Fine tip or brush tip: when each end earns its keep

What the fine end is for

Edges, lettering, dots, whiskers, the highlight in an eye. The extra-fine tip holds a consistent width as long as you keep the marker fairly upright. It is also the end for working over dried fills, because it deposits less ink and will not reactivate the layer underneath.

Our single-tip specialty pens, the 0.7 mm white and glitter, are fine ends that decided to specialize. Treat them the same way: upright, light pressure, over dry ground.

What the brush end is for

Coverage and character. The brush tip flexes, so a stroke swells when you press and tapers when you lift, like a small round brush that never needs rinsing. Fill shapes with it, paint leaves and petals in single strokes, blend two shades while both are wet.

It is also the faster end. A palm-sized rock fills in under a minute with the brush tip and would take five with the fine end, in stripes.

The habit that ties it together

Brush first, fine last, dry in between. Nearly every piece we paint in the studio follows that order. When a design goes wrong, the cause is usually reversed order: details drawn first, then smeared by the fill.