The 7 Best Pastel pad papers (2023 reviews)

We consider a pastel pad paper to be a worthy investment in the long run. We are here to help you choose the right one for your purposes from all the best available products in market today.

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Our Top Picks:

Best overall: Buy: Strathmore Pastel Paper READ REVIEW

Best for charcoal: Buy: Canson High quality Paper READ REVIEW

Best for flowers: Buy: Canson Pastel pad Paper READ REVIEW

Best for dry Pastel: Buy: Clairefontaine Pastel pad Paper READ REVIEW

Best for beginners: Buy: Strathmore Pastel pad Paper READ REVIEW

Best for creating distinctive artwork with soft pastels: Buy: COLOUR BLOCK Pastel pad Paper READ REVIEW

Best for Pastel applications: Buy: Hahnem�Hle Pastel pad Paper READ REVIEW

Best overall: Strathmore Pastel Paper

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This is pastel mat colored paper and is great with colored pencils, pastels, pastel pencils and some mixed media. It uses this pad all the time to draw. It's designed for pastels. It's a little thinner than the Mi-Teintes, which has gelatin on it. The paper is porous and will take chalk pastels.

The art paper and velour paper are good quality for the money because it’s just not usable when it’s creased. This paper allows you to blend colors easily. It is available in most art stores as well as chain stores.

• Great paper for charcoal & pencil sketching
• Great for practicing for art classes
• Delivers what they promise

Best for charcoal: Canson High quality Paper

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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.

• Excellent paper, with a nice variety of colours
• Delivers what they promise

Best for flowers: Canson Pastel pad Paper

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Canson makes beautiful and great paper with classic and smartly choosen materials. These gelatin-sized papers are 50 percent cotton, and resistant to fading. It is perfect for pastel drawings. It is a light-fast paper that is colored at the pulp level. The colors are a great bonus, and works as an underpainting.

The pastel paper is beautiful and it has a really nice tooth to it. It has a decent "tooth", with the downside being a pattern built in to the paper texture. The sheets should be hidden under the cover completely. It gives the choice for a different finish in the draw.

• Really high quality for excellent effects
• Great paper, earth tones are great for drawing landsapes, flowers, etc
• Lot of satisfied buyers

Best for dry Pastel: Clairefontaine Pastel pad Paper

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If you often find yourself scrambling for convenient and suitable paper, clairefontaine pastel pad paper should be your first option for buying. This paper is the best surface for pastel. It takes pastel layers beautifully. The soft and adherent surface of pastelmat paper makes it possible to multiply the layers of pigments without saturation effects and without fixative. It is coarser than velour, but softer than sandpaper. It allows you to receive energetic strokes such as the softest shadings.

This surface is wonderful for wet and dry pastel work and is substantial. Its glued finish allows you to easily detach the sheets. The paper is excellent, sturdy, strong and great for blending with oil pastels. It is acid-free and has a neutral ph for perfect preservation of the drawings over time.

• Holds lots of layers and is smooth to the touch
• Not quite a "board", but thicker and holds up better than heavy duty papers
• Great paper for layering color and deep color

Best for beginners: Strathmore Pastel pad 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 pastel pad paper is exactly that - it's a simple paper that hits all the right notes. This paper is suitable for pastel and charcoal. There are several different colors of paper in the pad. It is good paper for beginners and pastel works of portrats.

• Delivers what they promise
• Good investment for long term

Best for creating distinctive artwork with soft pastels: COLOUR BLOCK Pastel pad Paper

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Black pastel paper allows creative artists to maximize the bright colors and boost artistic creativity. It doesn’t have a lot of teeth and isn’t very thick. The 12 x 16 inch paperback pad contains 24 sheets of 230 gsm acid free paper. The cold pressed paper has a slightly bumpy and textured surface with pronounced tooth. It’ll buckle a little first, then return to being flat once gesso dries.

Being acid free, the paper is eco-friendly and is used commonly in the long term archival storage of art without being yellow or breaking down. It is designed in glue bound paperback, so paper can be removed easily. It is perfect for creating distinctive artwork with soft pastels.

• Delivers what they promise
• Lot of satisfied buyers

Best for Pastel applications: Hahnem�Hle Pastel pad Paper

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Next on the list, we've got yet another paper that manages to win our hearts. It's the hahnem�hle pastel pad paper and it's widely considered as one of the best convenient paper you can buy. This is a great laid surface paper.

• Lot of satisfied buyers
• Good investment for long term