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Q: Why do you prefer to use Tombow Dual Brush Pens?
That’s a great question. I prefer using Tombow because it’s extremely pigmented and it blends so much better in comparison to other water-based brush pens.
Yes, you read it right. The Tombow Dual Brush pens are water-based. It means the colors blend together once it’s used with water. This feature makes Tombow the best marker to use for creating backgrounds and calligraphy designs.
Tombow brush pens come in sets such as Bright, Galaxy and Pastel. But if you want to collect all the colors, you can get the ultimate set which consists of 96 markers. That’s the perfect Christmas gift to yourself or to your artsy friend!
Other Materials Needed
Watercolor Paper
You can use any watercolor paper that you have. However, if you are looking for a good one, I highly recommend the Canson Watercolor Paper. This comes in different sizes. What I have is the 9″x12″ paper. I love this size because I can use it for different projects and I can customize the dimension when needed.
Watercolor Brush
Once I discovered this product, I can no longer paint without it! This is such an amazing tool for watercolor. It eliminates the worry of using too little or too much water. Plus it’s travel-friendly!
Paint Brush
If you don’t have a watercolor brush, you can surely use a regular paintbrush. If you don’t have one, I recommend buying your brushes as a set. In this way, it would be cheaper plus you can get more with what you paid for. *YAY!*
Black Brush Pens (optional)
If you want to add calligraphy quotes, I highly recommend the Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens. This is not necessary and it’s completely optional. I just added this just in case you want to be a little extra. (Like me. HAHA)
Fineliner (optional)
This is another optional product. The Sakura Pigma Micron is my favorite fineliner and I highly recommend this for creating doodles and other designs in your background.
Now that you have all the materials needed, it’s time to get creative.
Let’s Start Painting!
I categorize my Tombow background designs into three:
Patterned Background
Choose your Pattern
The first step is to choose your pattern. For this example, I used a basic vertical line pattern. The good thing about this technique is you don’t have to be precise. The lines don’t have to be straight and perfect. That’s the fun of it!
Blend it Baby
Yes, just blend it! But before you get carried away, remember to use the same stroke as your pattern.
Since I used a vertical pattern, I’m blending the lines vertically. If you used a horizontal, diagonal or whatever pattern, make sure to blend the colors the same way
Add Details (Optional)
After all the blending, this is how my background looks like. Honestly, you can stop right here and use this for your scrapbook or even leave it as is for a wall decor. But if you want to spice it up a little, I suggest adding a quote or your design of choice.
For this example, I added this “Hello” lettering over my background. I wanted to keep it simple and easy to recreate. In the end, I really like how this turned out! What do you think?
If you are looking for a more complex design, this is the one for you. This spread is from my Cozy Autumn Bullet Journal Set-Up. I used the same technique for the background and added more details on the side. How cozy!
Gradient Background
Choose Your Colors
As the name suggests, this technique is used for creating gradient backgrounds. The first step is to choose your colors. I recommend using one color if you’re a beginner but if you want to spice it up a bit you can use 2-3 colors.
Start Coloring
Once you have your colors, fill in about a fourth of the page. Using your brush, slowly blend the colors using horizontal strokes.
The water makes the color less saturated the farther it is from the top. This creates the gradient effect that we want to achieve. If you use this method correctly, this is how it will end up.
Add Details (Optional)
Like the previous technique, you can leave the background as is or you can add more details and designs. Get creative with it!
Color Splash Technique
The last but not the least is the Color Splash Technique. This is actually the most commonly used and the easiest technique for creating backgrounds. I promise you will love this one.
Get a Ziplock Bag
Haha, yes that’s right. The first step is to get a Ziplock bag. Actually, it doesn’t have to be Ziplock, you can use any clear plastic that you have. (I only have Ziplock that’s why.)
Once you have it, start coloring the bag using your Tombow Brush Pens, there is no pattern or design required. You can use one or multiple colors. It’s all up to you. Just make sure that the colored area is smaller than the paper.
Add Water
The next step is to add a few drops of water. Remember, just a few drops, not a puddle. Too much water will make the paper soggy and nobody wants that. My tip is to use your brush to make the water droplets. It will make things easier and less messy.
Create the Splash
To create the splash, just simply put the plastic over the paper. I like to scrunch the plastic to create the effect that I want but you can totally leave it as is and let the water do the magic.
Add Details (Optional)
If you’re happy with how it looks like, just simply remove the plastic and wait for the background to dry. This is how mine turned out. I love the color splash effect! It looks so flawless and natural. And since I’m a little extra (HAHA), I added a quote over the background.
I hope you liked my Tombow Dual Brush Pens painting tips. These techniques are all beginner-friendly and I know that you will love them. If you recreate these, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram. I would love to see your creations. Have fun painting!
Love this Post?
Check my other DIY Painting Techniques!
- How to: Fall Illustrations in Procreate
- How I Paint with Crayola Supertips
- Easy Glitter Galaxy Painting
- How-to Paint with Washi Tapes
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