Image via JetPens.com
Everyone knows I love a good brush pen, but not for the normal artistic reasons. I like writing with them, and the added flair they add to my lettering is enjoyable. Some are better than others in the writing department though, so where does the Kuretake Zig Cartoonist Mangaka Flexible stand?
First off, Kuretake has become one of those brands that can do no wrong in my book. The Zig Cartoonist Mangaka Outline Pen is my favorite plastic tip pen, beating out stalwarts from Sakura and Copic, and the Fudegokochi Super Fine Brush Pen is the best writing brush pen I own. Just look how clean my lettering is in those reviews. Hard to not be impressed.
The Zig Cartoonist Mangaka Flexible Pen is a different animal from those two. It is a soft tip brush which allows for a range of both thin and thick lines. Essentially, it is exactly what you should think of when you are thinking about a brush pen.
I don’t have the hand skill to do this pen justice but I was impressed with the quick, clean transition from wide to narrow in the lines. The meat of my letters were solid and the end of the lines had that nice snap you want to see in a brush. This is an effect you cannot get from a standard drawing pen.
For my daily writing purposes it isn’t all that great - the Fudegokochi works better for that. But in the right hands - artistic hands - the Mangaka Flexible would sing.
(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)
