A two colored word just stands out of the page more than a one colored word. Being able to use ONE pen to write out an entire word and get an ombré two colored effect is so convenient and fun. There are two ways to do this with your Tomow ABT dual brush pens. First way is to paint directly on your lighter colored pen tip with the darker color. The second way is too scribble the dark color on the Tombow Blending Palette or any plastic surface and use the lighter pen to “pick up” the color from the surface. Choose two colors and let’s get started. My favorite blend is the sunset combo, where I grab a red and a yellow pen. Two shades of the same color work very nice too, like dark blue and light blue. Purples and blush… Teal and pink… Green and yellow… So many color combos!

1. Paint directly on your lighter colored pen

(No, this will definitely not permanently stain your pens) Holding the two pens in your hands, paint the darker color right ON the light colored tip, so in this case, paint the red on the yellow. Twist and turn the two tips and make sure you’re not flicking the tips because they are flexible and of course with pressure they’ll bend. You don’t want to fray your tips.

Next step is easy, just start lettering with the stained light colored pen! At first you’ll get a mix of the colors, my red and yellow create a beautiful orange and while you’re writing the red ink goes out of the yellow pen and starts writing in the original yellow color. When the ink runs out depends on how much you added of the red, experiment and repeat.

See video at the end of the post for demonstration.

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2. Picking up ink from a palette

For this step, remember to hold the brush pen at an angle so you don’t damage the tip while scribbling the ink. Start by choosing your darker color(s) and then move the pen back and forth on a Tombow Blending Palette or a a plastic surface. Here I used transparency film paper (also known as overhead paper).

Take your lighter colored pen or your Tombow Blending Pen (colorless) and place it on your palette moving it a few times on top of the dark color. Your lighter pen tip will now have picked up that ink.

The beginning of your writing will be a blend of the colors or mainly the dark color if you picked up a lot. Then the ink will gradually change to the lighter pens original color while your writing.

Remember…

  • One way to blend two colors is to paint directly on the light colored tip with the dark color. Don’t flick, gently twist and turn.
  • Or simply scribble the dark color on a plastic palette and pick up the ink with the light colored pen. Angle the pen.
  • Use smooth paper for Tombows, for paper picks see this post.

What are your favorite blending color combos? Which way do you blend, 1 or 2? Let me know in the comments below!

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