ScrawlrTips

Marabu YONO Pastel Paint Markers

Featured In / #086 ScrawlrBox

We realise you may have never seen or used products like this before so we have put together a few hints, tips and techniques to test out and get the best from these supplies.

YONO – You Only Need One! These super versatile markers live up to their name. The Yono marker is able to take on any artistic challenge you put your mind to as it is capable of drawing on almost any surface, including canvas, leather, concrete, glass, wood to name a few! Purposefully created with creativity variety in mind, these markers feature a water-based, opaque, high quality acrylic ink that guarantees brilliant colour results. They can be used for a variety of techniques using water while wet, beautiful blends and can also be mixed to create even more colours to play with. These markers are quick drying, permanent and are waterproof once dry. They are easily activated and a have a high quality Japanese bullet shaped nib for precision while drawing.

Things To Try...

~ Getting things started... Pump up those YONO markers! To activate give them a good shake, and then pump the nib on a scrap piece of paper until the pigment soaks through to the nib. Then you are good to go!

~ It is also advised to keep the nibs clean so your pens can keep providing the best for your artwork, simply wipe clean on scrap paper.

~ These pens are called You Only Need One for a reason! Because they can draw on pretty much anything and everything! From canvas to concrete (with permission) try thinking outside of the box, or on the box for that matter... a couple of options for you to try:
- Your ScrawlrBox. Unfold it to create one long canvas or use the top and bottom as squares.
- Paint swatch cards. Take inspiration from our featured artist and grab some paint sample cards from your local DIY/hardware store for a more colourful canvas.

~ The dreaded paint pen pilling! As the acrylic paint in these pens is so thick paint pens have the tendency to pill on paper
- this can be helped and also corrected;
- Work with a gentle hand when applying to paper.
- Colour in small sections.
- Try not to go back over the paint too much while its still wet.
- If pilling does occur, wait for the paint to completely dry, then you can gently rub off any unwanted textures from your page.

~ Add Water! As these markers are a water-based acrylic paint markers you can dilute them with water for some fun watercolour effects. You can also mix colours as long as the paint is still wet – either directly onto the paper or on a palette before hand. Work fast, these markers dry quickly and will not reactivate once dried.

~ These pens can be layered, just make sure the under layer is completely dry first to prevent the paint bleeding. It’s worth noting as these are quite juicy markers, drying time is a bit longer.

~ The Pentel marker will also layer over or under the YONO markers really well so you can add in extra details and outlines to work with ease.

~ This marker is also capable of drawing and writing on a variety of surfaces, so you can use them all together on whatever surface you please!

Artist Advice

Erickas Chesonis

~ Paint pens aren’t just great on paper. Experiment with different surfaces! Try them on rocks, flower pots, notebooks, laptop covers, anything really.

~ Paint not coming out? Give it a really good shake and press the tip down on scrap paper.

~ Have a plan. Coming up with a sketch beforehand, even if it’s just a rough thumbnail sketch, helps get your ideafrom your head onto paper easier. Test out palettes on some scrap paper, and you can even quickly color your sketch to see how the colors look together. Though the pens are really opaque and it’s pretty easy to paint white on black, that also means they’re kind of thick and it’ll get more difficult with each layer, so try to avoid building up too many colors on top of each other. In general, start with the lighter colors first!

~ Get weird with it. Pick a couple colors and paint something that isn’t normally those colors. Paint pens are great for bold shapes and colors, since you don’t need to worry about mixing paints or anything.

~ The usual supplies I use: a pencil, a kneaded eraser which is good for tapping over the sketch to lighten it before painting, a ruler and some shape stencils, scrap paper, and sometimes a matte finish spray to keep the art preserved.

Behind The Artwork

I often like to draw things from nature, especially birds.

I just love the geometry in their design and all the variations they come in. And with this funky palette, I felt free to create my own take on a bird of prey and its fresh catch, without trying to represent a certain species.

I like to build subjects and detail them with simple shapes and consistent angles, and find colors I think pair well together and consistently use them together too (like blue on black, purple on pink).

I’ll usually try to repeat certain patterns throughout and throw in a border to bring it all together.