The 9 Best Sketchbook Cotton Watercolor Papers (2023 reviews)

The arches sketchbook cotton watercolor 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 lends itself better for media that don't require a rougher texture. 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. It is good for multiple layers of washes.

This paper is beautiful, its incredibly smooth making it great for mixed media like pen and ink and then adding color. Tape comes off easily without ripping and masking fluid also comes off easily without pulling at the paper. It is available in several formats and sizes including blocks, pads, sheets and rolls, and 3 luxurious textures.

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 Watercolour Painting: Arteza Sketchbook Cotton Watercolor Paper

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The arteza sketchbook cotton watercolor paper is the best reliable paper on the market today. It works well with pencils, markers and acrylics. It quickly absorbs water, keeping your paints looking as vibrant as ever with no bleed through. The paint does not lift off as cleanly as shown on 100% cotton paper. It takes colored pencil, ink lines and water color just fine.

It doesn't bend much when very wet from watercolors, smooth and easy to paint over. It keeps relatively flat even with a wet wash. It is great for kids, beginners, and even more experienced users wanting to try different things.

Why We Like This:

Top quality for your quality painring
Worked well with water color pens
Good for quick sketches and watercolor painting

Best With Acrylic Paint: Lear Village Sketchbook Cotton Watercolor Paper

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If you are looking for a suitable paper for your regular usage, you cannot go wrong with the lear village sketchbook cotton watercolor paper. If you like dry brush painting, or charcoal work, this paper is unbeatable. It is perfect for watercolor or inks. It is great for wet as well as dry medium. 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.

The 6"x 8" paper is great for 8x10 framing. It is perfect for pastel, especially blending. It is perfect for wet as well as dry medium. It is great for scrubbing and it holds up wonderfully for such a lightweight paper.

Why We Like This:

Holds up well with ink pens and magic markers
Creamy paper is beautiful to the touch & eye
Good brand reputation

Best For different types OF Media: tumuarta Sketchbook Cotton Watercolor Paper

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Tumuarta offers a variety of paper for personal choice and yet maintaining quality in all the variants. The 5.5 x 5.5” square watercolor notebooks are perfect for painting your thoughts anywhere. It's thick, traditional white (not that weird purple color a lot of watercolor papers have been lately,) and highly textured. The paper is nice and thick, and it lays perfectly flat. The elastic closure is also sturdy.

This journal is very well made. It's ideal for watercolors, acrylics, ink pen, colored pencils, markers, oil pastels and more, it will tolerate light washes without bleeding and holds up to erasing. The paper is thick and can take anything you want to throw at it. The binding is sturdy and it’s the perfect size for painting at home or taking on the go. This journal is excellent for studies, technique experiments, and miniature paintings.

Why We Like This:

Good quality paper in a well crafted binding
Excellent for studies and minature paintings
Perfect for traveling and the cold press paper is wonderful
Beautiful in the outside, very well constructed,its a five star

Best For colored pencils: Paul Rubens Sketchbook Cotton Watercolor Paper

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The paul rubens sketchbook cotton watercolor paper is suitable and reliable and fits well with your daily usage. These little watercolor journals are great and very good for the thick quality of paper. It is made of 100% cotton and acid-free paper, so they won’t become yellow and brittle over time. It is perfect for plein air. It is glued on all four sides, held securely in place by glue all around to ensure that the paper does not warp even after absorbing large amounts of water, stays nice and flat after the painting is dried.

This is an easy cary pad of hot press paper. It has a smooth surface and easy for drawing with pen or pencil, it also takes water well and doesn't buckle, and the size of the journal is also good for travel.

Why We Like This:

Good size and quality of paper
Uite adequate for traveling and outdoor sketching
Handles a lot of layers, wet in wet, lifting

Best For Professional: Winsor Newton Sketchbook Cotton Watercolor Paper

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The winsor newton sketchbook cotton watercolor paper is satisfactory and appropriate and fits well with your daily purpose. This 100% cotton paper is lovely. It has a less textured finish and is the most widely used paper surface. It can be used by graphic designers. It's also easy to add watercolor paint to water on the paper to achieve playful flow affects. It has a nice texture. The texture is perfect, and lifting paint is easily done.

This paper often produces the brightest water colour paintings because its increased surface area holds more colour and therefore reflects more light.

Why We Like This:

Nice weight, nice texture, nice scrubbability, pricy
Retains color brilliance, very smooth surface
Lovely inexpensive fully 100% cotton watercolour paper
A brighter white without being beige, cream, or yellowish

Best For All skill levels: Hippie Crafter Sketchbook Cotton Watercolor Paper

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Hippie Crafter is known for creating pragmatic and minimalist paper for people on the go, and its line of hippie crafter sketchbook cotton watercolor paper definitely falls in line with that reputation. It’s a good paper for watercolor. It works for things like greeting cards. It's designed to withstand the water associated with watercolor painting. It can withstand moderate scrubbing without pilling or tearing. It works well for making note cards and small works.

This paper is heavy, textured, and good size and economical.

Why We Like This:

, a great choice for beginners, students, and hobbyists
A great student-grade paper that works well for making note cards and small works
High quality and very thick paper
Holds up well and decent quality

Best For pastel: Bockingford Sketchbook Cotton Watercolor Paper

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St. Cuthberts Mill strives to provide artists everywhere with high-quality paper on which to lay their greatest ideas. It is made from pure raw ingredients and natural woolen felts provide a unique surface texture for exceptional results. It is acid-free and gelatin sized for superior surface stability, this paper will ensure your artwork lives on for centuries as the paper won’t discolor over time.

It has good absorbancy for not being cotton. It is made at St. Cuthberts is available in a variety of binding types and paper sizes to fit the needs of any technique or project. It is suitable for pastel, gouache, acrylic, pencil, charcoal, pen and ink. Each exquisitely crafted shade allows your finished work to shine.

Why We Like This:

Available in 5 sizes and 2 remarkable finishes
Cold pressed paper has a nice texture
Paper is 100% cotton and absorbs well

Best For beginners: artbeek Sketchbook Cotton 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. This paper is perfect for needs. It absorbs the watercolor pretty quickly so there is not much time for blending but there IS a bit of time. It is thicker & heavier (140 lb/300gsm), so it can stand up to multiple washes without warping or bleeding through.

Each thick, durable sheet of paper comes with a smooth side as well as a textured side, allowing for flexibility in your creation. It is optimized for both wet and dry media, so you can create with any medium of your choice. 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. This paper definitely holds up against a lot of water saturation.

Why We Like This:

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