Making the appropriate drawing paper choice is essential to producing artwork of the highest caliber. Whether you’re using pastels, charcoal, ink, or pencils, the paper you choose can have a big impact on the texture, intricacy, and overall look of your drawings. Understanding the features of each paper type will help you express yourself more creatively because different kinds of paper accommodate different artistic techniques.
How your medium interacts with the surface can be affected by elements, including paper weight, texture, and absorbency. Knowing which paper best fits your approach is crucial to getting the results you want, from textured papers for powerful strokes to smooth papers for delicate detail work.
To be more specific, consider the kind of paper you would use for each medium. Paper producers make it so that it can be used with various media and last for a long time. It’s always better to choose a paper based on their recommendations.
Here is a list of paper kinds and mediums that use comparable paper, along with the names of artists who used the paper that you might wish to look up.
1. Drawing Paper
A thinner version of drawing paper is called sketching paper. It’s usually used for fast studies, which can be used for full drawings on heavier, higher-quality paper, drawing practice, and experimenting with dry mediums. Artists often use this kind of paper in their sketchbooks, which they save as references for their subsequent works.
Colored pencils, graphite, charcoal drawing chalks, monochrome chalks, and oil pencils are the best mediums to use on sketch paper. Van Gogh is thought to have created many of his drawings using sketches and drawing paper. He wrote using a reed pen, graphite and light ink.
2. Sketch Paper
In comparison to sketching paper, drawing paper is heavier and of higher quality. It is frequently used for completed work and sketches. Graphite, charcoal, dry monochromes, soft pastels, oil pastels, markers, and pen and ink are the best mediums for drawing paper. Rembrandt produced a great deal of fascinating pen and brown ink drawings.
3. Charcoal
Strathmore 500 Series Charcoal The history of charcoal paper dates back more than a century. All cotton construction has a distinct lay finish. It is most effective when used with charcoal, drawing chalks, monochromes, pastels, and graphite, giving the artist fine control over shading. Although this paper is very lightweight and would not accept much water, some artists have even used light washes of gouache, watercolor, and ink.
4. Weaved
Weaved paper is the term used to describe many old papers that were manufactured with a layout similar to this one. It was well known that Ingres produced exquisite drawings on woven paper that captured the texture and grain of the surface. Giovanni Paolo Panini is a well-known draftsman from the past who you might wish to research (nothing to do with the sandwich). His renderings of Renaissance Italian architecture are breathtaking.
5. Pastel Paper
One side of pastel paper has a distinctive pebbled surface, while the other side is a little bit smoother. As the name suggests, pastel paper works well with colored pencils (most colored pencil artists choose the smoother side of the paper), pastels, charcoal, drawing chalks, and monochromes.
For underpainting, some painters even utilize thin watercolor washes. Famous artists like Mary Cassatt and her close friend Edgar Degas contributed to this issue. For a lot of her work, Mary Cassatt was known to enjoy working with pastel paper with a blue tone.
6. Vellum Sketching Surface
In the world of paper, this paper is a relatively novel surface. Paper manufacturers set out to create a product that could endure the wide range of media approaches that artists employ in their work today. The vellum sketching surface was designed to resemble watercolor in certain aspects.
Graphite, colored pencils, markers, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, pen and ink, charcoal, pastels, black-and-white drawings, gel pens, fine liners, calligraphy inks, and the list goes on are the perfect mediums. These days, many masters enjoy using this material. Check out the amazing gouache and toned mixed media paper technique by artist Jordan Rhodes.
7. Oil Painting
Oil painting paper has a linen feel and is the right size to use oil as a medium without the need for gesso. The size prevents the oil from leaking onto the paper’s reverse side. Before framing, mounting the completed piece to a board is advised. In this paper, artists are free to use oil, charcoal, graphite, and other oil materials as needed.
8. Canvas
This is textured canvas paper that is the right size to hold oil and acrylic without gesso. This is an excellent painting paper to use for practice. This paper is used as a teaching tool in many classrooms. In this paper, the following media can be used: graphite, acrylic, colored pencil, oils, and painting fluids.
9. Watercolor
It is one of the broadest paper categories, featuring an array of surface weights and textures. Watercolor paper is typically available in weights of 90 lb, 140 lb, and 300 lb, with the higher weight indicating firmer quality. To prevent the 90- and 140-pound sheets from buckling during painting, it is recommended to stretch them to a different surface; however, stretching the 300-pound paper is not necessary.
There are three surface textures available for this paper: Rough, Cold Press, and Hot Press. Rough paper has a noticeable pebbling/surface texture, while Hot Press paper is quite smooth. Cold Press paper has some pebbling/surface roughness. Graphite, watercolor, gouache, colored pencils, watercolor pencils, liquid acrylics, drawing chalks, and monochromes are suggested mediums. Well-known watercolor painter John Singer Sargent used watercolor paper for his paintings.
In the end!
Your choice of drawing paper can significantly influence the ultimate appearance and feel of your artwork. You can improve the depth and quality of your creations by considering the medium, texture, and weight of the paper. Try out various paper types to see which suits your medium and artistic style the best.
