The 12 Best 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Papers (2023 reviews)

The arches 100 cotton rag watercolor paper has good features for the price point. It is perfect for rugged landscapes and any project where added texture is desired. It is cotton fiber so it makes painting on it much more successful. It comes with long fibers, this thick, stable sheet is beautiful, durable, and resillient. It is thick and rigid, 140 lb (300 gsm), and is acid-free. The texture is rough, and it is excellent for amature for professional artists alike.

This paper is so easy to layer with and you can tape it down without the tape tearing your paper and design/paintings/drawings. The Tape comes off easily without ripping and masking fluid also comes off easily without pulling at the paper.

Why We Like This:

Good quality and very absorbent paper for a watercolors
Compact and easy to take plein air
Great paper, can break up into smaller pieces for smaller paintings
Rough texture makes for interesting paintings

Best For recording ideas: Lear Village 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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The lear village 100 cotton rag watercolor paper's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. This is very cool paper if you go into knowing it's going to look rustic. It is great with watercolor paint. It can be used for dry and wet medium and unlike other sketchbooks they are suitable for watercolor, oil pastel, pencil color, charcoal, pen and ink drawings. If you take the time to fill this up with nice drawings this will make a nice keepsake and something you will be able to hold on to for decades as the paper is made from 100% virgin cotton to last for generations. It is good for watercolor but not too much of water.

This paper has a wonderful, almost linen feel to it, and is definitely thick. It is more of an egg shell color not yellow at all.

Why We Like This:

Use for water colors and letters
Rich and classic in both appearance and feel
Good consistent stock, gives a great look to a finished piece

Best With Acrylic Paint: Wanderings 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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These one-of-a-kind handmade paper sheets are a great alternative to traditional watercolor paper or writing paper. It is pretty good handmade paper, however, it is quite thin. On the plus side, it is quite a tough paper with a fabric feel. The paper is absorbent and works well with the ink that is in the jane davenport ink brushes.

This paper is thick and has beautiful texture. It goes nice and straight when it is dried. It is perfect for crafts, doodling, letters, artwork, or maps for hidden treasures. This is nice paper if you like the look and feel of loose sheets that look like torn edges.

Why We Like This:

Supports most media including watercolor, acrylic, gouache, ink, gel pen, marker, pencil and charcoal
Lovely, luxurious texture and deckled edges
Beautiful deckle edge and clean white

Best With gouache: BAOHONG 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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Artists' grade paper can hold more water than academy grade, whereas it absorbs faster than the academy grade paper. It has all the qualities you'd look for in 100% cotton watercolor paper. Comparing this to Windsor and Newton paper, it is rougher and needs much more water to get the paint on it. Pigments dry a little lighter and slightly less vibrant than Arches or Fluid 100 but all of that can be compensated for by its great glazing and reworking capability.

This specific watercolor paper has a cold press finish and light texture. The paper is the perfect size and texture. It comes with a salix opener and also it is a good deal money wise. It is easy to correct mistakes and colors are very saturated.

Why We Like This:

Excellent paper for new and experienced artists
Wet painting without buckling and is scrubbable when correction is needed
Hot press paper is flat with no texture

Best For practice: Winsor Newton 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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The winsor newton 100 cotton rag watercolor paper is satisfactory and appropriate and fits well with your daily usage. This paper often produces the brightest water colour paintings because its increased surface area holds more colour and therefore reflects more light. It retains the color saturation from wet to dry impressively well. It’s strong enough to rough up and you can lift paint easily. It's also easy to add watercolor paint to water on the paper to achieve playful flow affects.

The 5x7 wire bound is the only one which is 100% cotton. It can be used by graphic designers and pen and ink designs. It has a nice texture. It's workable though and its a very impressive quality paper if you are creating watercolor and pen and ink designs.

Why We Like This:

Lovely inexpensive fully 100% cotton watercolour paper
Retains color brilliance, very smooth surface
Cotton and a 25% cotton/cellulose combo
A nice toothy texture while not being overly toothy

Best For Acrylic: Newbested 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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The newbested 100 cotton rag watercolor paper is satisfactory and appropriate and fits well with your regular usage. It is definitely grayish in color. It works well in any printer and has a slightly rougher texture than conventional printer paper. It is 100% cotton and is okay for practice. The finish is too smooth and it has a lavender/bluish tint to it. It's closer to the weight of construction paper.

There is a bit of a rougher texture than most sketch paper, but it still works well and allows the students to blend colored pencils and build layers of colors. This is much thinner and more flexible than that kind.

Why We Like This:

Wrinkles and buckles due to the thinness
Great for drawing, not for watercolor
Lot of satisfied buyers

Best For Cyanotype: Hahnemuhle 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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Best part: hahnemuhle 100 cotton rag watercolor paper costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. This 9 x 12 inch hahnemuhle watercolor 300 pad contains 12 sheets of natural white, cold pressed, 300 gsm, watercolor paper. It pulls the paper layer when you try taking out the masking fluid gently. It allows pick-up with out damaging the paper, holds water well in wet washes. It does not feel as thick or stiff as other.

This paper is really nice to paint on. It is vegan, resistant to aging, and acid-free. It is affordable and of good quality. It has a proper amount of absorbency and holds up well with ample water.

Why We Like This:

Nice 100% cotton watercolor paper, well-priced
Great paper quality, absorb water well, no problem with masking tape and liquid
Amazing watercolor paper for lifting paint

Best For small studies: Paul Rubens 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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This is fantastic for small studies and practice. It is made of 100% cotton pulp and the thickness reaches 0.5 mm, which means these papers can better absorb water, and reduce the possibility of warping and curling while using. It has a textured surface which is between rough and hot-pressed paper. It has a beautiful sparkly effect that shows when you tilt the paper into the light.

The paper is quality and the sparkle just makes it. It is packaged beautifully and aesthetically. The paper however feels sturdy and the glitter specs are very pretty.

Why We Like This:

Perfect for a variety of water-coloring techniques
Excellent paper and the light sparkles are wonderful
New and hot release

Best For inkjet printing: PROMASTER 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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Not everyone likes to purchase paper for their regular usage, but the promaster 100 cotton rag watercolor paper would be an anomoly. It can learn the fine art watercolor paper is a 100% cotton rag composition. It has a nice, heavy, soft cotton feel with a warm white. It doesn't have texture like watercolor paper has. It makes rich looking prints that are not muddled. The natural color looks good with the old art.

The ink sets in the cotton fibers to give a watercolor effect with printing. It is not sheer and too thick for general use. It has a matte finish and smooth.

Why We Like This:

Wonderful paper for fine art printing
Perfect for your regular inkjet printers
Good brand reputation

Best Watercolour Paper: Indigo Artpapers 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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Indigo Artpapers makes beautiful and great paper with classic and smartly choosen materials. Indigo Art Papers are handmade so the cold press surface is rougher than your typical cold press watercolor paper. It features ivory-white 100% cotton rag and has exceptional strength and durability. It is acid-free and both internally and externally sized.

The paper has a texture similar to that of a roller blind, which remain visible and is distracting when looking at a water color painting. It's a wonderful thick quality but responds to water and adhesives. This art paper is best suited for watercolor. It is made by using traditional handmade paper techniques.

Why We Like This:

Good brand reputation
Lot of satisfied buyers

Best Quality Paper: new York Central 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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All four sides of the New York central watercolor blocks are glued to prevent the top sheet from curling and buckling as you paint. It has a balanced grain that softens as a unit when wet. It can withstand a multitude of techniques, including wet color blending, paper scratching, and scrubbing. The rigid backing board supports the paper and makes plein air painting simple.

The paper is very nice quality and takes water well. It's easy to blend and mix on the paper and it has a nice texture. It is no need to stretch the paper before using it. The internal gelatin sizing prevents paint bleed-through and preserves color vibrancy.

Why We Like This:

Good investment for long term
One of the new comers and featured product

Best For beginners: artbeek 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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It is so much more enjoyable to learn to paint on 100% cotton than compared to even the top brands of wood pulp paper. It is good quality paper and also very good construction of the spiral. This paper definitely holds up against a lot of water saturation. It quickly absorbs water, keeping your paints looking as vibrant as ever with no bleed through.

This paper is decent for watercolor practice as it does work somewhat similar to other cotton papers but it is not 9x12 so when it comes to matting or framing it is not a standard size. It is optimized for both wet and dry media, so you can create with any medium of your choice. It is great for beginners or pros.

Why We Like This:

Excellent watercolor paper, great for beginners or pros
Definitely recommend for beginners that want to practice wet on wet
Excellent for the beginner watercolor artist

The 12 Best 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Papers (2023 reviews)

Our Top Picks:

Best Overall: Arches 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

Best For recording ideas: Lear Village 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

Best With Acrylic Paint: Wanderings 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

Best With gouache: BAOHONG 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

Best For practice: Winsor Newton 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

Best For Acrylic: Newbested 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

Best For Cyanotype: Hahnemuhle 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

Best For small studies: Paul Rubens 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

Best For inkjet printing: PROMASTER 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

Best Watercolour Paper: Indigo Artpapers 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

Best Quality Paper: new York Central 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

Best For beginners: artbeek 100 Cotton rag Watercolor Paper

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