Decorating Paper With Water-Soluble Crayons

Assorted papers colored using the method described in this article. By Joceline Boucher.

With few exceptions, my origami education has come entirely from online resources such as this website. No one I know folds, no origami clubs are nearby, and I have not attended conventions. In wanting to reach out and share, I began writing this article about a singular technique for coloring paper. In so doing, I gained a wonderful connection with Jane Rosemarin, editor of The Fold. She shared her experiences using pastel crayons, and I learned that my method is only part of a much wider spectrum of techniques. We intend that a second article in The Fold will cover other techniques with these very same materials.

My origami journey began over a decade ago. Initially, I folded mostly copy and magazine papers. A few years in, I bought a pack of duo paper. Yet I never found quite the right colors. and I began imagining coloring papers myself. As my journey progressed, I experimented with colored pencils and blending stumps on different papers. This worked – sort of – but only for small areas as the coloring and blending were slow.

Knowing that some pigments are alcohol soluble, I set out to discover which pencils could be blended with alcohol to evenly coat the paper. Alcohol, my solvent of choice in the form of 91% isopropanol (aka alcohol antiseptic) applied with a paper towel, dissolves and disperses certain pigments, dries within minutes, and does not wrinkle paper. The results were generally good. I could vary color saturation with a single pencil or mix pigments using several pencils on the same paper. Tracing paper colored this way on a single side has a special glow. One pencil in my kit – an old ditto master pencil – produced an especially intense and gorgeous purple. But impatience prevailed, and I found pencils to be too slow.

Left, stump-blended pencil on kami paper. Center, alcohol-blended pencil on kami paper. Right, markings of a vintage ditto pencil rubbed sparingly with alcohol on cotton bond.

Online searches revealed several pigments that could possibly cover paper more quickly. Neocolor II wax pastels, produced by Caran d’Ache — which despite the “wax” in their name are soluble in alcohol (or water) — subsequently became my favorite. I think of these highly pigmented pastels, intended for mixed media and watercolor artists, as crayons for adults. They apply smoothly to virtually any paper, are colorfast and inexpensive and come in more than 80 colors. Best of all, they are fun to use. As such, they have become my go-to tool for just about any origami project.

Below, I share my method for coloring papers with Neocolor II pastel crayons and isopropanol. Working safely is a priority, and almost every Neocolor II crayon carries the AP seal, meaning that in normal use they are safe for children and adults; nonetheless, handwashing after use is always good practice. Likewise, odor-sensitive users may prefer using isopropanol in a well-ventilated space.

Materials

• Neocolor II pastels, purchased as individual crayons or in sets from art supply stores; note that Neocolor I pastels, which look similar, are not alcohol-soluble and are not used in this method.
• Isopropyl alcohol 91% (commonly sold as an antiseptic in pharmacies; also called isopropanol).
• Paper towels or napkins
• Origami paper (white kami would be good to begin with)
• Scrap paper to place under the origami paper, for coloring up to and beyond the edges of the origami paper.
• A smooth table or surface on which to color that will not be damaged by alcohol.

Methods

• Place the origami paper on top of the scrap paper. Ensure that the scrap paper is smooth; bumps on underlying materials can result in unwanted marks on the origami paper.
• Start simple. Color to the edges of the origami paper with one or more colors. Experiment with pressure on the crayon, spaces between crayon marks, coloring over marks, etc. As “Neocoloring” becomes more familiar, this step should go rather quickly (I rarely spend more than five minutes coloring one side of a 9-by-12-inch paper).
• Slightly dampen a corner of a crumpled paper towel with isopropyl alcohol. The dampness needed will depend on the paper and pastels used. To test, scribble on the scrap paper and rub with the damp towel. Do the markings completely disperse? Do they barely move? Make the necessary adjustments in dampness by varying the amount of alcohol.
• Rub the alcohol-dampened towel over your colorings to the desired amount of dispersion. To avoid fingerprints on the origami paper, use the tip of a pen or other object to secure the edge while rubbing, or alternatively, color a larger paper, hold on to an edge while rubbing, and later trim the paper to size.
• Let dry. Most papers dry within a few minutes.
• Inspect. Is the color right? Is more or different color needed? Do bare spots exist? Are raised crayon marks still visible? Does the reverse side also need color? With most papers, filling in, coloring both sides, and even recoloring is quite possible. Repeat the coloring and alcohol steps as needed.

Left, a simple Neocolor II coloring scheme on a sheet of kami paper. Center, the same sheet rubbed with an alcohol-dampened towel. Circular rubbing would result in less variegation and streaking. Right, the dry square, cut to size, is smooth to the touch.

A greeting card made from folded squares of drafting vellum, each hand colored with this method. Hybrid orchid flower design: León Cekouat (diagrams in The Paper, Issue 149/Winter 2025).

Further considerations

• A clean, second piece of scrap paper may be needed for the alcohol step if keeping the back of the origami paper uncolored is a priority.
• Rubbing alcohol (70% isopropanol) will also work, but drying times will be longer.
• Neocolor II crayons come with pointed tips that can be resharpened. Mine are unsharpened, for maximum surface area to allow for quicker coloring.
• Crayons have somewhat different characteristics depending on hue. For example, Turquoise Blue and Purple have creamy consistencies and disperse more readily than Cobalt Blue, which needs more rubbing to coat and cover.
• Certain colors, on some papers, will produce shiny, opaque surfaces. Other combinations make for matte and opaque surfaces.
• The back side of tracing paper colored in this way has a wonderful, frosted translucence. I often use the back side as my front side in folding.
• Shiny papers, such as some vellum, tend to be more difficult to coat with pigment. Experiment!
• To obtain multiple pieces from one colored page for use in modular models, I first laser-print outlines of the needed pieces on blank paper, color the paper’s unprinted side, and then cut out the pieces along the lines on the back. Coloring on the printed side might obliterate the lines.
• Embellishing after the alcohol step is possible – I love adding flourishes using metallic markers!
• A small set of Neocolor IIs should last for years.

Kawasaki roses folded from Neocolored tracing paper have been in a window for several years with minimal fading. Rose design: Toshikazu Kawasaki.