Are you planning to buy assorted pastel papers, and are you confused about the options ?
You have landed on the right page.
Our review process:
After inspecting dozens of papers for the past few months, here are our favorite papers, in a wide range of styles and prices.
Our final set consists of the best products and we also managed to maintain variety within our selection for personal choice.
We have been surveying these papers for more than 2 years. We have probably dealt with more products and accessories than almost any team on the planet, so we understand each and every possible aspect of these items.
Our collection of papers for your regular usage caters high-quality, cheap and value-for-money requirements.
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The canson high quality paper is suitable and reliable and fits well with your daily purpose. Versatile, dual-surfaced 98lb (160gsm) paper contains four sheets each of six colors. It is made with 24 sheets of 9 x 12 inch, acid free, 98 pound/160 gram paper. The front is more textured, good for soft pastels. It easily accepts multiple layers of color depending on the pressure. The colors are a nice variety to practice on and see what you like.
These gelatin-sized papers are 50 percent cotton, and resistant to fading. It has a coarse side and a smooth side.
Why We Like This:
Great quality and size of paper
Amazing toned paper for your various art products
Great for charcoals and soft pastels
Good paper, excellent shade of black, good surface that holds the chalk
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Best part: clairefontaine assorted pastel paper costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. Pastelmat is really unique and excellent for both colored pencils and pastels. It takes many layers of color without becoming muddy. It is suitable for all dry techniques, lead, sanguine, charcoal and more. It can be trimmed down so it's not a total waste. It is waterproof so if you want to use a brush and pencil powder blender for your colored pencil paintings you can and it works great.
It has a slightly gritty, very slight, surface but does not eat pencils like the sanded boards do. It allows for rich color development in both pastels and colored pencils. It is also true that it grabs the pastel in such a way that it doesn’t blend well, but it is great in holding multiple pastel layers.
Why We Like This:
Come in different colors and also it is more readily (quickly) available
Takes a lot of punishment and holds up without tearing
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Canson has been making great paper for years, thanks to a combination of clever design and appropriate materials. This paper accepts a fair amount of layering for nice depth. It is a light-fast paper that is colored at the pulp level. It has options for different colors, get only grays, earth tones, or a mix of colors. The nice part is that you can put on a base smudge pastel stick for value color and then use a pencil for fine detail over that color.
These gelatin-sized papers are 50 percent cotton, and resistant to fading. It has a smooth side and a rough side. The blending is marvelous on this paper.
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Best part: clairefontaine pastelmat paper costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. This glued block of 360 g card is ideal for the pastel technique. It is a high quality paper that is smooth but has excellent abrasion to hold pastel material. It is good for colored pencil as pastelmat. Its glued finish allows you to easily detach the sheets.
The pastel adheres so well to the paper, there is no need to use a fixative between each layer. It is acid-free and has a neutral ph for perfect preservation of the drawings over time. This surface is wonderful for wet and dry pastel work and is substantial.
Why We Like This:
Not quite a "board", but thicker and holds up better than heavy duty papers