Selection Guide for Watercolor Papers

Watercolor paper is used exclusively for watercolors. Its gram weight is usually 300g or higher. The higher the gram weight, the thicker the paper will be. Only in this way can it support repeated smearing with water. A good quality watercolor paper is one that can withstand large amounts of water and repeated renderings, and absorbs properly. Therefore, A4 paper, sketch paper, and colored lead paper cannot be used to draw watercolors.

The most common raw materials for watercolour paper are wood pulp and cotton pulp.

Wood pulp paper is made of wood as raw material, with low production cost, simple production process, white color, smooth paper surface, hard paper quality, easy to scrub, easy to get water marks, and low price.Small, fresh-toned watercolors work well on wood pulp paper.

Cotton pulp paper is made of cotton linters, with a yellowish color and soft paper quality. It can draw elegant works as well as heavy styles.Cotton pulp paper is highly absorbent, the pigments will not stay on the paper for too long, and the texture is divided into fine lines, medium coarse and rough. And each texture has a different picture effect.

Whether it is wood pulp paper or cotton pulp paper, each has its own advantages.