100% Cotton paper is essential for watercolor . You can find some decent alternative paper with low quantity of cotton or with a heavy chemical sizing like the canson montval but they will behave differently . My favorite is Arches and Sthratmore imperial 100% cotton paper . Blending is perfect , you can use huge quantity of water and even the colors will look brighter the only problem is that it's very expensive but it's worthed for the quality . I think also that some beginners find watercolors annoying to use also because they don't have the possibility to paint on a good paper . I still believe that professional art materials are even more needed by beginner than real professional because they already don't know how to paint if they use very low quality material the result is just a big mess . 😌😫😫

Now I start to apprecitate all kinds of surface, learning the characteriatcs of each and ultilizing them instead of simply skipping them.

Some surprising discoveries; expected conclusion. Always interesting topics, Teoh, and helpful as usual. Thank you!

This video and demo has been an eye opener. Artists always say get the best paper and ctn ppr is the best. Now I really can see why. Just by looking at the layout of the 6 diff. papers side by side after you applied the colors and before you explained, I finally see the difference. You made my paper buying decision a lot easier. Thank you.

Good detailed review! The blending when charging in may however not have so much to do with the cotton content as to how it is gelatine-sized, on the surface, one side only or internally. The real difference between cotton and cellulose wood pulp becomes evident when trying lifting and scrubbing. Recommend you add lifitng and scrubbing to the review tests, though those tecniques are not much used in urban scetching with watercolours.

This is one of the most informative videos I’ve seen in a while! Thanks Teoh!

I recently found your channels and I love it! I was never very careful when buying paper but this reminded me that it's really important. Thank you

You have a knack for making videos I want to watch Teoh! Thanks for this informative video :D

You are like a scientist-artist; very well designed experiments and clear and helpful results - thank you for your work on this!

Very interesting demonstration! Thanks for yet another informative video, Teoh. :D

Best paper review I have seen… to the point with clear cut examples and explanations.

Wow! That was really informative for me. Gave me lots to think about the results that I have been getting with beginner skill level on various projects. Thank you.

If it is the paper being "thirsty" that is creating those rough edges, it would also appear on the yellow swatch in the glazing test. Also, depending on the sizing, cotton paper should absorb less water less quickly than wood-pulp paper, so it is actually less "thirsty" than wood-pulp. In the dispersion tests, for example, that is why there are those harder lines, where the paint didn't disperse on the wood-pulp papers: because the paint is more quickly absorbed into the paper, instead of remaining longer on its surface.

Great review! Was of big help to me! Keep doing such videos, you're very good at them!

Thank you so much, very kind of you to do this demo. 🙏

This is very useful information. I've tried arches and don't like it for the type of work I do. I have some Bao Hong and some old saunders and find the water stays on the surface a bit longer on Bao Hong than saunders, so for wet in wet it gives you a bit more time to work. However, I have heard that saunders changed their paper formula a while ago. My saunders paper is about 10 years old, bought for another purpose before I started painting in watercolours, but if it's drying this quickly in the middle of an Australian winter, then I hate to think how it will perform in the heat of summer. I've tried budget 100% cotton paper, and it too is not good, with some cellulose papers performing better than those budget cotton ones, so cotton can't be the only factor. I'd also like to have seen how the colour lifts on each of the papers. My bottom line is that paper preference is a personal thing, depending on your painting style, so people claiming one brand is better than another need to temper it with "better for them" not better overall. For me, a mid-range cellulose brand is my preference for landscapes because of the texturing I can get, but for detailed botanical work, I'm still looking for the perfect paper to suit me.

Thanks for your demonstration! My go-to art store has a new crazy cheap price for the artistico when buying 5 or more sheets, it's half the price as for arches, so I'm really considering using the artistico because of that.

I use cellulose paper for were on dry illustration or gouache. It generally fails when used for glazing (colors underneath disturbed) or wet on wet. I actually like the white speckles from Arches.

That was really interesting, thank you. You have some great ideas for videos 👍

Really useful comparison -- thanks for sharing.

I use Fabriano studio most of the times, now I know why I can't make decent wet on wet... maybe I should try the artistico one! Thank you for this video ^^

Thank you so much for this review. I just bought some Stonehenge Hot Press. It's 100% cotton. I'd known Stonehenge as a printmaking paper but apparently it's watercolor too. I honestly had not checked the cotton content until your review. Thank you again.

I use 100% cotton paper nowadays, Arches, both cold and hot pressed. The rest is too unpredictable, although I might give Fabriano Artistico a try.

I'm always so happy to watch your videos because of how detailed and informational they are, so I was over the moon to see a paper comparison video!! They're my favourite haha Anyway, suggestion but definitely no obligation, maybe you can give your thoughts on baohong paper and compare it to other 100% cotton papers?

EXCELLENT...learned so much💗

Interesting. I tried to buy 25% cotton fabriano paper, but they send me 100 % intead as they other kind was sold out. I still haven't tried it out...😌

Thank you very much! I needed this comparison

I'm not much of an artist but I love your videos! Paints are so pretty

Thank you so much for the informative test. Now I'm interested to know what would you use each type of paper for?

I would think that the amount of sizing would help make a difference. Also, you noted that the design of the paper allowed the color to run vertically. But what about turning the paper to horizontal....?

this video was super informative thank you!

When i was in school learning graphic design our teacher for drawing tell us to chose fabriano instead of canson because he dont have texture, i use it for gouache not watercolor i didnt test watercolor on it before but he have another cover its white and blue maybe for each country they make a cover different from another country

I have both Arches and Strathmore 400 series watercolor paper. I prefer the Strathmore, even though there is no cotton in it. I live in a dry climate and watercolor paints dry out fast; so, it is really hard to do wet into wet. You used Daniel Smith paints for this test. I have a travel palette of Qor watercolor paints and when the color hits wet paper, it spreads out depending upon the wetness of the paint. Do you think the relative humidity in the environment could have an impact on how the paint and paper interact?

There is some Hahnemuhle paper with bamboo and 5% cotton. Also Nevskaya Palitra proceduces 75% cotton paper

Thanks ever so much for the informative video.

Thanks, very helpful

The Fabriano 5 is really expensive for me so I’m aiming for another 50% cotton one - Clairefontaine Cardinal paper. At Overjoyed the cardinal paper is cheaper than Clairefontaine 100% cotton watercolor paper, but still is an upgrade from 100% cellulose. It’s either this or their Overjoyed brand WC paper, which is quite affordable. I also asked the staff if their store brand’s paper is sized both ways and they answered yes! My previous option was Baohong but it seems the sizing is only one way :(

Hi, I'm having Fabriano a lot of trouble getting hold of 100% cotton watercolor paper. Yes, I can only get hold of 25% cotton, acrylic paper and hot press. I live out in the country, my old painter I could buy all my materials. Unfortunately he died many years ago. Our beloved artist Bror-Erick..

Have you tried Winsor and Newton? I quite like the texture of both the cold pressed and rough. Arches is as you say great in terms of blending bit it’s very hard on my pens. Even though it’s not cotton, the fluid blocks are really nice (and convenient) for ink and wash sketches. I haven’t tried the cotton version yet, but I just purchased one. The cold press doesn’t have a lot of texture so hoping that will be even better for urban sketching. I bought some fabriano studio and was disappointed as there seems to be uneven sizing on every page at roughly the same spot where the paint just doesn’t take. It was very strange. Thanks as always for your informative reviews. Much appreciated.

Teoh, have you ever tried Lana Aquarelle watercolor paper from Germany.I would love to see how it stands up to the other cotton papers. Overall however, I enjoyed this very very much. My belief is, that your paper is THE most important part of a watercolor arsenal. Thank you, Claudia

Thanks for this!

Can you test out Magnani 1404 watercolor paper series? I have all the three textures and I am not sure if I like it even if it is 300gsm 100% cotton paper.

Interesting video. Sizing seems to be as important as material.

Teoh, by any chance, didn't You have an opportunity to try out a watercolor boards, like Arches or Strathmore produce? I know, this materials not specially good for sketching because of heavyness, but they provide a sturdy base for flow and wet-in-wet washes, even most watery ones.

Have you also tried watercolour paper with linen content? And if yes, how does it compare to 100% cotton ones?

This will be a great video for beginners

Thank you for demonstrating that paper is such an important part of watercolor painting. Hard t believe how big a part of plays!

Nice! Thanks

Another interesting video Teoh. Have you tried Fluid 100 (cotton)? Even though it's cotton, I don't get the same results as I do with Arches, Fab Artistico and Canson Heritage. I think the sizing might be different. Thanks for sharing!

Hello. On not cotton or 50/50cotton when i put second layer of paint over first one- it lift up first layer.is it paper ?

Hi Teoh! I didn't pay attention if you said hot pressed or cold press...

Thank you! 😍

Thank you!💓

need one for cold press and hot press heh i usually go by price not by percent

I finally understand. Thank you.

That was helpful thank you…

Hi Teoh, have you tried Clairefontaine's Watercolor paper? Any idea if they are good watercolour paper?

You seem to use a lot of water. How come I always use like half of that and get so many waves it’s impossible to paint further? How do you do this?

The wash on Arches looks really bad, what’s up with all of those white speckle! There is something wrong with the sizing! It’s not the first time I’ve noticed!

The rough edges on cotton papers here are because of the texture more than anything.

Hi @Teoh, whenever I see cotton watercolor paper reviews by artists and then advising usage of the same over the ordinary watercolor paper, it makes me think 'what did the watercolor masters from centuries ago must've used?' did they have cotton paper then?

do you still recommend Daniel Smith Watercolour Essential Set for a first pro set of watercolours?

I know you're comparing quality but I see opportunity there. The paint behaves more like ink on the 0%. Could be great paper for comics or getting weird effects in sketches.

YESS! loved this, thank you so much for making this review~ i've always wondered if i can go cheaper by using 25 or 50% cotton. 25% cotton looks rather useless. 50% might be okay for me, i'll try it out :D do you know if the fabriano disegno5 is same as your fabriano5? also... did you know Thailand has Thai-made watercolours too? They have student and artist grade watercolours called Silpakorn and Wichitrong, respectively. I don't currently have the artist grade range but I do have a set of the student grade one. I’m making a few dot cards of the Silpakorn watercolours. I'd love to send it to you so you can try it out, maybe make a vid on it. I don't know how I could send it to you. If you're interested, please let me know. :)

very interested video Parka. I usually sketch on a Khadi paper sketchbook but use too Arches loose sheets paper , the best for me. Thanks for sharing !

Why is there no video that shows how cotton paper performs in an inkjet?

Hello brother... Please reply... Urgent: I need a tablet for note taking and watching lectures only. Should i go with Samsung gab S6 lite or ipad 7 or any other in same range? Your opinion?

Reinforces what I’ve been told in earlier classes. Seeing is believing. Thanks.

I bought some Canson XL Watercolor paper 140lb 300g. I know the paper is crap but I bought some DS watercolor ground to make the paper a little closer to perfect. What percentage of cotton is Canson XL Watercolor Paper? if you know will you comment. Anyone comment.

I mainly use Arches watercolor paper (Cold and Hot press). Never had the white speckles effect before could just be a bad batch. Other than that its usually the best for me.

Interesting video. I have been painting for decades, but the problem I find with 100% cotton, is it is not as forgiving as a cotton mix paper. I work in extreme detail and find the paper does not like fine detail. Can’t help thinking that a paper with different mixes you get broader results. Much harder to produce high professional and fine results with 100% cotton.

I would like to see this Fluid paper painted with gouache

0:41 Quanto è bello vedere la scritta "Made in Italy" in un video in Inglese.

paper

I hate soft edges as it makes my flowers look dodgy for my style. To a degree it depends on your style.

I stopped using Arches because when you add water..the paper (glue I guess) starts to smell. Also bought a block of arches cold.press and something was wrong with the paper. It literally acted like a sponge and could not spread or blend colors..at all...a bad block..and for what I paid!? Pass on Arches