The 9 Best Artist Watercolour Papers (2023 reviews)

The arches artist watercolour paper's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. This is gorgeous, thick smooth paper, perfect for drawing with pen and ink and then adding color. 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 available in several formats and sizes including blocks, pads, sheets and rolls, and 3 luxurious textures.

All arches paper is acid-free and made from 100% cotton, ensuring it valiantly stands the test of time and allows you to make the most out of every sheet. The Tape comes off easily without ripping and masking fluid also comes off easily without pulling at the paper. The watercolor moves better on the paper and the colors are brighter.

Why We Like This:

Very thick and absorbent paper for a beginner artist, good quality
Takes water well with minimal pilling and holds its shape fairly well
Beautiful, high quality hot press watercolor paper

Best For Water Colors: Arteza Artist Watercolour Paper

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The arteza artist watercolour paper is the best reliable paper on the market today. This product is perfect for the beginner artist who's trying to learn to the expert artist who wants great quality paper that can fit into their budget. It is great for small watercolor paintings and studies. The texture on the watercolor paper makes the artwork pop and express more. The front side is textured and does better with watercolor and the backside is smooth and does better with pen, pencils, and color pencils, but not watercolor so much.

This paper is good for small sized projects. It is made of a stiff cardboard. The slightly textured or "toothy" surface makes it the ideal paper for watercolour painting. It can stand up to multiple washes and no buckle.

Why We Like This:

Endurable and thick enough to scrape off and remove paint
Good quality watercolor paper for painting
Good quality paper,holds the paint well and takes a lot of water
Serrated tear offs for easy removal from sketchbook

Best For beginners: Strathmore Watercolor Paper

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate paper. The strathmore watercolor paper is exactly that - it's a simple paper that hits all the right notes. This paper is great for watercolors and washes. It is necessary to have at least a 140 pound density paper to use. It's easy to remove, and you can just trim the frills off, rather than risk tearing your paper. The spiral helps work while not having to tear out a page. It is suitable for experimenting and practicing techniques when heavier washes and reworking are required.

The quality of the paper is great for watercolor look sharp and dries fast and great. It is great for beginners or smaller projects.

Why We Like This:

Works wonders with tombow dual brush pens
Great paper you will love the way it takes watercolors and also acrylic paints
Great paper, very thick and sturdy
Holds watercolors well without running or curling

Best With alcohol ink: Ucreate Artist Watercolour Paper

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The ucreate artist watercolour paper's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. This product is valuable for families. It is a nice thick paper and is smooth on one side and has a nice water absorbing textured side. It's a watercolor paper so it's not smooth as silk. It is more like ivory in color. It's strong enough to collage on and obsorbs water colors nicely. It is perfect for the art table. It is great to buy on paper or to use for yardstick or card dies. It does tend to bend up a bit when it is drying.

Why We Like This:

Issues with tearing, weight was just perfect
Cost effective and great for beginners
Very economical and great for experimenting

Best With Acrylic Paint: Varta Artist Watercolour Paper

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Compared with other paper in this category, the varta artist watercolour paper has a convenient design. It can be used as a handy set of 15 separate watercolour paper sheets. It has a rough, textured surface, also known as cold pressed paper, that is ideal for all painting medium consistencies in both wet and dry watercolour techniques. It is made out of 100 % cellulose fibre pulp from controlled wood sources. This thickness ensures that the paper absorbs water well, giving you the perfect canvas for all of your watercolour work.

The paper sheets have a thickness or weight of 300 grams per square meter or gsm. It is acid and lignin free, meaning it is more durable and won’t yellow. The sheets can be easily cut down to size if you’re working on a smaller project like postcards for example. It is also available in various other sizes, thicknesses and surface finishes. It is suitable for children, students, beginners and artists of all ages.

Why We Like This:

Good brand reputation
Good investment for long term

Best With gouache: Winsor Newton Artist Watercolour Paper

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If you are currently in the market looking for a popular paper for your daily purpose, you cannot go wrong with the winsor newton artist watercolour paper. This paper often produces the brightest water colour paintings because its increased surface area holds more colour and therefore reflects more light. It's made with 100% archival grade cellulose wood pulp and natural artesian spring water with neutral ph properties. It has a less textured finish and is the most widely used paper surface. It can be used by graphic designers.

It's workable though and its a very impressive quality paper if you are creating watercolor and pen and ink designs. The texture is perfect, and lifting paint is easily done. There are 15 sheets and you can paint on both sides. It's also easy to add watercolor paint to water on the paper to achieve playful flow effects.

Why We Like This:

Nice of quick sketches with brush, pen, or pencil
Cotton and a 25% cotton/cellulose combo
Nice watercolor surface without being linty or too smooth and slippery
Handy 5" x 7" size for field or studio sketching

Best For portrait: Strathmore Artist Watercolour Paper

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The strathmore artist watercolour paper's high-end materials makes sure that it ages well with use. This paper is great for when you need a painting to fill an odd-shaped or extra-large frame. It is great for watercolor paper that is wood pulp and not cotton. It cuts well with a sharp blade. It is highly resistant to rub-up while wet and its surface has a bite to take washes, scrubbings or dry brush.

This is very nice heavy duty paper for watercolor painting, but it has a nice texture and holds the paint well. The paper is durable and has a nice torn edge look. It can be done with enough folding and an edge.

Why We Like This:

Good quality, poster size watercolor paper
Heavyweight paper, good quality with good watercolors
For watercolor, pen and ink and colored pencil drawings

Best For Mixed Media: Newbested Artist Watercolour Paper

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The newbested artist watercolour paper should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. There are really decent, affordable cellulose paper out there. It works well in any printer and has a slightly rougher texture than conventional printer paper. It does buckle some when wet but dries flat. The finish is too smooth and it has a lavender/bluish tint to it. It is easy to pick up pigment. It’s more on the grey/blue tinted side. It is definitely grayish in color.

Why We Like This:

Great for drawing, not for watercolor
One of the new comers and featured product

Best For practice: Canson Artist Watercolour Paper

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Compared with other paper in this category, the canson artist watercolour paper has a convenient design. The Graduate Aquarelle pad is perfect to start and practice easily the watercolour technique. It is made of white paper with a cold pressed texture, it is ideal for watercolour and gives a bright rendering of colours.

Why We Like This: