow Dual Brush Pens Video

Head over to Youtube to find my entire playlist of Tombow Dual Brush Pen Technique Videos

TLDR:

Tombow Dual Brush Pens are premium, water based markers featuring a flexible nylon fiber brush tip on one end and a fine bullet tip on the other. They behave much like watercolor paint when mixed with water, making them ideal for watercolor art, stamping, hand lettering, and journaling. They are a great choice for both crafters and fine art enthusiasts.

However, they require smooth paper to prevent frayed tips and are not lightfast or waterproof. These pens are a splurge, but since they are so versatile you will find yourself reaching for them all the time! Totally worth the money 🙂

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