Eve Bolt - Bolt's Vault this is why i’m not dare to try 100% cotton paper since i’m broke and didnt start commission yet. I dont want to marry something so expensive
Let me put in a vote for Fabriano's 100% cotton line, "Artistico". When I got tired of paying for Arches, I gave it a try, and it works just as well for me, and costs considerably less. I've used cold press in the past, and currently use rough press. I'm not sure it's a brilliant idea to discuss cotton papers and others in the same review, as the difference in quality is so very great. Everybody who can afford 100% cotton uses it exclusively.
I totally agree about Artistico. I can't really justify the cost of Arches. It's just way too expensive. The individual sheets of Arches on Blick are like $8 each. And I don't think they offer multi sheet packs like Artistico. On Blick they have a 4-pack of 22x30 sheets for like $17 which isn't that bad. Also Arches hot press is super fibery and weird. Like, you can literally see little tiny edges of cotton that lift slightly- I noticed this quality more when using the paper with colored pencils, but still, Fabriano Artistico hot press is extremely smooth and doesn't do this at all.
@@FuriedHearts really?? Check amazon and such. I got my arches paper for 20 bucks. I believe it's a 12 sheet pack. I work smaller though so I get twice the use out of one page
@@FuriedHearts and arches are better known for their cold press. Last I checked you can get it for 30 dollars (12 sheets) on Amazon. But I guess it depends where you live. I'm in the US so it works well for me. Though, I do like fabriano and the 100 percent cotton paper from mozart is awesome. 30 sheets for I think 15-20
i watched this video a week or so ago and looked up the Baohong paper on amazon and the block is 300 gsm and 100% cotton and I LOVE IT SO MUCH... it is amazong, thank u so much Arlee! i am always in search of new paper to try and this just made my process seem so easy✨
Your videos are so calm and you give lots of detail, thank you for doing this! Also, I've watched your classes on Skillshare and they're so, so good to watch. Your speak really clearly and that's good for the people who don't speak english as their first language. Thank you, thank you, thank you :)
I loved Arches for my artwork.... and to make my hardcover leather bound watercolor sketchbooks. Most people that buy my sketchbooks ask for Arches. Once I used Saunders Waterford paper, I never wanted anything else lol. Painting on Saunders Waterford is like painting on.... well, heaven. So now for my sketchbooks I sell, I offer a choice of Saunders Waterford papers, Stonehenge aqua papers, Arches papers and Fabriano Artistico papers.... plus the Strathmore 500 series 100% cotton papers. I have converted alot of people to Saunders because I had a problem buying a large order of papers from my usual supplier, so all I had in my studio was Saunders Waterford ( because I buy a ton of it for my artwork ) to make any sketchbooks. So people got antsy waiting and wanted the sketchbooks with Saunders.... they now use nothing but lol. Saunders is like Arches, but with alittle less of the super insane sizing, its brighter and the texture is extremely sexy. ( yes I said paper is sexy )
It is always interesting to see who people react to "favorite" papers and supplies in general. I often tell people that if your going to skimp do not skimp on paper, use the best you cannot afford! I find that the cheaper papers just do not last even short term 10 years or less. I had bad yellowing in many cellulose papers in many of my student works when price seems to be paramount! Ah well its good to know your opinions and I look forward to learning more about you through your videos.
Ohhh the Fabriano block you have got my attention! Since I work with Fabriano paper a lot! Maybe I know why you didn’t like it, it’s only 25% cotton (so it’s doesn’t perform as good as 50% or 100% cotton) and I noticed it’s Hot Press Satinata, I‘ve never tried the Satinata type but I heard it’s one of the most difficult texture to work on! I personally like working on Fabriano paper, they have different types of papers and surfaces and I tried several of them but the best (for me at least) it’s the Fabiano “Blocco per artisti” 50% cotton, 300gsm. Fabriano has rather good quality paper over 50% or 100% cotton, not sure about the price in other countries but in Italy, Fabriano is one of the best papers as price/quality ratio! I’ve heard a lot about Arches paper! I would be curious to try it but since it’s one of the most expensive papers, I already have good quality papers for a cheaper price 😂 I always wanted to ask you; What is your favorite texture/surface to work on?? Do you prefer working on hot press or cold press? 😊
Thanks for the tips, Sandra!! I definitely want to try out different types of Fabriano paper - I've heard so many good things. I'd say my favorite surface currently is probably hot press. It's much easier for me to sketch on overall, and I love painting on it. It's pretty close though - some cold press papers are really fantastic too. ♥
I'm so grateful to have gotten to try Blocks HP because of you! I still owe one more episode on paper to my favorites series from a little while back, but I've been hesitant because there are still so many I want to try! Thanks for sharing your favorites with us!
Finally someone who doesn't like the Strathmore watercolor paper! I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me for not liking it, when everyone else seems to enjoy using it. Great review, thank you for sharing your experience.
We're so limited with our papers in Australia and shipping paper from overseas is super expensive, you might as well just pay for and use the Arches! Yes, Arches Hot Press dries too fast. Ho hummm! Thanks for the honest review.
My favorite paper is Canson Heritage cold press, but I can definitely appreciate a nice cellulose paper as well, like an Etival. And even Montval isn't bad, I like it a lot for ink and wash. I also do not mind the inexpensive Fabriano Watercolour (I do not know if this even has a name, it just says waterolour on it. Looks like the blue cover of Fabriano studio, but it doesn't say studio on it) to play around, and I find that Hahnemühle Expression is an excellent choice for when you want pure cotton without having to spend a bunch of money. I have some of the Fabriano studio hot press kicking around here. I have actually only used it once last year, then forgot about it and recently recovred it - I do not even recall what I thought about it, but seeing how I never used another sheet, probably not much.
Nicely done Doll keep those creative juices flowing I also like canson watercolor cold press and arches cold press as well but not a fan of fluids hot press not sure if it's hot press I don't like or the brand it's self I will have to keep trying out more papers
Gotta say I was shocked to see strathmore on the least favorites list. I really love strathmore papers, haha. But I guess that's why so many companies have watercolor paper! I don't think I've used cotton paper before except for those fancy $8 giant papers we were forced to use for drawing class. Might try it out now that I see what brands of it are worth the money.
I love the Canson. I’m just very impatient, so I forget to wait until layers dry. The paper also warps a lot less than the strathmore. From what I’ve seen at least lol.
I'll admit that I haven't truly branched out in watercolor papers. I've tried Strathmore 300 and 400 series HP CP, Fabriano Studio CP, Richardson CP(You cannot mask this with tape or otherwise, it's too soft, and it warps badly.) and Fluid 100 CP. Personally, I like Strathmore best, probably because I learned on it. But I mostly use Fabriano, because it's cheap. Which means I don't have to feel bad when paintings are failures. But I do not slowly build up color, I go in bold and bright... and suck up the color I need to. Strathmore and Fabriano are great for that. Plus, I layer at this point for texture, details and to add a touch of dimension. And for me, it's nice to be able to rewett and lift/mix areas, probably because I live in the desert and boy does it dry fast! 😂 I've tried hot press now for the first time and am thinking about entirely switching over, it was incredibly easy to use and I really liked painting on illustration board. I want to try more papers because it'd be fun, and who knows maybe I'll fall in love with another paper... But for now, I'm keeping it cheap... haha. I think it'd be too upsetting wasting a $4+ sheet of paper on a bad painting. And of course with new supplies you should always expect mistakes. 😊 I enjoyed hearing your thoughts, and you've given me more to weigh over with what I will try next. 😊 I will say, we're very different painters, but I do love your work. 😁👍
I'm currently using up a pad of that same Strathmore paper and it's awful!!!! Paint just sits on the page and the colors lift. Can't get nice washes or blends. I'm new to watercolor, so I'm going to keep practicing with this paper until I use it up, but I want to move onto something better. Maybe I will try the blick or aliexpress one
I would stop use of that paper. Some friends bought some for me once and it handles terribly. Not to mention the painting has a flat look when completed.
i can only afford the canson paper so i am gonna try it and take a look for myself . i love abstract and expressive work with more saturation so canson is the best for me
i love how textured arches is and i find myself wanting to find cheaper very textured paper, but i can totally see how others wouldn’t like it, it’s got a strong personality (if that makes sense haha)
I just bought some Canson L'aquarelle Heritage 100% cotton pads on clearance at Hobby Lobby recently (insanely cheap btw 75%off). I haven't used it yet, but I have to tell you it feels quite a bit like the arches. Honestly, if I didn't know that I was touching the Heritage paper I would have thought it was actually the Arches. Thank you so much for such details on the paper. I have a little bit of everything you shared, except the Blicks. I'll have to give it a try next time I order from them. Thanks again!
Arches paper has two sides with different textures (both hot and cold pressed) I hate the hot press on the smoother side but love the side that’s rougher. Eg it dries slower on the rougher side.
Fabriano Studio really was something... I remember back when I started I bought it and it almost scarred me off wanting to paint anymore because it wasn't even just not enjoyable-- the paper surface started rubbing off in ways I didn't get with cheaper paper. I tried it again about a year or so later, but it still wasn't enjoyable-- it felt frustrating. Glad to know I wasn't alone in that... What I like about Canson Montval is that it's just so much more affordable, especially when you're someone not from the west and thus the cost of a good pad is... the price of rent for a one person dorm. Yes it's not good, but it's predictable and workable enough you can actually paint something without feeling like you're committing war crimes. I mostly stare at my Langton Prestige with longing in my eyes, but even after years I don't feel comfortable "wasting" it on pieces that don't feel as "important", such as character arts...
I am glad because I feel the exactly same way to arches cold pressed and hot pressed papers. My favorite hot pressed paper is Saunders imperial white paper. It shows vibrant colors like arches cold pressed. Hope you try it one day.
Love your reviews style! Not so much technical stuff, but more of your own experience. I feel lthe same about the cellulose papers and while I decided to move to cotton papers for the layered pieces I will probably come back to these other ones for the 1-2 layer illustrations.
YESSSSS i got the same fabriano paper and i was SO disappointed!!!! I think it might work okay for ink or gouache though...ive just been meaning to pick it back up.
Baohong block 300gsm/Brilliant tip about being able to reactivate bottom layers. In The several years I've watercolored, I've never heard this. Thanks!
I'm still learning watercolor and I really liked this video. I also started on canson watercolor paper because of the cheap price. I've been wanting to try other types of paper but have been worried about not liking it and spending mega bucks on it. Canson is ok but like you said it doesn't layer very well without activating the prevous layer below. I'll try to see if I can find any of these other brands in my local art store and try them out.
treefrog ochs can you get to the blick website? They have small pads of paper for under 10$ so you can try the different brands. Then you won’t have to feel as bad about experimenting :)
Look for “Bee Paper” on Amazon... it’s $15 for 50 sheets of 6x9 Cotton paper. Arlee said she’d talk about it on her channel soon, but I quite like it with my bit of experience! It’s definitely better quality than Canson, and it’s dirt cheap!
The only watercolor paper I've used is the hot press from blick and I really loved it. It was the required paper for my intro to watercolor class and I was amazed by it
Really great info! Oof, most of the papers you mentioned in this video aren’t available in my country and if they were, they were either really hard to find, really expensive for me or both XD. The ones that happen to be available for me and that are the least expensive papers for me are the canson, fabriano and strathmore XD. The strathmore 500 series is available, but even small blocks and/or pads of it are too expensive. Is canson XL (not montval) good enough for not 100% cotton?
Thank you so much! I was really in doubt of what to chose and also it's sometimes kind of limited what brands we can get here in Denmark (at least in the stores and paper is hard to judge just by a website) so this was PERFECT!
I like to make my watercolor portraits in a hard bound book. I’m having a difficult time with the paper in my Stillman and Burn book -Zeta. The paper is smooth and thick. Thankfully it’s thick, because I get quite allot of feathering that needs to be worked around and messed with. Now I’m committed to this book, which is practically brand new, unless I write off the price and buy a book with cotton papers.
i'm in the same boat with arches myself, i bought it for college but rarely use it as it was 1. expencive af and 2. I struggle with how textured/thick the paper feels IMO. but i'm glad i'm not the only one who had issues with it. also: what is that pink/red colour you use @ 6:22 pls it's gorgeous and i want it
I saw that paper block from your aliexpress video and I had it in my cart til I chickened out and removed it. After this video I just ordered it so I guess I'll get to test it out for myself in a couple months time (thanks Chinese shipping lol)
I haven't tried the cold press yet! I'm interested in Fabriano's Artistico line which is 100% cotton, but maybe I should give the studio cold press a try :]
Aah, I also tried the Artistico cold press before but it's just like the Arches and takes some getting used too in my opinion! You always need a little more water than you think. I really like the paper though!
I share your sentiments about all of those brands, haven’t tried Blick though. Wanted To know if you have tried Meeden Watercolor paper block? Very affordable and I really really like it I’ve only tried the hot press though. I so feel you on the Montville paper!
Great video! Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I'm looking for the thinnest most absorbent. That first one mentioned seems like a good fit. Any suggestions?
Someone told me I really needed to invest in good watercolor paper so I got fabriano. It's the only specifically watercolor paper I've ever used, and I thought the issues you mentioned were just things I had to get over. Now I'm way more open to another brand
Thanks for the review! I have similar feelings, prefer Arches CP or Fabriano Artistico SP for many things, but am okay with Montval for swatching, studies and sketches. I dislike Strathmore 400 for it's color, hardness and having different texture on each side, but use it as scrap paper. I had a sample of Fluid 100, wasn't impressed but should probably try it again because of the price.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who didn't immediately love arches. I still can't get over the texture and dryness but everyone says it's the best...idk guess I'll just keep trying brands until I find something I like
Very informative video. Just noticed that the Baohong blocks are also available on Amazon.com, under the MEEDEN label. Search "Meeden cotton watercolor paper" and it comes right up. Good price, too.
I knew it wasn't me, it was the paper!! I have a lot of fun playing around and layering some light washes on my Mixed Media pad, so I got the Canson Aquarelle pad to finally try my hand at making some finished pieces, but it felt like it sucked all the paper from my brush! I couldn't layer, couldn't blend colors together, nothing! And the colors looked so dull on this pad, too, even more so than on the Mixed Media pad
I know you made this video a long time ago but if you can please tell me how you feel about the Arteza watercolor paper, that would be very much appreciated! Thank You so much for all that you do and share...
I am going to try that Blick hot press. I've been making card size paintings ( 2 1/2" by 3 1/2") and selling them on ebay, but I find that when I take a photo of them close up (because they are small) the texture of the aches cold press shows up so pronounced. I was thinking to try hot press but I do like a little texture, so the Blick hot press sounds perfect. Thanks, let's cross our fingers and hope that this is the answer!
I'm new to watercolor painting (started on my own a few months ago) and I've been trying all sorts of techniques (loose painting, realistic). Would you recommend Montval in my case?since watercolor supplies aren't quite affordable and we all are locked down or in quarantine, I've been considering the Montval maxi pack for the next months. 🤔 I use Van Gogh by Talens and paint botanicals, birds and nature motifs mostly. Thank you so much for sharing your impressions. Subscribed already! Stay safe. Xx
Was looking reviews on the Fabriano Artistoco 100% cotton Grana Satinata Hot Pressed 150 lb. I just tried this paper and I hate it! The paper tends to “swell” when you are trying to do a wash, it even bled through to the back. I’ll be using this for scrap paper. Back to Arches and Bee paper for me.
I got a bunch of xl paper for Xmas 😅 I asked for some higher quality but people don’t really know if they don’t paint so I have like 3 large books of it now 🙃 it’s fine and works but it’s a lot
Hello Arlesha hope i wrote you,re name right. I am no longer painting whit gouache and acrylic. I wanna get back at inking. I started inking last year. Then i stopped. I don,t know why. But i miss it and i wanna do it again. I don,t know if watercolor paper is suiteble for ink. If someone knows witch paper to use for inking it would be a lot of help. Right now i am trying diffrent watercolor papers. I love all of you,re portrets and paintings.😀👍🏽😁
thank you so much for this!!!!! I found the Baohong paper on my local amazon cheaply (incredibly surprising... in Australia and our amazon is normally terrible!). May i ask, compared to stonehenge aqua hot pressed, do you think it feels smoother or rougher? Thank you so much again!!
My first experience with cotton paper was sobering, mainly because I was hoping for a much better paper, because many people believed and had the experience that cotton paper is very good and cellulose paper is so difficult and bad. My expectations were maybe too high for a paper. The Artistico in CP 300g / m2 was my first cotton paper and was bought before the changeover in 2016. It was better but not that it felt e.g much better like 10 times better and it's a lot easier to paint on. I also never had the feeling that I had to fight against my cellulose paper, which is also due to my somewhat loose painting style. Maybe the other people had awful papers before and from something bad to very good there is a very big difference and from good to very good the difference is much smaller. I previously had 2 private label papers a cheap 200g and an expensive 275g with cloudy texture, Etival by Clairfontaine, Fabriano Watercolor and Canson Montval and I like all these papers for their peculiarities. I think that very good paper with special properties is only needed with a very precise painting style and that the paper has to support the working method very precisely instead of the certain pictures failing due to the material if it is not quite as optimal. The colour, for example, dries up exactly as desired and that there can then be no deviations, so a paper 100% must meet the requirements and with 99% it is not enough. So I'm not so perfectionist and paint more loosely, so I can deal with my paper selection more loosely, I still like to paint on these papers even if i have tried other papers. I prefer to paint on cloudy paper and there are not many papers that have this structure apart from the private label paper, there is for example the Fontaine paper in cloudy from Clairfontaine 100% cotton, Fabriano Artistico in soft also cotton, Reflex Aqaurell No 10 Esparto paper from desert grass for which not as much water is used for cultivation as for cotton.
in case someone asks, I had already tested some Cotton watercolour papers, and they were very similar to each other for my loose painting style. Some dried a bit faster others took a little more time so the papers were just a little different within a texture group. Masking fluid did not work on all papers a few broke when I tried to get the masking fluid away. I could not erase on these papers as much as on others, because they also broke on the spot. So the only paper that is very different is the Millford paper, on it paint are dried differently from the edges of the appearance and the colors do not sink at all and can be completely removed. The paper probably has as much sizing inside as it could hold.
Do you ever paint on the back of the papers as well? I really like the fluid brand, but painting on the back doesn’t really look nice. I really enjoy the arches but it’s so...expensive... I’ve tried the moulin du roy, Stonehenge, canson xl, shizen, and I don’t really like them. The Blick hot press is nice as you showed but that black gum is really annoying. But I suppose that’s a preference thing
Quick drying sounds awesome for Plein Aire and studies. Bummer it wasn't useful for you. But your feedback is enough that I think I might be able to use it.
Have you tried the bee paper aqua bee watercolor paper? It’s cold press, 140 lb and 100% cotton paper. It’s pretty affordable at Michaels but I just haven’t brought myself to get it since I’ve never heard anyone talk about it. :)
I think the blick hot press cotton paper has been discontinued, cause when i saw this video i looked it up and it was on the website and now its not, I can't find it in the website and i really wanted to try it :(
I have the fluid 100 paper and i love that it’s so thick but whenever i put water the paper Just lifts or if i mixed two colors and i put it on the paper when it dries it just has this really weird lighting texture to it and I’ve only ever used Holbein artist gouache so the paper didn’t work for me:(
New to your channel! Thank you for the wonderfully descriptive video! Do you suggest swatching when using new pads? For some reason that never occurred to me and I just dive in off the bat. So far I haven’t been too frustrated but I can see the advantages. Keep up the great content!
Swatching can definitely be helpful for getting a feel for the paper. You could even set it up to do a little series of tests! Flat washes, wet-on-wet, etc. ♥
Have you tried Potentate watercolor paper? It’s a cheap brand on eBay and was wondering had anyone used it. All the few reviews are in foreign languages.
It's not good. I have a potantate block and whenever I try to put heavy washes of color it doesn't spread even if I already applied water beforehand. It's acceptable for gouache as it doesn't need too much water anyway. Well case in point, don't buy it, just find a different cheaper paper.
With all my respect i would like to ask you based on your paper experience. Whiich one of this papers would you used to writte a victorian style letter ?? And why ???
Instagram: @lindaappleartist - I have used Arches CP for many years but this year I decided to try some others. I tried the Fluid100 HP, Hahnemuhle (new) Expressions CP and Dick Blick CP. I have been doing a lot of detailed watercolor this year (w/layering). My favorite is the Dick BLick CP! The Fluid 100 does not like ANY tape that I can find, just wasn't impressed. The Hahnemuhle Expressions CP was a beautiful paper w/much smoother texture (compared to Arches) but not as durable as Arches. I see you had the HP Blick..... Well, the Blick CP (like the Hahnemuhle)is also much smoother texture than Arches and matches Arches durability. I think it might NOW be my favorite :)
At least in my area, (Utah, U.S.) I'd have to buy it online, and it's equal or higher in price than Arches. But I would like to try it. Just can't justify buying it for now. 😔 But someday. Glad that it's worthwhile for you. 😊
Cold press has varying texture and hot press is smooth, which one you use depends on your style tbh. If you like having that rustic and rough texture showing through, then go for cold press, if you want those little details and smooth finishing to pop out, go for hot press. If you're aware of the artist Laovann, check him out for portraits made on hot pressed paper for a better example of that!
I wish I hadn’t bought strathmore paper.. i bought it because someone recommended that it was good paper and i hated it. It absorbed the water too quick/ didnt hold up layers well and downgraded the color luminosity 😭
It's so hard to use anything but cotton once one has developed the "taste" for it... Not that I eat my paper... You know what I mean :)
Eve Bolt - Bolt's Vault this is why i’m not dare to try 100% cotton paper since i’m broke and didnt start commission yet. I dont want to marry something so expensive
Yes you eat cotton paper!who do you think you are fooling?
PREFERRED
0:25 Baohong Watercolor Block - Fine Grain, 300gsm
3:40 Fluid 100 Watercolor Block
4:12 Arches Cold Press
5:38 Blick Premiere Hot Press
DISLIKE (Least Favorite - because the colors lift too easily. When trying to layer, they lift colors underneath).
7:14 Fabriano Studio (Hot Press 25% Cotton), Strathmore 400 Series, and Canson Montval Coldpress
Let me put in a vote for Fabriano's 100% cotton line, "Artistico". When I got tired of paying for Arches, I gave it a try, and it works just as well for me, and costs considerably less. I've used cold press in the past, and currently use rough press.
I'm not sure it's a brilliant idea to discuss cotton papers and others in the same review, as the difference in quality is so very great. Everybody who can afford 100% cotton uses it exclusively.
I totally agree about Artistico. I can't really justify the cost of Arches. It's just way too expensive. The individual sheets of Arches on Blick are like $8 each. And I don't think they offer multi sheet packs like Artistico. On Blick they have a 4-pack of 22x30 sheets for like $17 which isn't that bad. Also Arches hot press is super fibery and weird. Like, you can literally see little tiny edges of cotton that lift slightly- I noticed this quality more when using the paper with colored pencils, but still, Fabriano Artistico hot press is extremely smooth and doesn't do this at all.
@@FuriedHearts really?? Check amazon and such. I got my arches paper for 20 bucks. I believe it's a 12 sheet pack. I work smaller though so I get twice the use out of one page
@@FuriedHearts and arches are better known for their cold press. Last I checked you can get it for 30 dollars (12 sheets) on Amazon. But I guess it depends where you live. I'm in the US so it works well for me. Though, I do like fabriano and the 100 percent cotton paper from mozart is awesome. 30 sheets for I think 15-20
I just completed a work on Artistico 140lb cold press paper from a block and I love it. Arches is fantastic but Fabriano matches them well.
Oh yes, Fabriano Artistico is amazing! So much better than Arches (if Arches lovers will forgive my saying so).
So glad you included those fluid blocks, I’ve been hesitant on trying them out because of their affordable price.. thanks 🙏
i watched this video a week or so ago and looked up the Baohong paper on amazon and the block is 300 gsm and 100% cotton and I LOVE IT SO MUCH... it is amazong, thank u so much Arlee! i am always in search of new paper to try and this just made my process seem so easy✨
Your videos are so calm and you give lots of detail, thank you for doing this! Also, I've watched your classes on Skillshare and they're so, so good to watch. Your speak really clearly and that's good for the people who don't speak english as their first language. Thank you, thank you, thank you :)
Thank you so very much, this comment is so sweet!! :D I appreciate your support so much.
I loved Arches for my artwork.... and to make my hardcover leather bound watercolor sketchbooks. Most people that buy my sketchbooks ask for Arches. Once I used Saunders Waterford paper, I never wanted anything else lol. Painting on Saunders Waterford is like painting on.... well, heaven. So now for my sketchbooks I sell, I offer a choice of Saunders Waterford papers, Stonehenge aqua papers, Arches papers and Fabriano Artistico papers.... plus the Strathmore 500 series 100% cotton papers. I have converted alot of people to Saunders because I had a problem buying a large order of papers from my usual supplier, so all I had in my studio was Saunders Waterford ( because I buy a ton of it for my artwork ) to make any sketchbooks. So people got antsy waiting and wanted the sketchbooks with Saunders.... they now use nothing but lol. Saunders is like Arches, but with alittle less of the super insane sizing, its brighter and the texture is extremely sexy. ( yes I said paper is sexy )
It is always interesting to see who people react to "favorite" papers and supplies in general. I often tell people that if your going to skimp do not skimp on paper, use the best you cannot afford! I find that the cheaper papers just do not last even short term 10 years or less. I had bad yellowing in many cellulose papers in many of my student works when price seems to be paramount! Ah well its good to know your opinions and I look forward to learning more about you through your videos.
Ohhh the Fabriano block you have got my attention! Since I work with Fabriano paper a lot!
Maybe I know why you didn’t like it, it’s only 25% cotton (so it’s doesn’t perform as good as 50% or 100% cotton) and I noticed it’s Hot Press Satinata, I‘ve never tried the Satinata type but I heard it’s one of the most difficult texture to work on!
I personally like working on Fabriano paper, they have different types of papers and surfaces and I tried several of them but the best (for me at least) it’s the Fabiano “Blocco per artisti” 50% cotton, 300gsm.
Fabriano has rather good quality paper over 50% or 100% cotton, not sure about the price in other countries but in Italy, Fabriano is one of the best papers as price/quality ratio!
I’ve heard a lot about Arches paper! I would be curious to try it but since it’s one of the most expensive papers, I already have good quality papers for a cheaper price 😂
I always wanted to ask you; What is your favorite texture/surface to work on?? Do you prefer working on hot press or cold press? 😊
Sandra Ruberto I agree wholeheartedly with you. 😊 My experience is the same.
Thanks for the tips, Sandra!! I definitely want to try out different types of Fabriano paper - I've heard so many good things. I'd say my favorite surface currently is probably hot press. It's much easier for me to sketch on overall, and I love painting on it. It's pretty close though - some cold press papers are really fantastic too. ♥
I'm so grateful to have gotten to try Blocks HP because of you! I still owe one more episode on paper to my favorites series from a little while back, but I've been hesitant because there are still so many I want to try! Thanks for sharing your favorites with us!
Finally someone who doesn't like the Strathmore watercolor paper! I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me for not liking it, when everyone else seems to enjoy using it. Great review, thank you for sharing your experience.
We're so limited with our papers in Australia and shipping paper from overseas is super expensive, you might as well just pay for and use the Arches! Yes, Arches Hot Press dries too fast. Ho hummm! Thanks for the honest review.
My favorite paper is Canson Heritage cold press, but I can definitely appreciate a nice cellulose paper as well, like an Etival. And even Montval isn't bad, I like it a lot for ink and wash. I also do not mind the inexpensive Fabriano Watercolour (I do not know if this even has a name, it just says waterolour on it. Looks like the blue cover of Fabriano studio, but it doesn't say studio on it) to play around, and I find that Hahnemühle Expression is an excellent choice for when you want pure cotton without having to spend a bunch of money. I have some of the Fabriano studio hot press kicking around here. I have actually only used it once last year, then forgot about it and recently recovred it - I do not even recall what I thought about it, but seeing how I never used another sheet, probably not much.
I am definitely interested in getting that blick hot press paper now. Thank you!
3:23 nice little spider :o ! But nice video & good to see your insight and opinion about those papers!
Nicely done Doll keep those creative juices flowing I also like canson watercolor cold press and arches cold press as well but not a fan of fluids hot press not sure if it's hot press I don't like or the brand it's self I will have to keep trying out more papers
Gotta say I was shocked to see strathmore on the least favorites list. I really love strathmore papers, haha. But I guess that's why so many companies have watercolor paper! I don't think I've used cotton paper before except for those fancy $8 giant papers we were forced to use for drawing class. Might try it out now that I see what brands of it are worth the money.
I love the Canson. I’m just very impatient, so I forget to wait until layers dry. The paper also warps a lot less than the strathmore. From what I’ve seen at least lol.
I'll admit that I haven't truly branched out in watercolor papers. I've tried Strathmore 300 and 400 series HP CP, Fabriano Studio CP, Richardson CP(You cannot mask this with tape or otherwise, it's too soft, and it warps badly.) and Fluid 100 CP.
Personally, I like Strathmore best, probably because I learned on it. But I mostly use Fabriano, because it's cheap. Which means I don't have to feel bad when paintings are failures.
But I do not slowly build up color, I go in bold and bright... and suck up the color I need to. Strathmore and Fabriano are great for that.
Plus, I layer at this point for texture, details and to add a touch of dimension. And for me, it's nice to be able to rewett and lift/mix areas, probably because I live in the desert and boy does it dry fast! 😂
I've tried hot press now for the first time and am thinking about entirely switching over, it was incredibly easy to use and I really liked painting on illustration board.
I want to try more papers because it'd be fun, and who knows maybe I'll fall in love with another paper... But for now, I'm keeping it cheap... haha. I think it'd be too upsetting wasting a $4+ sheet of paper on a bad painting. And of course with new supplies you should always expect mistakes. 😊
I enjoyed hearing your thoughts, and you've given me more to weigh over with what I will try next. 😊 I will say, we're very different painters, but I do love your work. 😁👍
I'm currently using up a pad of that same Strathmore paper and it's awful!!!! Paint just sits on the page and the colors lift. Can't get nice washes or blends. I'm new to watercolor, so I'm going to keep practicing with this paper until I use it up, but I want to move onto something better. Maybe I will try the blick or aliexpress one
Spider Man also paints watercolour 😱
Im using strathmore 400 paper as a sketchbook and i really loved it.its better than canson XL.Watercolor needs to be patient to find your own medium.
I actually like using the Strathmore as my "sketch" paper, as I have the same complaint you have with the strathmore, but with Canson XL
Just don't get arches, it's rubbish
I would stop use of that paper. Some friends bought some for me once and it handles terribly. Not to mention the painting has a flat look when completed.
do i see bee paper there?!
Yes!! I'll be talking about it soon :]
did anyone else realise there was a lil bug on her paper at 3:22??
Yeah, I mentioned that. Could have been a baby spider. We won't hold it against the paper, 0.K.?
i can only afford the canson paper so i am gonna try it and take a look for myself . i love abstract and expressive work with more saturation so canson is the best for me
Oh my goodness I needed this video so much!!! Thank you for blessing me with your knowledge, my dear!!!
Arches is internally and externally sized. Best to wet it and let it dry fully. then start your piece.
I have the baohong one as well! They now have 300 gsm cold and hot press.
My Jackson's cart is full of paper sheets😂 this is exactly what I needed
i love how textured arches is and i find myself wanting to find cheaper very textured paper, but i can totally see how others wouldn’t like it, it’s got a strong personality (if that makes sense haha)
I’ve been looking for a video like this for ages!! Thank you💛
I just bought some Canson L'aquarelle Heritage 100% cotton pads on clearance at Hobby Lobby recently (insanely cheap btw 75%off). I haven't used it yet, but I have to tell you it feels quite a bit like the arches. Honestly, if I didn't know that I was touching the Heritage paper I would have thought it was actually the Arches. Thank you so much for such details on the paper. I have a little bit of everything you shared, except the Blicks. I'll have to give it a try next time I order from them. Thanks again!
This is such a super handy video. I am also in a weird place with arches and may need to play around with more water to see how I feel.
Thanks for the paper review, and the brush you are using is beautiful!
Arches paper has two sides with different textures (both hot and cold pressed) I hate the hot press on the smoother side but love the side that’s rougher. Eg it dries slower on the rougher side.
Nice review.
My favorite non-cotton paper is WinsorNewton Classic. Great feeling. Best regards
Fabriano Studio really was something... I remember back when I started I bought it and it almost scarred me off wanting to paint anymore because it wasn't even just not enjoyable-- the paper surface started rubbing off in ways I didn't get with cheaper paper. I tried it again about a year or so later, but it still wasn't enjoyable-- it felt frustrating. Glad to know I wasn't alone in that...
What I like about Canson Montval is that it's just so much more affordable, especially when you're someone not from the west and thus the cost of a good pad is... the price of rent for a one person dorm. Yes it's not good, but it's predictable and workable enough you can actually paint something without feeling like you're committing war crimes. I mostly stare at my Langton Prestige with longing in my eyes, but even after years I don't feel comfortable "wasting" it on pieces that don't feel as "important", such as character arts...
I am glad because I feel the exactly same way to arches cold pressed and hot pressed papers. My favorite hot pressed paper is Saunders imperial white paper. It shows vibrant colors like arches cold pressed. Hope you try it one day.
Love your reviews style! Not so much technical stuff, but more of your own experience. I feel lthe same about the cellulose papers and while I decided to move to cotton papers for the layered pieces I will probably come back to these other ones for the 1-2 layer illustrations.
YESSSSS i got the same fabriano paper and i was SO disappointed!!!! I think it might work okay for ink or gouache though...ive just been meaning to pick it back up.
Baohong block 300gsm/Brilliant tip about being able to reactivate bottom layers. In The several years I've watercolored, I've never heard this. Thanks!
I'm still learning watercolor and I really liked this video. I also started on canson watercolor paper because of the cheap price. I've been wanting to try other types of paper but have been worried about not liking it and spending mega bucks on it. Canson is ok but like you said it doesn't layer very well without activating the prevous layer below. I'll try to see if I can find any of these other brands in my local art store and try them out.
treefrog ochs can you get to the blick website? They have small pads of paper for under 10$ so you can try the different brands. Then you won’t have to feel as bad about experimenting :)
Butterfly 0054 I don't have any credit cards so anything online currently is out of the option
Look for “Bee Paper” on Amazon... it’s $15 for 50 sheets of 6x9 Cotton paper. Arlee said she’d talk about it on her channel soon, but I quite like it with my bit of experience! It’s definitely better quality than Canson, and it’s dirt cheap!
Karah Novak thanks I'll check it out
The only watercolor paper I've used is the hot press from blick and I really loved it. It was the required paper for my intro to watercolor class and I was amazed by it
you’re literally my favorite youtube artist 🤩
Aww, that's so kind!! Thank you ;-;
Really great info! Oof, most of the papers you mentioned in this video aren’t available in my country and if they were, they were either really hard to find, really expensive for me or both XD. The ones that happen to be available for me and that are the least expensive papers for me are the canson, fabriano and strathmore XD. The strathmore 500 series is available, but even small blocks and/or pads of it are too expensive. Is canson XL (not montval) good enough for not 100% cotton?
Thank you so much! I was really in doubt of what to chose and also it's sometimes kind of limited what brands we can get here in Denmark (at least in the stores and paper is hard to judge just by a website) so this was PERFECT!
Oh damn i've been using the montval, no wonder i'm struggling with layering. Thank you for the informative video
I like to make my watercolor portraits in a hard bound book. I’m having a difficult time with the paper in my Stillman and Burn book -Zeta. The paper is smooth and thick. Thankfully it’s thick, because I get quite allot of feathering that needs to be worked around and messed with. Now I’m committed to this book, which is practically brand new, unless I write off the price and buy a book with cotton papers.
i'm in the same boat with arches myself, i bought it for college but rarely use it as it was 1. expencive af and 2. I struggle with how textured/thick the paper feels IMO. but i'm glad i'm not the only one who had issues with it.
also: what is that pink/red colour you use @ 6:22 pls it's gorgeous and i want it
It's actually a mix of a couple Schmincke paints. I want to say a cool red and a little bit of a cool blue, I think?
Baohong and Blick's changed my LIFE
I saw that paper block from your aliexpress video and I had it in my cart til I chickened out and removed it. After this video I just ordered it so I guess I'll get to test it out for myself in a couple months time (thanks Chinese shipping lol)
Lot of these are no longer available, do you have updated preferences? Thanks!! Love your work.
Am i the only one who enjoys the Strathmore paper? It's affordable and works great for what i water color!. To each their own. Good vid! Thanks.
Ooh, have you tried the cold press studio fabriano paper? I haven't tried the hot press version but I really enjoyed the cold press one!
I haven't tried the cold press yet! I'm interested in Fabriano's Artistico line which is 100% cotton, but maybe I should give the studio cold press a try :]
Aah, I also tried the Artistico cold press before but it's just like the Arches and takes some getting used too in my opinion! You always need a little more water than you think. I really like the paper though!
Helpful video, and I love your art style! I subscribed to see more :-)
I share your sentiments about all of those brands, haven’t tried Blick though. Wanted To know if you have tried Meeden Watercolor paper block? Very affordable and I really really like it I’ve only tried the hot press though. I so feel you on the Montville paper!
Great video! Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I'm looking for the thinnest most absorbent. That first one mentioned seems like a good fit. Any suggestions?
Someone told me I really needed to invest in good watercolor paper so I got fabriano. It's the only specifically watercolor paper I've ever used, and I thought the issues you mentioned were just things I had to get over. Now I'm way more open to another brand
Thanks for the review! I have similar feelings, prefer Arches CP or Fabriano Artistico SP for many things, but am okay with Montval for swatching, studies and sketches. I dislike Strathmore 400 for it's color, hardness and having different texture on each side, but use it as scrap paper. I had a sample of Fluid 100, wasn't impressed but should probably try it again because of the price.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who didn't immediately love arches. I still can't get over the texture and dryness but everyone says it's the best...idk guess I'll just keep trying brands until I find something I like
Very informative video. Just noticed that the Baohong blocks are also available on Amazon.com, under the MEEDEN label. Search "Meeden cotton watercolor paper" and it comes right up. Good price, too.
I'm curious to know if you would like the Hanhemülle paper, I really like it so far 🧡
I definitely want to try that brand when I can! I've heard great things.
I knew it wasn't me, it was the paper!! I have a lot of fun playing around and layering some light washes on my Mixed Media pad, so I got the Canson Aquarelle pad to finally try my hand at making some finished pieces, but it felt like it sucked all the paper from my brush! I couldn't layer, couldn't blend colors together, nothing! And the colors looked so dull on this pad, too, even more so than on the Mixed Media pad
I know you made this video a long time ago but if you can please tell me how you feel about the Arteza watercolor paper, that would be very much appreciated! Thank You so much for all that you do and share...
Thank you for this video! All my teacher showed us was arches, and I'd never heard of these other ones before
I really like Fluid's Hot Press Finish, Ill try their cold press now for sure, Thanks
Papers that lift the colors easily are really good for watercolor markers!
I am going to try that Blick hot press. I've been making card size paintings ( 2 1/2" by 3 1/2") and selling them on ebay, but I find that when I take a photo of them close up (because they are small) the texture of the aches cold press shows up so pronounced. I was thinking to try hot press but I do like a little texture, so the Blick hot press sounds perfect. Thanks, let's cross our fingers and hope that this is the answer!
Thanks for going through these AB, it was so helpful 😊
Thank you for your opinions! How do you feel about Aquerelle ones?
I'm new to watercolor painting (started on my own a few months ago) and I've been trying all sorts of techniques (loose painting, realistic). Would you recommend Montval in my case?since watercolor supplies aren't quite affordable and we all are locked down or in quarantine, I've been considering the Montval maxi pack for the next months. 🤔 I use Van Gogh by Talens and paint botanicals, birds and nature motifs mostly. Thank you so much for sharing your impressions. Subscribed already! Stay safe. Xx
Was looking reviews on the Fabriano Artistoco 100% cotton Grana Satinata Hot Pressed 150 lb. I just tried this paper and I hate it! The paper tends to “swell” when you are trying to do a wash, it even bled through to the back. I’ll be using this for scrap paper. Back to Arches and Bee paper for me.
I have never liked Arches cold or hot pressed. For smaller paintings Bee Watercolor paper is my go to.
I got a bunch of xl paper for Xmas 😅 I asked for some higher quality but people don’t really know if they don’t paint so I have like 3 large books of it now 🙃 it’s fine and works but it’s a lot
Coooooool ! I love your videos!!!!!!!!!😃
Hello Arlesha hope i wrote you,re name right. I am no longer painting whit gouache and acrylic. I wanna get back at inking. I started inking last year. Then i stopped. I don,t know why. But i miss it and i wanna do it again. I don,t know if watercolor paper is suiteble for ink. If someone knows witch paper to use for inking it would be a lot of help. Right now i am trying diffrent watercolor papers. I love all of you,re portrets and paintings.😀👍🏽😁
thank you so much for this!!!!! I found the Baohong paper on my local amazon cheaply (incredibly surprising... in Australia and our amazon is normally terrible!). May i ask, compared to stonehenge aqua hot pressed, do you think it feels smoother or rougher? Thank you so much again!!
My first experience with cotton paper was sobering, mainly because I was hoping for a much better paper, because many people believed and had the experience that cotton paper is very good and cellulose paper is so difficult and bad. My expectations were maybe too high for a paper. The Artistico in CP 300g / m2 was my first cotton paper and was bought before the changeover in 2016.
It was better but not that it felt e.g much better like 10 times better and it's a lot easier to paint on.
I also never had the feeling that I had to fight against my cellulose paper, which is also due to my somewhat loose painting style. Maybe the other people had awful papers before and from something bad to very good there is a very big difference and from good to very good the difference is much smaller.
I previously had 2 private label papers a cheap 200g and an expensive 275g with cloudy texture, Etival by Clairfontaine, Fabriano Watercolor and Canson Montval and I like all these papers for their peculiarities.
I think that very good paper with special properties is only needed with a very precise painting style and that the paper has to support the working method very precisely instead of the certain pictures failing due to the material if it is not quite as optimal. The colour, for example, dries up exactly as desired and that there can then be no deviations, so a paper 100% must meet the requirements and with 99% it is not enough. So I'm not so perfectionist and paint more loosely, so I can deal with my paper selection more loosely,
I still like to paint on these papers even if i have tried other papers.
I prefer to paint on cloudy paper and there are not many papers that have this structure apart from the private label paper,
there is for example the Fontaine paper in cloudy from Clairfontaine 100% cotton,
Fabriano Artistico in soft also cotton,
Reflex Aqaurell No 10 Esparto paper from desert grass for which not as much water is used for cultivation as for cotton.
in case someone asks, I had already tested some Cotton watercolour papers, and they were very similar to each other for my loose painting style.
Some dried a bit faster others took a little more time so the papers were just a little different within a texture group.
Masking fluid did not work on all papers a few broke when I tried to get the masking fluid away.
I could not erase on these papers as much as on others, because they also broke on the spot.
So the only paper that is very different is the Millford paper, on it paint are dried differently from the edges of the appearance and the colors do not sink at all and can be completely removed. The paper probably has as much sizing inside as it could hold.
Do you ever paint on the back of the papers as well?
I really like the fluid brand, but painting on the back doesn’t really look nice. I really enjoy the arches but it’s so...expensive...
I’ve tried the moulin du roy, Stonehenge, canson xl, shizen, and I don’t really like them. The Blick hot press is nice as you showed but that black gum is really annoying. But I suppose that’s a preference thing
I really like the brush she uses. Where can I get this ? 🤔
Is that person with the green crystal coming out of the head still available for sale?!
Hey! I know you bought the Bee paper pretty recently, so you wouldn’t have used it as much, but what have you thought of it so far?
I've liked it so far, but I definitely need to use it more before I can properly review it. I'll definitely be talking about it more soon though!
arleebean okay thank you Arlee!!!
Wokeness 93 okay! :D
Quick drying sounds awesome for Plein Aire and studies. Bummer it wasn't useful for you. But your feedback is enough that I think I might be able to use it.
The g\m2 thing is new to me. Guess they don't have that in Canada!
Arches is such a dream to work with, just featured some on my latest video!!
Have you tried the bee paper aqua bee watercolor paper? It’s cold press, 140 lb and 100% cotton paper. It’s pretty affordable at Michaels but I just haven’t brought myself to get it since I’ve never heard anyone talk about it. :)
I do have it! I've only just gotten it recently, and I'd like to try it out a bit more before I review it properly. :]
I think the blick hot press cotton paper has been discontinued, cause when i saw this video i looked it up and it was on the website and now its not, I can't find it in the website and i really wanted to try it :(
I have the fluid 100 paper and i love that it’s so thick but whenever i put water the paper
Just lifts or if i mixed two colors and i put it on the paper when it dries it just has this really weird lighting texture to it and I’ve only ever used Holbein artist gouache so the paper didn’t work for me:(
what are your thoughts on the fabriano cold pressed paper?
I haven't tried it yet! I'd definitely like to at some point though. :]
arleebean
I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, so I'll definitely be on the eye out for a review or something mentioning it in the future.
New to your channel! Thank you for the wonderfully descriptive video! Do you suggest swatching when using new pads? For some reason that never occurred to me and I just dive in off the bat. So far I haven’t been too frustrated but I can see the advantages. Keep up the great content!
Swatching can definitely be helpful for getting a feel for the paper. You could even set it up to do a little series of tests! Flat washes, wet-on-wet, etc. ♥
Have you tried Potentate watercolor paper? It’s a cheap brand on eBay and was wondering had anyone used it. All the few reviews are in foreign languages.
It's not good. I have a potantate block and whenever I try to put heavy washes of color it doesn't spread even if I already applied water beforehand. It's acceptable for gouache as it doesn't need too much water anyway. Well case in point, don't buy it, just find a different cheaper paper.
Beverly Anne Raquiza Thanks for the info.
weird ive never had an issue with strafemore tho i can't stand Canson xl the paper disintegrates when i use it and the colors come out so dull XC
Perfect video for the time! I’m applying to an art school soon and I need 18x24 paper. Hopefully these are cheap enough for me to order! >~
With all my respect i would like to ask you based on your paper experience. Whiich one of this papers would you used to writte a victorian style letter ?? And why ???
Hi, what is that brush you used in the video?
Instagram: @lindaappleartist - I have used Arches CP for many years but this year I decided to try some others. I tried the Fluid100 HP, Hahnemuhle (new) Expressions CP and Dick Blick CP. I have been doing a lot of detailed watercolor this year (w/layering). My favorite is the Dick BLick CP! The Fluid 100 does not like ANY tape that I can find, just wasn't impressed. The Hahnemuhle Expressions CP was a beautiful paper w/much smoother texture (compared to Arches) but not as durable as Arches. I see you had the HP Blick..... Well, the Blick CP (like the Hahnemuhle)is also much smoother texture than Arches and matches Arches durability. I think it might NOW be my favorite :)
Cotton paper is really something else
Moulin Du Roy is amazing, but so hard to get in the US. :(
Moulin du Roy is some of my favorite paper. I found some at Hobby Lobby not sure Michaels.
At least in my area, (Utah, U.S.) I'd have to buy it online, and it's equal or higher in price than Arches. But I would like to try it. Just can't justify buying it for now. 😔 But someday.
Glad that it's worthwhile for you. 😊
Moulin du Roy performs excellent, and it's 100% cotton. I don't understand how it's not popular...
Hmm they must have recently stocked it. I haven't been able to find it online anywhere. o_O
How did you like the Arteza watercolor paper?
Aww man I just saw this and had already bought strath more and Arches ha
The montval paper was designed so that the image can be corrected very well. And beginners often have to correct something.
What's the difference between hot press and cold press? And what type of paper would be best for portraits?
Cold press has varying texture and hot press is smooth, which one you use depends on your style tbh. If you like having that rustic and rough texture showing through, then go for cold press, if you want those little details and smooth finishing to pop out, go for hot press. If you're aware of the artist Laovann, check him out for portraits made on hot pressed paper for a better example of that!
I wish I hadn’t bought strathmore paper.. i bought it because someone recommended that it was good paper and i hated it. It absorbed the water too quick/ didnt hold up layers well and downgraded the color luminosity 😭
Is the baohong watercolor paper fine, medium or heavy grain? :) Love your video very informative
Ah, thanks for asking! It's fine grain.