Testing 11 Samples of Legion Paper 

the thumbnail made me think they were full sized sketch pads so I got a big giggle from how cute they were when you showed them :))

I really enjoy Legion papers and glad you got to check them out! As always, such a thorough inspection of all the products! Well done, Teoh! Thank you!

Yupo paper is made for alcoholic inks AND watercolour! Yes, it takes time to dry but the point of yupo is to get effects with watercolour and alcohol inks that cannot be achieved on conventional paper. You can drop alcohol on it also. Look up Yupo for watercolor.

Their Kraft is the smoothest finish Kraft that I've seen as well as the thickest, works quite well with gouache (and the color is lovely for portraits and landscapes) and has minimal buckling. The Yupo leaves really beautiful marks when applying various inks with a fine brush or a blunt- tipped pen such as a bamboo pen.

Thanks for this review. I'll look for the blog post, too. I find their motto amusing: "Legion. We are paper." It doesn't seem like the box contained the paper I'm using. My local art store is the Daniel Smith "mothership" in Seattle. They carry full sheets of Stonehenge Aqua coldpress in 140 pound and 300 pound. Also 140 pound hot press. I've been using the 140 pound cold press in my sketchbook for several months now. It's not as "toothy" as Arches so is better for my combination of pen line and watercolor sketching. It's also $2-3 cheaper per full sheet than Arches.

Great review on all the papers. Thank you for sharing!

THANK YOU THANK YOU for this great multi-paper review of the Legion papers. I've seen a few around in different art supply stores here in the United States but didn't know the differences. I didn't even know they made Yupo! An artist friend of mine -- an acrylic painter --- used some a few years ago and I was curious how it would hold up for watercolor. Seems like a crazy amount of drying time. I did find out you can seal your watercolor if you paint on Yupo otherwise it erases so easily. Anyway, thanks again for this tremendous service! Glad to support you on Patreon too!

It will be great to see the additional information on your blog. This was great to see the differences. I have the larger box set and I need to try them. The Yupo that I have seen people mainly use the small bottles of alcohol inks on them but I have not tried it yet. Thank you for covering them.

The first time I used Yupo was the only time I really enjoyed using it. I scattered some green paint made from a mix of Phthalo Blue and Hansa Yellow Medium with just a touch of Quinacridone Rose just to grey it down a bit. Then I covered it with some plastic wrap and smooshed it around some so that it was not laying smoothly on the Yupo. After it was dry enough, I removed the plastic wrap and studied the resulting shapes. As I rotated the Yupo so that I could see the shapes from different views, a lizard started manifesting itself. I added more paint to the body and head and extended the tail. I added in claws on the feet. Most people saw it as a lizard, even though it was a highly stylized version of a lizard. There are artists who are more proficient with Yupo than I am. One artist told me that she mixes a little dish soap in with her paint and that helps the paint not bead up on the Yupo so much. Some place, either online or in a book, I read that Yupo was originally used in the signage industry. Since I like to do wet in wet and glazing, Yupo doesn't really fit my needs.

Great video. Thank you for this detailed analysis!

Thank you for making all this work to introduce a new brand of papers ! New brand for me. I'm always looking for a new sketchbook and with that kind of video I extended my possibilities. Thanks Teoh !

Thanks Teoh I was looking for this, I wish more companies like strathmore did something similar with the samples

Great video. I really appreciate paper reviews since it is difficult to know what paper will do before using it. I wanted to say that Yupo works very well with the Derwent Inktense pencils. As with all water based media, they can be wiped off, so unlike regular paper, the Inktense will lift right off. The other thing that is a bit odd is if you have a watercolor wash, you can draw right over it with graphite pencil, even when it's wet. Watercolor dries with a fairly hard edge, but the paper doesn't buckle at all. The effect is a bit strange for watercolor, but if you have ever worked in liquid tusche on a lithography stone, or a zinc plate it's not unlike the way that looks.

I love the hot press watercolor paper! Colors stay brillant and long working time which I love!

I learn so much from the videos, thank you.

Im so happy that the notification works :D

Most satisfying thing I've watched today

Extremely useful, Teoh, thank you for investing this time! I was thinking of getting a variety pack of these mini pads to take with me in purse for watercolor, but it's very clear yupo paper isn't suitable for that, although it does give me am idea. I make custom watercolor palettes in altoid tins, and I usually tape palette paper inside the lid as a makeshift palette. It seems this yupo paper is even more effective as a palette because it won't stain and stays white, so the yupo paper will still be a worthwhile investment for me!

Yep, I've used Yupo for Watercolor and acrylic ink specifically for the effect. I've used Stonehenge multimedia and I like it too.

Teoh, this is great. I have used Yupo Translucent, the Aqua Hot/Cold Press (and I am thinking of getting more of that), and Stonehenge White. Great to see them all compared. I love the look of the Kraft!

I like using yupo with acrylic gouache, you don’t get wrinkles , although you have to build up layers because brush strokes show too much at first.

The aqua papers would have sizing in them, while the regular papers would not. That probably would affect the way the color settles into the paper.

ooh I would have kept these as a collectors item.. so cute. But thanks anyway for showing them to us. good review.

I've done some really cool things with yupo before but haven't played as extensively as I would like. I did a mixed media piece and I've done some alcohol flow as well as used it for my leftover acrylic paint when doing my large canvas pieces. I would like to sit down and do some more experimenting with what it can really do.

I've used the medium weight Stonehenge in white and in colors for color pencil work. It is a favorite paper of many color pencil artists. Their watercolor paper is a relatively new product, introduced last year, I think. I've tried samples of it, and don't like it that much. I know people who love painting in watercolor on Yupo for the special effects - there are lots of videos on youtube.

Yupo can be used as a mixing surface for watercolors. Trim it to fit in the lid of a DIY palette like an Altoids box that does not have a white enamel lid. Toss or wipe and reuse.

Legion paper is AMAZING

Thanks for your informative videos. Can you explain the difference between hot press and cold press watercolor paper and when you should use them? Thanks so much and please continue with the excellent work that you do.

You can get a specific watercolour yupo paper ..I’ve never tried it though. Would love to know what rollerball you used? Looks lovely!

I love your voice!

Nice good

I think Yupo is for graphite, ink, and acrylics ✌️

You should watch the video by Owings Art on You Tube. He really does some unusual tests on this paper and surprise, surprise, it survived.

How do you manage to get the samples without registering an account with Legion paper? I notice the registration requires a company name in the form in order to get samples.

Hi Teoh, thanks for reviewing this!! I am interested in getting only one of the pad, but in multiple copies. Do you know if they sell in such manner?