If you’re painting in watercolours, having the best watercolour paper is crucial because it needs to hold up and not curl when it gets wet. It also needs to allow the colour to shine brightly. Low-quality watercolour paper can be too thin and can rumple under the water, with the colour pooling unevenly as a result.
Usually, you’ll want heavyweight paper (around 300gsm/140lb), although speciality or student paper will often be lighter. While they’re formulated for watercolours, the best watercolour paper can also be used for other techniques, especially water-based media like the best watercolour pencils.
The best watercolour paper available now
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Best overall
Texture: cold press
Weight: 300gsm/140lb
This excellent quality watercolour paper has a strong surface. Though a cold press paper, the texture is on the lighter side. It is a little off-white, and colours look bright and crisp on this surface. Wet-on-dry textures are easy to create. It feels absorbent, holds water well and doesn’t buckle easily.
Best for quality
Texture: hot press
Weight: 300gsm/140lb
This surface is a treat to work on: it washes well and doesn’t buckle easily, so the colour lays down evenly. It’s a fairly absorbent paper, so there’s less pooling of water on the page. Colours show up especially well and look vibrant. This is ideal for more layered approaches, as colour tends not to lift or change once dry.
Smoothest
Texture: very smooth
Weight: 200gsm/74lb (others available)
Unlike traditional cotton watercolour papers, this is made from polypropylene, a type of plastic. It’s very smooth and watercolour paint can be wiped off the surface, making it very forgiving. It also helps make up for the cost, as paint can be washed off and the paper reused. It’s slower to dry than others on this list.
Best mounted board
Texture: medium, toothy
Weight: 3m board (others available)
This unusual option is more like gesso board than conventional paper, with the texture of the clay surface being somewhat gritty or ‘toothy’. They are well suited to float frames, can handle heavy washes, and colours look wonderfully bright. They are expensive compared to paper, making them best for finalised work.
Best for wet-in-wet
Texture: cold press
Weight: 300gsm/140lb
This has a bright white surface, with a typical cold press texture. It’s particularly suited to wet-in-wet techniques as colour spreads easily. It stays wet for a good time and produces blooms readily – perhaps frustrating for some, but very effective for those wanting these textures. It’s prone to buckling but is stable for adding layers.
Best sketchbook
Texture: cold press
Weight: 300gsm/140lb
This is one of the few watercolour notebooks with 300gsm paper, making it considerably more sturdy than many. The cover is solid, so the sketchbook can handle being carried around and supports the paper when you are working. It can handle a reasonable amount of water, though too much will cause it to buckle as it’s cellulose-based.