Manufacturers of goods for artists do their best to make the creative process as comfortable, fruitful, easy and interesting as possible.
Each artistic tool or material appearing on the market is better and of higher quality than the previous one, each is different from the competition, each is developed based on the preferences of professional artists, the wishes of those who like to draw.
Watercolor paper is no exception. An amazing variety of species and varieties, the subtleties of production, composition, texture, density - everything is taken into account and selected individually for every taste and wallet. It is not surprising for a beginner watercolorist or acrylic users to get lost in this abundance, and the advice of professional watercolor masters does not always help in choosing watercolor paper, because in addition to individual preferences and prices, it is important to choose watercolor paper for a specific task and learn how to use the properties of the watercolor paper itself for personal creative finds and watercolors techniques to become an independent original artist with a pronounced artistic handwriting.
Let's figure out for a start with the basic properties and features of watercolor paper.
Composition.
Classically, the composition of watercolor paper is of 3 types: cellulose, with the addition of cotton and pure cotton.
Painting process. Sea. Pure cotton. Aquarelle cotton paper, on which most professional watercolourists paint, is higher in price and forms characteristic soft and smooth transitions from color to color, beautiful spreading of watercolors.
It perfectly absorbs water and paint, and thanks to its multi-layered nature, the particles of the watercolor pigment settle deep inside its fibers (visually, it looks like a slight muffling of color, velvety surface painted with watercolor, dullness of the image). It is difficult to wash out fragments of watercolor work on cotton watercolor paper: the applied paint immediately settles into the lower layers, therefore, it is unlikely that novice watercolorists will be able to make edits to a watercolor sketch made on such paper.
But it retains moisture for a long time and with high quality, so a watercolor painting session, thanks to it, can last up to several hours. Pure cotton paper is especially good for wet watercolor painting: the abundance of water in the lower layers allows you to create the desired effects and spreads easily and control the flows of watercolor paint freely.
The main advantages of watercolor painting on cotton paper are soft streaks and smooth gradients. If you plan your work on a watercolor sketch in advance, select the watercolor pigments with precision and put them in accordance with the general idea on a high-quality, pre-made drawing, then the watercolor work will turn out to be fresh, competent, professionally executed and, indeed, watercolor - light and transparent.
Pure cellulose watercolor paper is of different quality (it depends on the quality of the fiber itself, acidity, density, etc.). I think that it makes no sense to compare watercolor paper made of cellulose, for example, from domestic and foreign manufacturers, as well as watercolor paper for children's art with professional watercolor paper - the difference is obvious, although all this may be cellulose.
Watercolor paper made from cellulose does not absorb paint and water well and dries quickly - this gives characteristic texture when dry. Puddles that turn into dark spots, sharp edges of strokes, stains within an even fill, dark or light streaks are the distinctive features of the work performed on such a basis. All irregularities and roughness are especially well visible on textured cellulose watercolor paper.
Due to this property, such watercolor paper is especially preferable for sketching, quick dry and wet sketches, experimental exercises and student sketches. Watercolor paper made of pure cellulose gives high color saturation (pigment particles are deposited on the surface, almost not penetrating inside and the image does not lose color intensity after drying). It helps to write quickly and fluently, without thinking about how the work will change in an hour or a day.
Painting of Elena Valent's student. The paint put on the surface of cellulose watercolor paper is easily washed off - make changes, wash out the desired areas to light or white, it is easy to correct inaccuracies on it, which is important for beginner watercolorists.
What is bad about watercolor paper made of cellulose is that it rolls when rubbed (pellets and stretched bubbles appear on the surface), so it is easy to write on it, without swiping in one place several times. Ideal for painting a la Prima or for layered registration with a small amount of moisture (dry, student-like).