What Pens Do You Use in your Mixed Media Art Journaling?

The most difficult surface I’ve ever done hand lettering on is a mixed media art piece, like the pages of these handmade books I created in August of Fodder School 1. But don’t be discouraged, there are great pens out there that will make lettering on difficult surfaces easy.

“What paper is in that journal?” is the most common question that I’m asked lately, and you can read all about that paper in my last blog post. But today I’m back on the blog, talking about all of my favorite pens for doing hand lettering in mixed media art journaling.

You might think that the answer to this question is as simple as saying, “whatever pen you happen to have handy,” but it’s just not like that.

Lettering consistently over things like gesso, acrylic paint and dried adhesives is not a given with just any pen, and I’m sure that every art journaler has their tried and true favorite pens. No one wants to deal with the frustration of trying to write and having trouble with ink flow or adhesion.

All of the links (the green buttons) in this blog post are Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase the pens that I recommend through these links, I will get a small affiliate fee.

I absolutely adore adding hand lettering to art journal pages.

My favorite all around pen:

The Uni-ball AIR MICRO.

it writes on any surface
when it dries, it is waterproof
when it is wet, you can remove it with a baby wipe or even move the ink around with a wet brush like paint (you probably don’t want to do that with lettering, but you might for an abstract portrait)
I tried the Sharpie S-Gel 0.7 to see if it was even better, and it wasn’t.
I can do monoline typestyles, faux calligraphy and drawn letters with ease using the Uni-ball AIR MICRO.

Learn more/purchase the uni-ball AIR MICRO

lettering done with the Uni-ball SIGNO white gel pen

My Favorite White Pen:

The Uni-ball SIGNO broad White Gel Pen

Before you jump down my throat, hear me out. I’ve tried all of the other white pens (including the really thin point white Posca pens), and even though this one isn’t perfect, it’s the best of ‘em.

it writes on most surfaces
it works as long as you don’t let it sit for a long time without using it. For this reason, I only start one new white gel pen at a time and I tape off the end with washi tape so I don’t get my current white gel pen confused with never-before-used gel pens. As long as I do that, I’m really good.
if you have trouble getting ink flowing, try rubbing the tip on the palm of your hand or an emery board/nail file.

Learn more/purchase the Uni-Ball signo white Gel Pen

“Amor Fati” lettering done with the Higgins Black Magic Brush Marker.

My Favorite Pen for Mark Making and bold lettering:

Hands down, it’s this pen, the Higgens Black Magic Brush Marker

instead of getting out a paintbrush and black ink, I can grab this pen
it is really juicy and black
it makes nice, repetitive black marks on any surface that can vary depending on how much pressure you use as you are pressing the nib onto the page
I can do thick, bold hand lettering with it as well

Learn more/purchase the Higgins Black Magic

script lettering done with the FUDE BALL 1.5.

Another great pen for writing on difficult surfaces is the FUDE BALL 1.5.

it has a thicker line than the Uni-ball MICRO AIR so it’s good when you want your writing to stand out more on a complex back layer
it writes on just about every surface
it is a very inky pen
it is waterproof and fadeproof when dry, but

Learn more/purchase the FUDE BALL 1.5

The quote on the bottom was written with a Tombow Fudenosuke brush pen.

The Calligraphy brush pens that changed the world!

Are you familiar with Tombow’s Fudenosuke Brush Pens?

they have a hard tip and a soft tip version
they are incredibly economical
a great way to learn calligraphy without the mess of wet ink and calligraphy nibs
they write on every surface I’ve trued them on
uses a water based pigment ink that is waterproof when dry

Learn more about Tombow Fudenosuke