Transparent, lightweight, medium, and heavy; regardless of which version of Yupo paper you prefer, they all perform the same. They’re all made from polypropylene (a type of plastic) that is 100% non porous, easy to cut, acid free, Ph neutral, and waterproof. These papers can be used with a variety of different mediums without buckling, wrinkling, or tearing.
This material was introduced to the brand Legion purely on accident. After an employee experimented using watercolors on a piece of polypropylene it was later brought to the companies attention that this plastic could be used to create interesting looks and effects with watercolor. And from there, Legion developed and created Yupo, their most incredible and versatile paper yet!
Despite its non porous, water resistant surface, Yupo is a fantastic choice for water based and non water based mediums. It can be used with watercolors, gouaches, pens, alcohol inks, acrylics, graphite and charcoals, pastels, and can even be used for printmaking and screen printing!
Watercolor, gouache, and alcohol inks move very freely on the ultra smooth surface and requires only a light touch of your brush to flow. Yet, if you ever find that your watercolor is not adhering, it’s recommended to add a few drops of oxgall to your watercolors directly.
While acrylic does have a better chance of sticking to Yupo in comparison to watercolors, they too can have some trouble adhering directly to the paper. This is more than likely a result of too many oils being on the paper. To remove any oil, Legion recommends washing the paper with a small amount of liquid soap and water. Since the paper is water resistant, the water won’t absorb or warp the Yupo. Once dry, acrylic can be re-placed onto the Yupo where you will be able to continue working.
It’s fairly easy to start over with Yupo since the surface is non porous and smooth. Meaning you can easily lift darker watercolors from the paper with only a little bit of water. However the same cannot entirely be said for mediums such as gouache and alcohol inks. Since they’re made from different materials, alcohol inks and gouaches can leave a staining effect on the Yupo once they’ve dried and bonded directly to the paper.
As mentioned earlier, Yupo comes in a variety of styles and sizes. Mixed with the fact that they can be used with virtually any medium, Yupo is by far and large the best and most suitable mixed media paper imaginable. If you’re interested in knowing where you can get such fascinating paper, then head down to our Phoenix and Tucson stores and grab some in either pads or single sheets!
