Tutorial List

One of the most important things to any artist is the surface they are drawing on. Because when the surface changes, the technique, media, quality, and overall look of the piece change with it. So here is a handy guide to help you decide which paper is right for your next project.

|||--TERMS TO KNOW--|||

Weight - This is how much a ream (500 sheets cut into 1m squares) of the paper weighs. The higher the weight, the more abuse and higher quality the paper tends to be. Most computer paper weighs in at about 20-30lbs. While water color or wet media paper tends towards 200+lbs. The heavier the paper the more of a media it can hold, as long as it has the right amount of tooth. Also heavy paper is thicker.

Tooth - This is the texture of the paper. The more tooth a piece has the more texture it has, and therefore it can generally hold certain medias better than others. There is no numerical measurement for tooth and you really just have to feel the paper and look at it to see what kind it has. Light weight paper tends to have little tooth and be smooth, while heavier paper has more and is rougher. Be careful though, because some of the cheaper papers have a grid like tooth to them (if you look close you will see a grid like patterning to the areas where the tooth is). High quality paper will have an even tooth all around.

Archival - This is more important than it may sound. Its how long your paper will last. Non-archival acidic paper will yellow rapidly and deteriorate and eventually just disintegrate unless kept in very very special conditions. Nowadays most paper is archival and acid free, but some or better than others. If you treat your paper well your art will outlive you and your great great great great.... grand kids. If you don't, even if it is archival it will start to yellow and disintegrate in as little as 10 years. Avoid sunlight and moisture.

Roll, Pad, And Sheet - Most mid range art papers come in a pad (a book like thing containing a bunch of papers). The higher quality stuff is sold by the individual sheet. Occasionally you can find paper in large rolls. The rolls are the best bargain and are great for large projects, but only buy one if you are going to use lots of that one kind of paper. Rolls can be made of really cheap craft paper, or super high quality print making paper. Water color or really heavy paper tends to be too stiff to roll up so its generally sold by the sheet.

Dry Vs. Wet Media - Dry media generally refers to pencil, graphite, charcoal, pastel, chalk, ect. Dry things. But it includes some markers and pens. Wet media normally means paint, watercolor, ink washes, nib or quill pens (pens where you have to dip the tip in ink).

Cold Vs. Hot Press - This refers to the end process of when the paper is being made. Its not important to know how its made, all you need to know is Hot press is smooth, Cold press is rough (lots of tooth)

|||--PAPER TYPES--|||

Newsprint - This is good sketching paper because its cheap, low quality, and has a decent tooth that can hold a fair amount of most dry medias. Comes in white and off white colors generally. It tends to be non archival even though it may be acid free. The weight is generally between 50-100 lbs.

Computer Paper - Smooth, not really suitable for medias of drawing but is alright for pen, some markers, and pencil.

Craft Paper - Really cheap, very low weight, sometimes has a tooth, tends to be brown, non-archival, not suitable for any media, but is great for cover sheets and drop cloth.

Drawing Paper - Mid range quality, good tooth, 70-110lbs, comes in many colors, good for most dry media.

Sketching Paper - A Little higher quality than Newsprint and tends to be white, 50-90lbs, better tooth than newsprint, more archival as well. Good for dry media.

Charcoal Paper - A bit higher quality than drawing paper, similar tooth, comes in various colors, good for dry media.

Bristol Board - Generally smooth, but very high weight, 100+lbs, good for pencil, pen, and some wet medias. Not good for things that create lots of dust, because the low tooth doesn't let that stuff stick very well.

Illustration Board - Can be either smooth or toothed. Very stiff. Think of it as a piece of drawing paper stuck on top of a piece of cardboard. Excellent for dry media and pens.

Wet Media Paper - Heavier than charcoal and drawing paper, 120+ lbs, great for pretty much any media, but the tooth is a little to much to be used with pencil or weak charcoal.

Water Color Paper - Stiff, very high tooth and weight, 200+ lbs for the good stuff, good for wet media, to much tooth for most dry media, durable.

Print Making Paper - Excellent for all medias, heavy 200+ lbs. good texture and tooth, very durable. Great all purpose stuff that can be bought on a roll or by the sheet.

Transparent Paper - Not just tracing paper, tracing paper tends to be very low weight, have no tooth, and is flimsy. There is also Mylar, Acetone, and Duralar which are heavy papers that either either completely transparent (like saran wrap) or slightly opaque like tracing paper. They tend to be smooth, and offer a nice creative alternative to drawing on plain white or colored paper.

|||--BIG BRANDS--|||

Strathmore - Good mid range stuff, great for a starting artist who is sick of drawing on computer paper. Relatively cheap.

Arches, Rives, Stonehenge - Really high quality paper, especially the printmaking and water color. If you haven't ever drawn on any of these before, go out and buy a sheet and experiment with different medias on it. Particularly the Rives BFK line. A bit expensive though.

Canson - Good mid range stuff, cheaper than any of the above ones, and a bit higher quality than Strathmore stuff.

Dahler Rowny - Similar to Canson

ONE LAST THING
If you buy a good sheet of paper, don't be afraid of it just because its expensive. If you are worried about ruining it cut off a strip and experiment a bit. Nothing will cripple a drawing more than being afraid of your paper, learn what your paper does and doesn't do well and push it to its limit. Experiment with all kinds of medias on all kinds of paper and you will learn what you can and cant do with each, then you can have that knowledge next time you get an idea of what paper will work best for it.

Updated: 08/13/09 4:51 PM Log in to comment! | Share this!