What are the best hand lettering pens for Bible journaling?
When you began this Bible journaling journey, I bet you had no idea you’d end up here. “That looks interesting!” you innocently thought and then you fell down the rabbit hole of journaling Bible options and art supplies.
Haha, am I right? Yet here we are, one of us slightly overwhelmed by all the options and the other saying, “It’s going to be okay.”
That’s me, Amanda, saying “it’s going to be okay.” I know what it is like to be on the other side of the Bible journaling journey not wanting to accidentally ruin her journaling Bible.
It’s a passion of mine to help women get into Scripture creatively, so I am going to remove the ambiguity about which tools you should use and share the best hand lettering pens for Bible journaling.
What exactly is hand lettering?
Hand lettering is a type of lettering that refers to the art of drawing letters by hand instead of creating them in a digital program.
And we have the privilege of lettering Scripture and our hearts right next to God’s Word!
There are so many great tools for hand lettering but MANY of them are not safe for journaling Bible pages. So, I am going to show you the best pens, what they do to Bible pages, and how to avoid it if bothers you.
Safe hand lettering pens
Since there are so many fun hand lettering pens to choose from and so many which are dangerous for your Bible, I’m going to only focus on the tried and true pens I use almost every time I journal.
These are the 3 hand lettering tools that I use the most:
- a pencil
- a black soft tip Fudenosuke brush pen
- a black micron size 03
I use these pens so much, I actually created a set in my shop you can purchase for $9.99. To learn more about the hand lettering starter set, click the button below.
(Debuts November 15th, 2020 at 8 am PDT with the Abide Collection)
What's great about this Hand Lettering Starter Set?
The Micron pen is size 03 which is the perfect size for beginners! This is because the tip is fine enough for faux lettering and writing yet thick enough to resist tip breakage.
Also included in this starter set is 1 Fudenosuke brush pen. It is a soft tip brush pen, which is the recommended firmness for a beginner. It helps a new letterer begin to learn control with up and down strokes.
Once both of these lettering pens dry, they set and are waterproof. They are safe for journaling Bibles and because they are of high quality, they last a long time.
What about bleed-through and shadowing?
As Christians, we want to love and protect our Bible and some hand lettering pens will bleed through our pages and damage subsequent pages. How do we avoid that?
- Always insert a piece of scrap paper behind the page you are working on no matter what supplies you are using.
- These pens listed above do not bleed and once they dry, they are set and will not smear with water.
3. Don’t use water on the page until the ink from these pens is completely dry (or it can bleed through).
4. If you are highly concerned, prep your pages with 2 layers of gesso before beginning your art (I suggest the Art Basics brand.)
I have used these pens for hundreds of entries, and as long as I follow the rules 1-3, I have never had an issue.
However, a word of caution, these pens can cause shadowing, especially if you are lettering thickly. Allow me to share the backside from some of the above entries.
Again, this can almost be completely avoided if you prep your pages with a layer or two of gesso. I simply don’t because of the extra 10-15 minutes it takes.
Ready to commit to hand lettering in your journaling Bible?
Let’s say you are ready to commit to learning the art of hand lettering and you want all the best tools. I hear you! I have a Full Hand Lettering Set as well as the Scripture Lettering Class to help beginners gain confidence with their hand lettering!
The Full Hand Lettering Set features the 3 pens you saw before as well as a white gel pen for correcting mistakes and the hard tip Fudenosuke brush pen for a different calligraphy look. Price: $14.99
(Debuts November 15th, 2020 at 8 am PDT with the Abide Collection)
What's the Scripture Lettering Class?
The Scripture Lettering Class is an online video course where you’ll learn hand lettering basics, Bible lettering, and how to use it to hide God’s Word in your heart in this step-by-step online class. It’s perfect for beginners. Price $19.99
If your heart’s desire is to create hand lettered art in your journaling Bible, then one of these hand lettering pen sets will be perfect for you.
No more guesswork, no more ambiguity when it comes to art supplies that are safe for Bible journaling. Just good, clean fun.
Again, I love helping women get into Scripture creatively, so if you have any hand lettering questions, drop them in the comments below!
