Full disclosure, I am not a brush letterer, yet. I am learning how to do brush lettering but I am still a total newb. When I first started hand lettering I was using the crayola super tips, which worked pretty well. However, I wanted to get the feel of a brush pen, so I decided to try out the Scribbles That Matter Brand pens.
I will be flat out honest, as I always am with my reviews, if you do lettering with brush pens and are advanced these pens are not for you. However, if you are a beginner – like me – these are probably the pens you want to use and destroy while you practice your technique.
Scribbles That Matter Brush Pens
The bullet journal world was extremely excited when Scribbles That Matter came out with brush markers. Mainly because they were super affordable compared to other brands. When you don’t know if you are going to like brush lettering, a cheaper alternative is usually a great place to start.
Something to understand about Scribbles That Matter. They are based in the UK but their products are created in China using responsible business practices. I’ll put it this way. The brush pens you are getting with the Scribbles That Matter brand are mass produced for several different companies and branded with the companies name.
How do I know this? Well a pen that was branded with a different company ended up in my tube of Scribbles That Matter Pens. It’s ok though, I’m not even mad. This is business. Just know that what you are buying is not a UK based product but rather a massed produced pen from China. Chances are high that a lot of the brush pen companies do this, so, it shouldn’t really be a shock to anyone.
Finally, Scribbles That Matter is completely honest about this on their website and on their product. All their products are made in China using responsible business practices. They research the companies that produce the products to make sure they also line up with the core values of Scribbles That Matter.
Without further ado let’s dive into the actual pen review.
Holder
First off, the pens come in this cardboard tube with lid. It’s a little cramped in there but it stores the pens nicely. It’s one less bag or holder you need for all of your pens. Though for ease you might decide to separate them by color your own way.
Colors
There are 60 different colors given to you in this package.
- 9 shades of blue
- 6 shades of yellow
- 7 shades of purple
- 7 shades of pink
- 5 shades of red
- 6 shades of orange
- 10 shades of green
- 6 shades of brown
- 3 shades of grey
- 1 black
I looked through each of the different shades and tried them out. Not a single shade is the same. There is one slight issue with the colors though, there are absolutely no names of the shades or color identifier whatsoever. This makes it really difficult if you are looking to use the same shade but have two or three similar ones.
The ink is water based, acid free, non-toxic, odorless, and quick drying which are all huge pluses. You don’t have to worry about smearing and I have yet to smear any of the ink on these pens.
Thin Tip
The thin tip is super thin, however, it can feel a bit rough against the paper and needs steady pressure to get a solid line of color. Unfortunately if you go over that line again you risk shredding your paper. Be careful with how much you go over a section of paper with the thin tip.
Brush Tip
The brush tip on these start off pretty great. They release color easily and there isn’t a lot of streaking or missed deposit of color. However, the brush tips frays easily.
If you are a beginner these pens are great for you to practice with. For those who do brush lettering regularly you will be disappointed in the way these pens act. The bounce back is better than a crayola but the tips fray so quickly after first use you probably won’t get much out of them.
Once the tip frays, you are probably better off just using the pen to color in designs instead of as a brush pen for modern calligraphy.
Brush Pens
I will probably not buy these specific brush pens again because of how easily they fray. Eventually, I hope to master the art of brush lettering so I need pens that are going to work well, bounce back quickly after each stroke, and deposit even amounts of color.
If you are a beginner at brush lettering and want a pen to practice with, you can try these. If you don’t know if you will like brush lettering but want to try – try with these pens. If you know you are going to stick with brush lettering or you are well practiced with it, don’t even bother with these pens.
If Scribbles That Matter were to change suppliers to a better pen I would be willing to try them again, only because I really like the company. Until then, I will most likely go with a more expensive brand like Tombow for my brush markers.
Do you think you will give the Scribbles That Matter pens a try? Let me know in the comments below. Follow me on Pinterest for more like this and pin this to your Bullet Journal boards.
Related Posts:
- An Honest Review Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens
- An Honest Review of Mildliner Highlighters
- An Honest Review Scribbles That Matter Iconic Bullet Journal
- 13 Must Have Bullet Journal Supplies For Beginners
