The 5 Types Of Calligraphy Pens Compared

In your search for the best calligraphy pen, the wide range of choices and terminology can be intimidating. That overwhelm stops here! Let’s demystify all of the options and styles by talking through all of the different types of calligraphy pens on the market.

We’ll walk through the different types of calligraphy pens, the style that they produce and our recommendations for how beginners can give it a try.

Excited to dive in?! Let’s go! 

Pause now to pin! ↓ 

Table of Contents

How many types of calligraphy pens are there?

There are 5 different types of calligraphy pens: 

1. Monoline pens

2. Pointed pens 

3. Broad edge pens 

4. Brush pens 

5. The Apple Pencil 

Which type of calligraphy pen looks most interesting to you?

These are all umbrella terms that all have variations and subcategories underneath them. For example, under the umbrella of monoline pens there are gel pens, ballpoint pens, etc. 

While there are technical differences between each of the tools (and we’ll look at those!), what you should pay more attention to as a newbie is which style each pen is best suited for.

Your desired calligraphy style will dictate which types of calligraphy pens you should be using. Let’s start with the easiest type of calligraphy. 

Monoline Pens 

A monoline pen is one that creates a stroke that has a consistent width, no matter how hard you press or which direction you write. 

How can you tell if your pen is a monoline pen?

1. Draw a line with your pen 

2. Press lighter and harder and see if there’s a measurable difference in width 

3. Draw in different directions as well

4. If the line produced by the pen stays the same, then you have a monoline pen! 

Can you see the difference?

Common types of monoline pens are: 

• Gel pens 

• Ballpoint pens (“normal” pens) 

• Fountain pens 

Monoline calligraphy pens come in different shapes and sizes. Here are 3 different variations from our Faux Calligraphy Kit.

A less common form of monoline pen is the glass dip pen. It’s easily confused with a pointed pen, which is sometimes also referred to as a “dip pen,“ but there’s a key difference.

Despite its misleading name, a glass dip pen is actually a form of monoline pen because the stroke always maintains the same width.

As the name suggests, the entire pen is made of crystal or glass, and doesn’t have a nib. The pointed end is dipped into ink and instead of ink flowing out of the tines, gravity pulls it toward the paper.  

Source: User 欅, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 

Monoline Pen Calligraphy Styles 

A monoline pen is used for two different types of calligraphy: faux calligraphy and hand lettering. 

Record scratch: hand lettering is technically not the same as calligraphy, but these two styles can have overlapping similarities. 

Technically speaking, hand lettering is the process of drawing letters instead of writing them. For example, when you make bubble letters, you draw the letters as shapes instead of actually writing out the word.

The difference is subtle but it’s an important distinction

Calligraphy, on the other hand, is more uniform and precise. Letters are written piece by piece using the basic calligraphy strokes until they make up an entire word. 

More importantly: in true calligraphy, the strokes have contrast (parts of each letter are thicker than others). 

You can achieve this effect by hand lettering with a monoline pen when you return to the letters and add emphasis to certain parts of each letter.

That’s called faux calligraphy, and you can do it with any old pen you have at home.

If you’re like us and love trying different types of calligraphy pens, then you should consider getting specific monoline pens designed for hand lettering.

Here are our favorites.

Best Monoline Calligraphy Pens 

Our recommended monoline calligraphy pens are all included in our faux calligraphy kit:  

All of our favorite monoline pens in one kit. Shop our faux calligraphy kit

This kit of the best monoline calligraphy pens includes: 

1. Pentel Sparkle Pop 

2. Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen 

3. Zebra Fountain Pen 

4. Tombow MONO Twin Permanent Marker 

5. Tombow TwinTone markers 

We’ve chosen these monoline calligraphy pens because of the varying sizes of stroke, as well as the quality of ink. 

Want to try using a monoline pen for calligraphy? 

How To Learn Monoline (Faux) Calligraphy 

The best way to start using your monoline pen is to learn the proper form and the alphabet in our free faux calligraphy course: Faux Real Calligraphy. 

Get instant access to this faux calligraphy course

This free faux calligraphy course will give you an entire foundation to pull from. Join now for free worksheets and a 10-video course. 

Want to try achieving thick and thin lines the traditional way? Then you need a pointed pen. 

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Pointed Pens 

We know, it sounds a little funny. ”Aren’t all pens pointed?!”

Actually, no! But we’ll get to those in a minute. 

The term pointed pen refers to a traditional calligraphy tool that uses nibs dipped in ink to facilitate writing. 

How does a pointed pen work? 

• Pointed pen nibs (the tip) are placed in a pointed pen holder (we recommend an oblique holder) 

• The nibs are dipped in ink 

• You move the nibs across the paper with different amounts of pressure, creating thin strokes (light pressure) and thick strokes (hard pressure)

Pointed pen can feel intimidating because of the different pieces, but anyone can learn with the right help (cue us waving enthusiastically)

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The most common type of pointed pen is an oblique pen holder, but there are other types of calligraphy pens in this family. 

• Feather quill. While this is not a very practical way to practice calligraphy, feather quills are still readily available for purchase online. They’re not the most precise tool for practicing pointed pen calligraphy, so it’s easy to get frustrated and struggle with improvement. Great for a Harry Potter Halloween costume, though!  

• Straight dip pen. Instead of a flange holding the nibs away from the pen holder, a straight dip pen holds the nibs directly at the end of the pen holder (like a ballpoint pen). This can work better for left-handed calligraphers. 

Not sure which type of pointed pen is right for you? Try the Moblique 2-IN-1 Penholder, it can switch between oblique and straight dip!

Pointed Pen Calligraphy Styles 

There are a number of calligraphy styles that the pointed pen achieves: 

• Copperplate calligraphy, also referred to as traditional calligraphy 

• Spencerian script 

• Even modern calligraphy can be done with this traditional tool

Style differences can be achieved with different nibs. Learn how to put your nib and pen holder together in our beginner’s guide to pointed pen

If you want to start with this beautiful tool, we recommend practicing Copperplate calligraphy. 

Best Pointed Calligraphy Pens 

Our recommended pointed pen tools for beginners are: 

• The Nikko G nib. It glides over the paper and has medium flexibility. 

• Moblique pen holder. This oblique calligraphy pen holder allows you to switch between oblique and straight writing (plus you’ll love all the color choices). 

You can get a pointed pen holder, nibs, ink well, paper and more in our Loveleigh University calligraphy supply kit: 

We’ve done all the research so you can make 1 easy purchase. Shop our supply guide

Included in our pointed pen calligraphy kit:

1. Canson Pro Layout Marker Paper Pad 

2. Yasutomo Traditional Chinese Sumi Ink, Ultra Black, 180ml

3. Dinky dip jar 

4. Soft pipettes (3)

5. Moblique 2-in-1 Penholder 

6. Nikko G Nibs (2)

7. Hunt 101 Nibs (2)

8. Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen 

9. Zig Brushables Dual Tip Brush Pen 

10. Zig Fudebiyori Brush Pens (2)

Learn even more about the different types of calligraphy pens and styles with our free guide

This set is ideal for beginners who want to get all of their pointed pen supplies at once. You save money by purchasing all of the items together and don’t have to make any of the decisions between types of pen holders or ink types. 

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How To Learn Pointed Pen Calligraphy 

Pointed pen calligraphy comes with a steeper learning curve than other types of calligraphy pens, which is means that it requires more structured learning: 

• Pointed pen practice sheets to learn the basic strokes (free!) 

• Watch our Copperplate tutorial series on YouTube

• If you’re ready to make an investment in your calligraphy, our Calligraphy on Point course will give you a complete roadmap to mastering pointed pen calligraphy 

What students say about Calligraphy on Point:  

The fastest path to learning pointed pen calligraphy. View Calligraphy on Point

You may also like: Introduction To Pointed Pen Calligraphy

Broad Edge Pens 

Remember we said that not all pens are pointed? This is who we were referring to. 

Broad edge calligraphy! One of the most traditional types of calligraphy pens, this style is a cousin of the pointed pen. 

You can see the difference very clearly here with this side-by-side comparison of the nibs:  

Source: © Enrique Íñiguez Rodríguez, CC-BY-SA, via Wikimedia Commons

The exact width of the broad edge calligraphy pen can vary, but they all achieve the same writing experience: extreme contrast between the thick strokes and the thin strokes. 

But this is where pointed pens and broad edge pens differ: 

• Pointed pens achieve their thick strokes by applying more pressure and opening up the tines 

• Broad edge pens can achieve thicker strokes by adding pressure, but the biggest difference comes from using the full width of the pen tip versus the narrow side of the nib  

An up-close view at broad edge versus pointed pen

You may also like: Top Traditional Calligraphy Supplies

Broad Edge Calligraphy Styles 

The unique flat nib of the broad edge calligraphy pen produces distinctive and characterful calligraphy styles: 

• Italic 

• Uncial 

• Blackletter (AKA Gothic) 

Recognize this style? Now you know how it’s achieved!

You may also like: Different Types Of Calligraphy

Best Broad Edge Calligraphy Pens 

The Pilot Parallel is the most popular type of broad edge pen that’s used today, with another popular model being the Sakura Pigma Calligrapher. 

You’ll notice that these types of calligraphy pens come with pen ink inside of the body. No ink wells here! 

While you can buy a broad edge calligraphy pen that gets dipped into ink (like the pointed pen), this popular model is related to our next type of calligraphy pen: the brush pen. 

Brush Pens 

Brush pens are a modern and colorful twist on traditional calligraphy tools.

There are thousands of different brush pens to try! Want to learn more? Read our guide on how brush pens work

They’re beloved by hand lettering artists for their: 

• Versatility. Replicate almost any calligraphy style imaginable 

• Variety. Endless colors, ink options, brands and fun. 

• Affordability. Most brush pens cost a few dollars 

• Portability. Brush pens can be easily thrown into any bag and used on the go 

• Simplicity. No extra tools, no fuss

You may also like: Our Favorite Lettering Supplies

So what makes them different from other types of calligraphy pens? 

Instead of dipping your utensil into the ink of your choosing (like a pointed pen) the ink comes inside of the marker body and flows steadily through the tip. 

To the untrained eye, you might mistake a brush pen for an everyday marker. The real difference lies in the springiness (AKA the flexibility) of the tip: 

Brush pens are incredible calligraphy tools. Click to read our guide on how to use brush pens.

It’s this flexibility that creates the contrast between thin downstrokes and thick upstrokes and helps you achieve a distinctive style. 

You may also like: Calligraphy Paper Explained

Brush Pen Calligraphy Styles

Almost any calligraphy style can be explored with brush pens, but there are a few special effects unique to brush pens that deserve to be highlighted: 

• Blending, either horizontally or vertically 

• Watercolor effects 

• Ribbon lettering

• Shadows 

Explore all of these in our Brush Pen Calligraphy Beginner's Guide

Best Brush Pens For Beginners 

Something to love about brush pens: even the high-end professional calligraphy pens are affordable, ringing in at about $6 max for most brush pens. 

Translation? This is your permission slip to try out as many brush pens as necessary to find your favorite ;) 

Here are some of our favorites: 

• Pentel Fude Touch

• Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen

• Zig Fudebiyori

• Zig Brushables

Some of our favorite lettering supplies

All of these brush pens are great for beginners because of the affordable price, great ink flow and variety in colors. 

If you’re brand new to brush pen calligraphy, we recommend buying a selection of different pens and feeling which one has the springiness and size that feels most comfortable for you. 

Consider buying a variety pack like our brush pen kits: 

Our brush pen sets come in 2 different color collections

You may also like: Brush Pen Comparison Guide

How To Learn Brush Pen Calligraphy 

Learning brush pen calligraphy starts with using practice sheets and learning to control your pressure.

Generic practice sheets won’t work for learning brush pen calligraphy because you need guides that match the size of your brush pen. 

We’ve covered all the sizes for you in our brush pen practice sheets:

Get instant access to our free brush pen worksheets

The Apple Pencil 

Some lists of the different types of calligraphy pens will conclude after brush pens, but the Apple Pencil has earned its place amongst the other calligraphy tools. 

In order to do digital calligraphy, you need: 

• An iPad (see which model here) 

• An Apple Pencil 

• The Procreate App

Learn more with our iPad buying guide.

iPad calligraphy and lettering have exploded in popularity because of the endless creative opportunities and convenience. 

Our free Loveleigh Brush

When you hold an Apple Pencil in your hand, you’re holding endless: 

• Brush pens 

• Fountain pens 

• Watercolors 

• Pencils 

• Acrylics 

• Inks and colors 

• Airbrushes 

• Spray Paint 

• Charcoals 

Start with the basic strokes and end anywhere. Get started here

The list is endless. In the Procreate App (the best app for digital calligraphy), these different types of calligraphy pens are referred to as “brushes.”

The type of brush you use sets the tone for your style. 

You may also like: Benefits Of Digital Lettering

iPad Calligraphy Styles

Given the infinite possibilities that digital calligraphy offers, there’s no one style associated with the medium. 

Here are a few styles that we teach in our Procreate Lettering Projects course:

• Gradient letters

• Glittering lettering

• Chalk lettering

• Perspective shadow

• Intertwining letters

• Ribbon lettering

• 3D shadow letters

• Gem letters

We can teach you how to make each of these in Procreate Lettering Projects

Best Procreate Calligraphy Pens (AKA Brushes) 

While any Procreate brush can be used for digital lettering, a digital calligraphy brush needs to get thicker when pressure is applied. You’ll need a pressure-sensitive stylus like the Apple Pencil and a Procreate brush that is custom made for calligraphy.

We’ve made a special brush customized specifically for iPad calligraphy, and we’re so excited for you get to started that we’re giving it away for free: 

You’re going to have so much fun with the Loveleigh Brush

How To Learn iPad Calligraphy 

Are you brand new to iPad calligraphy? Use these resources to start learning today. 

Step one is to practice your basic strokes using our free basic stroke worksheets. 

Get the practice sheets, our Procreate calligraphy brush and an entire introductory course with our free iPad Calligraphy Basics course: 

The iPad Calligraphy Basics course is the ultimate free resource for learning digital calligraphy

Which type of pen is best for calligraphy? 

There’s no single best calligraphy pen because the best pen will be determined by your desired style. For modern calligraphy, the best calligraphy pen is a brush pen. For traditional, the best is a pointed pen.

Which type of calligraphy pen is best for beginners? 

The best calligraphy pen for a beginner is a monoline pen, which is used for faux calligraphy. Faux calligraphy is the easiest type of calligraphy and is a great way to learn the basics before moving on to brush pens or pointed pens. 

All the different types of calligraphy pens are what make this hobby so much fun to experiment with

Next Steps 

Are you excited to try the different types of calligraphy pens but you don’t know where to start? Pick up a monoline pen first or even try your hand at pencil calligraphy and then work your way up to any of the advanced types of calligraphy pens. 

Whether the modern calligraphy pens call to you, or the more traditional types of calligraphy pens make you want to click “add to cart,” there’s something for everyone. 

Have fun and get lost in our calligraphy articles and tutorials. We’re here rooting for you!!

Additional articles:

• How To Do Calligraphy With Kids