The 10 Best textured Watercolor Papers (2023 reviews)

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

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Our Top Picks:

Best Overall: Buy: Ucreate textured Watercolor Paper READ REVIEW

Best For practice: Buy: Arches textured Watercolor Paper READ REVIEW

Best For Watercolour Painting: Buy: Arteza textured Watercolor Paper READ REVIEW

Best For charcoal: Buy: Lear Village textured Watercolor Paper READ REVIEW

Best For durability: Buy: Mujinhua textured Watercolor Paper READ REVIEW

Best For Both Watercolor: Buy: Canson North America textured Watercolor Paper READ REVIEW

Best For All skill levels: Buy: Hippie Crafter textured Watercolor Paper READ REVIEW

Best For All Wet And Dry Media: Buy: positive Art textured Watercolor Paper READ REVIEW

Best For Professional: Buy: Kingart textured Watercolor Paper READ REVIEW

Best Premium: Buy: Sax textured Watercolor Paper READ REVIEW

Best Overall: Ucreate textured Watercolor Paper

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If you often find yourself confused about good paper, ucreate textured watercolor paper is your solution. It is a must have for your watercolor painting fun. It includes 50 sheets and is perfect for groups or classroom activities. The three standard watercolor paper weights are 90, 140 and 300 pounds. It is perfect for cutting various materials for any paper craft. The paper bends a little after painting in watercolor. There is no leaking or holes created when water is added.

• Great for students in grammar school
• Great for teaching lessons and for practice
• Sturdy and perfect for water painting

Best For practice: Arches textured Watercolor Paper

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If you often find yourself scrambling for convenient and suitable paper, arches textured watercolor paper is your end point. Even this is considered a lesser quality paper, it is still leaps and bounds above most other 100% cotton papers. It takes water beautifully, with only slight buckling that flattens as it dries. It can take many layers of watercolor. It’s a bit rough, so it shows-off colors vibrantly.

It is made from cotton so doesn't disintegrate like cheaper brands. The cold pressed has more tooth, so doesn’t work so well for skin, but it holds the colour tremendously well. It has just enough texture. It’s easily removed from the edge-glued pad.

• Cotton paper makes blending watercolors easier
• Texture is great and nice thick paper to work with
• Good brand reputation

Best For Watercolour Painting: Arteza textured Watercolor Paper

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The arteza textured watercolor paper is capable of outshining several other paper featured in this list in overall features for the price point. There are other woodpulp papers that perform much better, such as Canson and Strathmore. It works well with pencils, markers and acrylics. Each thick, durable sheet of paper comes with a smooth side as well as a textured side, allowing for flexibility in your creation. It's heavy and cold pressed, but still somewhat smooth. It keeps relatively flat even with a wet wash.

It is optimized for both wet and dry media, so you can create with any medium of your choice. It does not buckle and has a sturdy feel.

• Worked well with water color pens
• Great for starting out, at level
• Good for quick sketches and watercolor painting

Best For charcoal: Lear Village textured Watercolor Paper

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This 100% cotton watercolor paper has neutra ph to keep your artwork safe for centuries. It provides 100% pure cotton handmade paper suitable for all dry and wet mediums. Acid free sheets in these watercolor mix media sketchbook help keep your art work vibrant and long lasting. 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 raw natural look is superbly attractive in any kind of journal. It is unique, it’s possible to find slight variations in color among papers which make them one of a kind. You can also see that the texture and thickness is fairly consistent with minimal large pulpy pieces. This paper is rather thick with a smooth finish.

• Simple craft glue works perfectly to put them together
• Delivers what they promise

Best For durability: Mujinhua textured Watercolor Paper

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If you often find yourself confused about appropriate and satisfactory paper, mujinhua textured watercolor paper is your end point. This MUJINHUA acid-free, cold-pressed textured watercolor paper is very nice quality. It measures 6.1x 8.7 inches, acid-free (ph neutral) paper –140lb. It is perfect for taking on the road. It is also the perfect gift for all art-loving children, students, artists, neighbors, and friends.

This quality watercolor paper is ideal for amateurs, professionals, and students, with a surface that works beautifully with a variety of mediums. These are especially good for outdoor painting, small and easy to carry, especially the perfect gift for your little ones, student grade watercolor paper with uniform texture and whiteness. It is suitable for better paint performance and durability. This is a great product for giving oil paintings protection prior to final varnish finish.

• Nice sturdy paper for beginners very thick and easy to work with
• Perforated edges of each sheet, resulting in a clean, seamless look every time
• A nice heavy duty all-purpose paper for multiple mediums

Best For Both Watercolor: Canson North America textured Watercolor Paper

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This is definitely a wonderful wired bound watercolor pad of 140 lb paper, perfect for traveling, Plein Air painting and easy for beginners to use. It is constructed of a cold press textured paper for a variety of techniques. It is ideal for watercolor and suitable for use with pencil, colored pencil, pen, ink, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic.

The paper is nice and thick and white. It is convenient to take with you wherever you go. It is for 2 full pads of 30 sheets each for 60 total sheets. This heavy weight paper is great for both watercolor and mixed media. It is very smooth and not like cold pressed watercolor paper.

• Cold pressed paper with a fine texture side & a smooth side
• Heavy weight paper with side spiral binding
• One of the new comers and featured product

Best For All skill levels: Hippie Crafter textured Watercolor Paper

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We would, of course, be remiss if we didn't mention hippie crafter textured watercolor paper for daily purpose. This Coldpress watercolor paper features a slightly rough textured surface that traps the water and color, allowing for better control, but not so much that it distorts. It is ideal for all skill levels from beginner to advanced. It works for things like greeting cards and cards. It can withstand moderate scrubbing without pilling or tearing.

This paper is heavy, textured, and good size and economical. It is ideal for artists, kids, and beginners. The product is actually 50% cotton and 50% pulp. It is designed to withstand the water associated with watercolor painting.

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

Best For All Wet And Dry Media: positive Art textured Watercolor Paper

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The positive art textured watercolor paper has killer features for the price point. Artists and students will love this mini tin watercolor drawing set. It is designed to serve every artistic purpose, or classrooms at the beginner to intermediate levels. It comes with a sketching stick set of 4 watercolor pencils, 1 sketch pencil, 1 brush, 1 kneaded eraser, 1 storage tin. It is suitable for all wet and dry media including watercolor,, pen & ink, light acrylic washes, marker, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, pastel, oil, gouache.

The Canson Watercolor Paper Sketch book can be used for drawing, sketching, or painting. Natural white paper that offers the flexibility of a cold press texture on the front while the back has a smooth surface for drawing, and the durable surface withstands repeated washes. They absorb water well, are excellent for blending, and leave clean lines with no bleed-through.

• Delivers what they promise
• Lot of satisfied buyers

Best For Professional: Kingart textured Watercolor Paper

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Kingart has been making great paper for years, thanks to a combination of clever design and appropriate materials. Cold-pressed sheets offer the most versatility—smooth enough for fine detail, with enough texture to hold a serious amount of color. It is ideal for working in watercolor, acrylic, ink, and more. This heavyweight paper is perfect for those who like to work with plenty of water, applying multiple washes and scrubbing or blotting up color as you go. It’s very thick paper as well.

This watercolor paper is the BEST, even in comparison to Arches. It offers a wide range of products that customers at all levels can trust for quality and performance. It is ideal for professionals, aspiring enthusiasts and beginners looking to enjoy new levels of creativity. The spiral binding makes it easy to try out various techniques and perspectives, without losing track of your efforts.

• Wire bound on the side for easy use, with perforated sheets that tear cleanly
• Create in watercolor, acrylic, ink, and more
• Compares in a big way with the big name pro paper
• Sturdy, acid-free paper with a fine texture and 140 lb weight

Best Premium: Sax textured Watercolor Paper

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The sax textured watercolor paper is long-lasting, rigid and fits well with your daily purpose like a dream. Sax art supplies give students the tools they need to help them on their artistic journey. This finely textured paper is perfect for a variety of wet application techniques including gouache, acrylics, and of course, watercolors. It is perfect for creating landscapes, cityscapes and elaborate scenes. It offers uniform whiteness and good working texture. It is acid-free for durability and longevity.

The additional avenues of communication opened by collaborative art may make it easier for educators to understand and develop individualized strategies for their students with special needs. It builds confidence, encourages creativity and teaches the importance of working as a team. It is great for beginners and experienced artists experimenting with new techniques.

• Inspire students to work toward a common creative goal with a group art project
• Great for studio, art class and home painting use
• Suitable for all wet techniques with watercolor, gouache, and acrylic