The 11 Best Handmade Papers For Acrylic Painting (2023 reviews)

There are several advantages of having a handmade paper for acrylic painting. Let’s take you step by step, type by type, and find the best handmade paper for acrylic painting for you.

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Our Top Picks:

Best Overall: Buy: Arches Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting READ REVIEW

Best With alcohol ink: Buy: Canson textured Paper READ REVIEW

Best For old time: Buy: Wanderings Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting READ REVIEW

Best For how many Sheets: Buy: Ucreate Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting READ REVIEW

Best With envelope: Buy: Wanderings Nice Paper READ REVIEW

Best For portrait: Buy: Strathmore Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting READ REVIEW

Best For recording ideas: Buy: Lear Village Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting READ REVIEW

Best For Professional: Buy: Canson Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting READ REVIEW

Best For handcrafted cards: Buy: Nomadcraftsco Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting READ REVIEW

Best For lighter washes: Buy: Lear Village Egyptian Cotton READ REVIEW

Best Watercolour Paper: Buy: Indigo Artpapers Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting READ REVIEW

Best Overall: Arches Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting

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Compared with other paper in this category, the arches handmade paper for acrylic painting has a design with broader appeal. This paper is so easy to layer with and you can tape it down without the tape tearing your paper and design/paintings/drawings. It provides timeless beauty and an inimitable touch. 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 lends itself better for media that don't require a rougher texture.

The hot press is very smooth, with no texture to the surface and is great for super crisp lines and details,but it will amplify/show any mistakes made. It allows for blending edges, layers excellently and does not damage easily when lifting color for highlights. The watercolor moves better on the paper and the colors are brighter.

• Great paper, can break up into smaller pieces for smaller paintings
• Very thick and absorbent paper for a beginner artist, good quality
• Takes water well with minimal pilling and holds its shape fairly well

Best With alcohol ink: Canson textured Paper

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If you often find yourself scrambling for appropriate and satisfactory paper, canson textured paper should be your first option for buying. This pad is textured like canvas, heavy in weight, doesn't dry paint too quickly and is a great value. It absorbs paint well. The texture is very nice and the crisp lines you can get with this paper are unmatched. It allows you to paint without bleed through, and much cheaper than buying canvas.

The paper has a heft tooth texture to it and is not smooth. The quality of the paper is very good. It has a tiny bit of texture to it and it's pretty thick. This stuff is great for practicing, testing new materials or you aren’t sure if you want to waste a canvas.

• Sturdy enough to hang or frame
• You can mount on a board for framing
• New and hot release

Best For old time: Wanderings Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting

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These one-of-a-kind handmade paper sheets are a great alternative to traditional watercolor paper or writing paper. Best of all, it appears to be sized, so it takes inkjet prints like a champ. It fits inside the cards perfectly, smaller than a normal card. It works well for water colour painting, the paper is unique and gives the pain a fun background.

These sheets would be great sewn together to make a little book, printed with lines to make personal stationary, or printed with instructions for vacation rentals or parties. It is good for projects that require this size of paper. It does change the texture and removes some of the color, so it takes inkjet prints like a champ. It is perfect for writing or using markers or colored pencils but for watercolor painting you really need to pay attention to the amount of water you are using.

• Great for bookmaking and other art projects
• Made antiqued deckled edge paper prevents bleed
• Antique looking papers with a lovely deckled edge

Best For how many Sheets: Ucreate Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting

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If you often find yourself confused about appropriate and satisfactory paper, ucreate handmade paper for acrylic painting is your end point. This paper is made of wood pulp (cellulose) and not cotton. It's strong enough to collage on and obsorb water colors nicely. It is great value for the amount of paper as well as the quality. It's good for both wet on wet method and direct painting.

This works great with watercolor applications for student grade artwork, but has not been tested with Alcohol Inks. The paper is okay for a beginner and younger artist.

• Cost effective and great for beginners
• Works great for watercolors and school paint
• Great for practice or for kids

Best With envelope: Wanderings Nice 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. Like most cotton brands the paint drys evenly on this paper,no blotchiness, just smooth colour. The paper takes fountain pen ink well, easy to write on and does not bleed through. It goes nice and straight when it is dried.

This paper is thick and has beautiful texture. The deckled edges make it look hand made. It is just translucent enough to trace, using a light board.

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

Best For portrait: Strathmore Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting

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For a low asking price, strathmore handmade paper for acrylic painting has managed to overwhelm their customers by packing as many features as they could. If you feel ready to tackle something big, this is a good option. This is very nice heavy duty paper for watercolor painting, it has a nice texture and holds the paint well. It cuts well with a sharp blade. It doesn’t hold up to watercolor and easily grumbles. It can be done with enough folding and an edge.

The paper is more textured than an 8x. It is relatively lightweight, but if it warps while using watercolors just spray the back with a little water and place something flat on top while it dries. There is also a very slight amount of bleed that takes place.

• Heavyweight paper, good quality with good watercolors
• For watercolor, pen and ink and colored pencil drawings
• Does not stand up to scrubbing/lifting

Best For recording ideas: Lear Village Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting

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It is perfect for all your drawing and craft needs, this watercolor paper provides a unique surface to bring your creative ideas to life. The proof paper is suitable for use with various mediums, including watercolor, oil pastels, pencil colors, charcoal, pen, and ink. The paper comes in a durable box so you can store your wonderful artwork for decades. The paper holds water well, as long as you don’t go too heavy.

The box and packaging are equally as fantastic as the paper inside and this would make a fabulous gift for any art student or those who love working with “aged” paper.

• Perfect keepsake with the paper pulled from history
• Ph neutral so your work will last for centuries
• Good brand reputation

Best For Professional: Canson Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting

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If you often find yourself confused about convenient and suitable paper, canson handmade paper for acrylic painting is your end point. This heavyweight paper is perfect for wet painting with acrylic paint. It does warp a bit once dried. If you can use opaque, water-based paint like acrylics on this paper, it should likewise accept gouache and tempera paints, too. It is a great size and works very well for acrylics, and collage too.

The acrylic paint tends to not absorb and leaves white specs so a painting that would look more professional looks sorta kidish. It is super thick. It is perfect for wet painting with acrylic paint.

• Ready to use with no need for gesso or other preparation
• Acid free 16 x 20 inch paper
• The thickness of paper and good texture
• Sized to provide the ideal level of absorbency for aqueous media

Best For handcrafted cards: Nomadcraftsco Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting

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Nomadcraftsco offers a variety of paper for personal choice and yet maintaining quality in all the variants. These papers are made from 100% recycled and acid-free materials, with 150 gsm thick, strong, slick-smooth & durable features. It is ideal for super detailed work. It is made of handmade cotton so there is a slight texture but it’s smooth. The cotton makes it drag a bit but it’s definitely worth it.

This paper holds ink very well, and it looks, and feels really nice. It’s a nice texture and looks pretty. It is good for making small leather journals. It is great for making small leather journals.

• Torn edges are lighter than original edges
• Sturdy paper with an almost linen texture to it
• Easily used for tight wound scrolls

Best For lighter washes: Lear Village Egyptian Cotton

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This paper is its own kind of siren song, luring the artist in with its faint pearl sheen, variegated texture, and old-world charm. The Scrapbook paper comes in various sizes, you can use this handmade paper and give wings to your creativity. It's good for loose work and allows for excellent blending and shading. It is perfect for lighter washes.

It is not flimsy at all meaning it is quite thick. The paper also works well with ink. It is perfect for wet as well as dry medium. The paper comes in a durable box so you can store your wonderful artwork for decades.

• Made from virgin egyptian cotton the color is off-white and made by leather village
• Most noticeably diffusion and flow of watercolors
• Ph neutral so your work will last for centuries

Best Watercolour Paper: Indigo Artpapers Handmade Paper For Acrylic Painting

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Compared with other paper in this category, the indigo artpapers handmade paper for acrylic painting has a convenient design. 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. 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 acid-free and both internally and externally sized.

This art paper is best suited for watercolor. It's a wonderful thick quality but responds to water and adhesives. It is made by using traditional handmade paper techniques.

• Good brand reputation
• Good investment for long term