Lettering is another creative skill set that’s a dream to play and mix with other mediums. But which pens bleed when you add water? In this blog post I’ve put some popular Australian go-to brush pens through a water test to save you the time and money in finding out the hard way!

But Why

Knowing what’s waterproof when dry will allow you to work knowing that your designs shouldn’t smudge and smear. Alternatively you may be wanting that messy water stained look! And knowing the pen’s ink base will determine how and if you can remove a stain!

Each pen is very slightly different, for example the Ecoline Brush Marker, are resistant when dry, but Ecoline have intentionally added a watercolour based ink so that pieces can be reworked after you add a little bit of water.

I encourage you to do this test yourselves, as there are a myriad of reasons that could effect your piece and leave a different outcome to my own.

The Pens

The line up:

Tombow dual brush pen ( water based)
Pentel Sign Brush Pen ( water based)
Artline Stix Brush Marker (water based)
Faber Castell PITT artist pen (waterproof)
Pigma Brush (archival, waterproof)
Pentel Arts Pocket Brush Pen (waterproof)
Kuretake Japanese Bimoji Brush Pen (waterbased, water resistant when dry)
Monte Marte Colour Brush Marker
Artline 200 Fine 0.4 (fineliner)
Pilot Lettering 20 (broad nib)

The majority of these pens are easy to find around Australia in the usual suspects - Officeworks, Eckersley’s and Riot Art.

The Test

I’m using standard printer or copy paper and adding the black lettering straight with no sketches or outlines, with no finish or seal. If you are working towards a messy watercolour look, then I would suggest working on thicker card or optimally watercolour paper. That will soak up the excess water and avoid warping the paper.

I apply a few strokes of ordinary tap water with a Winsor & Newton Cotman 111 round brush. I don’t go nuts, just a quick splodge and swirl to see what happens.