8 Best Watercolor Papers Top Picks & Guide for 2023
Finding the best watercolor paper for your creative water paintings is important because using the correct paper will improve your watercolor painting experience. Watercolor papers are available in different textures, weights, and fiber types which can completely enhance the performance of your pigments.
When choosing the best paper for your paintings there are many factors to consider, such as properly handling the wet media and holding back the pigmentation of the colors accurately.
Among the numerous options available, it is a challenge to find the right one for you. To avoid confusion, this article covers a compiled list of the best watercolor papers.
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Our Top pick
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Best Budget
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Best Value
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$28.76 ($1.44 / Count)
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$16.81
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$32.00 ($1.60 / Count)
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Description:
If you are looking for a watercolor paper that works great for beginners and professional artists, then you will love our top choice — Saunders Waterford Watercolour Block. With a strong and semi-smooth surface, it allows you to enjoy your artwork. |
Description:
Savoir Faire Fabriano Pad is created especially for budget-minded artists and is one of our favorite choices because it offers high-quality, durable paper that is ideal for students and professional artists. |
Description:
With the excellent surface and texture of the paper, Arches Watercolour Block becomes ideal for layering and illustrations and is also a good absorbent as well. |
If you are looking for a watercolor paper that works great for beginners and professional artists, then you will love our top choice — Saunders Waterford Watercolour Block. With a strong and semi-smooth surface, it allows you to enjoy your artwork.
Savoir Faire Fabriano Pad is created especially for budget-minded artists and is one of our favorite choices because it offers high-quality, durable paper that is ideal for students and professional artists.
With the excellent surface and texture of the paper, Arches Watercolour Block becomes ideal for layering and illustrations and is also a good absorbent as well.
The Best Watercolor Paper in 2023
- Saunders Waterford Watercolour Block — Best watercolor paper overall (Editor’s Choice)
- Savoir Faire Fabriano Pad — Best Budget watercolor paper
- Arches Watercolour Block — Best valued watercolor papers
- Canson XL Series Watercolor Pad — Best for students and beginners
- Stonehenge Aqua Heavy Watercolor Block — Best watercolor paper with a rugged texture surface
- Ampersand Aquabord — The best highly-absorbent board for watercolor
- Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour Block — Best watercolor paper for wet-in-techniques
- MEEDEN Watercolor Paper — Best affordable watercolor paper
Best Watercolor Papers Compared
For the best watercolor paper overall, we’ve picked Saunders Waterford Watercolour Block which offers artists’ quality watercolor paper. However, besides this, we’ve also compiled a list of several other options.
Besides this, if you’re looking for add-ons to your portfolio, our best cameras for artwork article is worth checking out.
8+ Best Watercolor Papers for Your Art
1. Saunders Waterford Watercolour Block (Editor’s Choice)
Best watercolor paper overall
Saunders Waterford Watercolour Block is the best watercolor paper overall as it offers artists quality watercolor paper. Saunders Waterford tops our choices because we find it good for both beginners and experienced artists.
It possesses a strong surface with a semi-rough surface. It is a cold press paper, which gives it a lighter texture.
This watercolor paper enables you to create wet-on-dry textures easily. The surface of the paper does not grinch with the brightness and crispness of the colors. It does not buckle easily and absorbs water well.
Painting with watercolors does not pool unless wet, yet can stay damp for a long time and bleed readily which results in smooth transitions.
While painting requires a lot of patience, especially in applying layers, Saunders Waterford will help you achieve more. We noticed that this block comes with archival quality, which protects our paintings from fading over time.
Pros |
Cons |
 Cold press texture with a mild texture |
 Takes some time to dry |
| Strong and semi-smooth surface |
Latest Price on Amazon:
- Mouldmade in England, 100% Cotton Specialty Paper
- Neutral pH, Acid Free, Chlorine Free
- No OBA's
- Buffered with calcium carbonate
- Internally & externally sized
2. Savoir Faire Fabriano Pad
Best Budget watercolor paper
If you are looking for the best budget artist-grade watercolor paper, Savoir Faire Fabriano Pad is the ideal choice. We chose this because it is made by an Italian papermaking company that has been in the industry since 1264 and offers high-quality, durable paper.
It comes with alpha and cotton cellulose fabric and feels like a premium cotton rag while working with these cotton sheets.
Savoir watercolor paper usage is suitable for those in studios, practicing the craft, and for beginners. The pigment of watercolors moves easily and evenly on the surface as it is cold pressed and has a semi-smooth surface.
Due to its composition, the paper is capable of handling a good amount of water when wet and layered without buckling. We suggest this for students and professionals.
Pros |
Cons |
| Premium cotton sheets |
As it has a semi-smooth surface, takes time to dry |
| Allows the pigment to flow easily and evenly |
Latest Price on Amazon:
- Machine-made
- Acid-free
- Sized internally and externally
- Pad contains 20 sheets
- Exceptionally absorbent
3. Arches Watercolour Block
Best valued watercolor papers
Arches Watercolour Block is best valued for the quality they offer, as these artists’ quality papers come from natural cotton fibers on a cylinder molding machine. This hot press artist-grade paper is ideal for multiple uses like watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and airbrushing.
These hot pressed watercolor paper surfaces take washes well and don’t buckle or wrinkle easily. The surface texture makes the color flow easily on the paper and lay down decently. It is a good absorbent that does not allow the pooling of water on the pages.
This paper is an ideal choice for those who work with layering as the color tends to look vibrant and enhanced once they dry. This relatively hot press artists’ grade paper is also ideal to use for finished, detailed, and illustrated work.
Pros |
Cons |
| Excellent surface and texture of the paper. |
It is very expensive. |
| Archival and pure cotton paper. |
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| Ideal for layering and illustrations as well. |
Latest Price on Amazon:
- Paper made with natural cotton fibers on a cylinder-mold machine
- Great for watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and airbrushing
- Made with a natural gelatin sizing
- 20 sheets of natural white, acid free, 100% cotton paper
- 7"X10" hot press 140lb / 300g
4. Canson XL Series Watercolor Pad
Best for students and beginners
If you are a student or beginner looking out for the best watercolor papers to practice and explore, Canson XL Series Watercolor Pad is a perfect choice.
Canson XL Series is a student-quality paper that has cold-press textures with a semi-smooth surface and has a ring-bound version. These are the best-valued watercolor papers for the quality it offers at an affordable price.
It allows the paint to flow evenly on the paper. However, the drawback is that it might buckle if it’s too wet as the thickness of the paper is less. The thickness it has cannot cope with the heavier washes.
Students, beginners, and hobbyists looking for a more affordable practice paper will find these pads excellent choices.
Pros |
Cons |
| Best for practicing |
Not ideal for heavier washes |
| Sturdy and smooth surface |
Latest Price on Amazon:
- Manufactured using sustainable processes
- Fold over bound with a cold press texture
- The durable surface stands up to repeated washes
- 30 sheets of 140 pound/300 grams
- Acid free 18 x 24 inch paper
5. Stonehenge Aqua Heavy Watercolor Block
Best watercolor paper with a rugged texture surface
Stonehenge Aqua cold press textured watercolor paper is best for those who are searching for a rugged textured surface. It naturally absorbs the applied moisture due to its texture and smooth surface. This makes it ideal for blending, layering, and for enhancing the color and enables you to create complex paintings.
Stonehenge Aqua is a high-quality watercolor paper that allows you to experiment with wet-on-wet applications or wet-on-dry applications. It enables you to work with bright and light colors and preserves the originality of the color by not letting it dull after drying.
This smooth textured cold press watercolor paper is flat and resists wrinkling and buckling no matter if you are using sheets or blocks. Stonehenge Aqua is compatible with watercolor paints, pens, ink drawings, calligraphy, intaglio printing, pastel painting, and screen printing.
These are made from 100% cotton. These watercolor sheets are available in various sizes, blocks, and sheets.
Pros |
Cons |
| 100% cotton |
Expensive |
| Does not buckle and wrinkle |
Latest Price on Amazon:
- Stonehenge Aqua Watercolor Blocks
6. Ampersand Aquabord
The best highly-absorbent board for watercolor
Ampersand Aquabord is an unusual option with a cold-press surface for watercolors. They are conventional paper with a clay surface that feels gritty or toothy. These are the ideal choices for float frames, ink paintings, acrylic, and watercolors. They are on the expensive side as they are designed to be suitable for many works.
They allow your colors to look bright and do not look dull after drying. They are traditional watercolor papers that take quite some time to dry due to their smooth surface and are well-suitable for wet-in-wet techniques. These Ampersand Aquabord sheets don’t wrinkle or buckle even after washing.
These Aquabord are unlike other watercolor boards, they do not tear, shrink or require stretching or mounting. These are premium and museum-quality boards and are wrap resistant.
Pros |
Cons |
| Museum-quality watercolor papers |
They would be difficult to use for beginners due to their texture. |
| Do not require stretching or mounting. |
It is very expensive |
| Do not tear, shrink, buckle, or get wrinkled. |
Latest Price on Amazon:
- MUSEUM-QUALITY AQUABORD: Acid-free clay and mineral ground on warp-resistant Hardbord. Highly-absorbent watercolor surface, similar in texture to cold-pressed watercolor paper.
- AMAZING WATERCOLOR SURFACE: Achieve truer, brighter colors, endless glazes and easily lift colors back to the white of the surface. Also a great surface for gouache, acrylic, and ink.
- HIGH-DENSITY HARDBOARD CORE: Unlike watercolor paper, Aquabord will not tear, shrink or buckle even under heavy water application - requires no stretching or mounting. Ampersand’s premium,...
- FRAME WITHOUT GLASS: Seal and display your artwork without glass.
- MADE IN THE USA: Unparalleled quality and craftsmanship has made Ampersand Art Supply the leader in painting panels for over 25 years.
7. Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolor Block
Best watercolor paper for wet-in-techniques
If you are hunting for the best watercolor paper for your wet-in-techniques, Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolor Block is an ideal choice. This watercolor paper is an archival quality paper.
It comes with a white surface with a cold press texture and shines with wet-in-wet techniques which allow the color to spread easily and evenly across the paper. It dries faster compared to other watercolor cold press texture papers and will produce blooms readily.
It is also suitable for adding layers and finishing work, but it is prone to buckling.
Pros |
Cons |
| Ideal for wet-in-techniques |
It is prone to buckling |
| Suitable for layering |
Latest Price on Amazon:
- Exceptionally resilient and durable, our watercolor paper will not warp or cockle even when saturated with large volumes of water
- Made on a traditional cylinder mold. This ensures the fibers are interwoven, which gives the paper far greater strength and dimensional stability
- Internally and externally sized for optimal water absorbency, pigment dispersion and lasting colour adherence
- Hot pressed paper has a very smooth surface. It has almost no tooth, making it ideal for portraits and smooth washes. Allows for finer detail
- Our professional paper is constructed with 100 Percent cotton with pure spring water. 20 sheets per block
8. MEEDEN Watercolor Paper
Best affordable watercolor paper
If you are an artist who does not wish to compromise on the quality due to the budget, we recommend you go for MEEDEN watercolor paper.
Apart from being budget-friendly, there are many reasons to opt for this. If you use scrubbing or taping in your painting, you will love to know that these papers are made of pure cotton.
You can control the paints completely as this watercolor paper has a cold-press texture, giving your paint the best grip and allowing you to experiment with various effects.
You can also use markers, ink, charcoal, and pencils to create expressive artwork. Another impressive point is that it is available in weights starting from 140 lbs, which is ideal for beginners. If you are an experienced artist, you can also go for heavyweights.
Overall, if you are looking for durable watercolor paper for your painting, drawing, or sketching purpose at an affordable price, MEEDEN is a great choice.
Pros |
Cons |
| Affordable |
A bit too absorbent |
| Made from 100% pure cotton |
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| Cold-pressed Pad |
Latest Price on Amazon:
- Superior Painting & Drawing Pad: Made from 100% pure cotton, 140lb/300gsm heavyweight watercolor papers, acid-free and chlorine-free, pH-neutral and archival, durable and strong enough for wet, dry,...
- Cold-pressed Pad: Watercolor papers have a slightly textured surface, which is between that of rough and hot-pressed papers, allowing for a variety of watercolor techniques, and watercolor papers made...
- Glue on All Sides: 20 sheets per pack and all these papers are glued bound for watercolor painting, easier tearing off with a plastic knife and a hardboard underneath for better protection and...
- Size: 16K watercolor pad, 10" x 7" in size, perfect size to take within travel and ideal for beginning artists, students practice and art exams, a great gift for watercolorists and enthusiasts.
- Versatile: Compared to Other Watercolor Papers, these cotton watercolor papers are both of high quality and reasonable price, whether you are painting with watercolor paints, markers, pencils, ink,...
Guide to Choose the Best Watercolor Paper
Let’s have a look at the factors that you must consider while buying watercolor papers.
Blocks
Blocks are a well-known watercolor paper presentation. These blocks are a good alternative if you are going to over-stretch your paper before painting. Usually, blocks are a pile of watercolor sheets that come bound together on the sides. These blocks allow you to paint on the surface and take the sheet out easily from the block.
These blocks are very helpful as they don’t wrap or buckle once the paint dries. You can use the sheet to frame it or save it in a folder however you want. However, you must make sure to buy these depending on your requirements as they are on the expensive side.
Pads
Pads are the ideal choice for practicing or for outdoor painting. These are also beginner friendly. These are available both in artists’ quality archival paper and student grades, so you must buy the one depending on your needs and usage levels.
You must also make sure to check that the paper is acid-free. Most of these pads come bound in tape, which may easily spoil or peel off the layer. You can also select wire-bound pads which are easy to use.
Sheets and Rolls
If you want to buy sheets individually or in a pack, they are always available but you must buy the sheets weighing above 300 lbs. These do not require stretching beforehand and also do not wrap or buckle.
You can also buy them in rolls, which are an ideal choice to save money but may stretch beforehand. They are ideal for artistic use as you would want more paper and this weight saves money in the long run.
Boards
Watercolor boards are very convenient to use, and they are the ideal choice for those who hate pre-stretching paper. These boards come from using traditional watercolor boards which consist of watercolor papers glued on them. However, you must check the durability of these boards as you might need to invest a bit more in these boards.
There are several boards that do not use paper for making. You can also choose them for watercolor and gouache paintings. These boards are pure cotton canvas boards that you can use for watercolors and other paints. They look innovative and interesting to paint with and are worth buying as they are less prone to damage.
Texture
Texture, alongside the type of paper, is an important factor to consider while buying watercolor papers and depend on your own preferences and the painting styles.
There are three types of textures available, hot-pressed, cold-pressed, and rough-texture papers.
The hot-pressed paper has a smooth surface and the paper is hard enough for painting heavy and detailed work. However, others feel it is slippery and difficult to control the paint.
Cold-pressed paper is the most versatile and popular texture paper. This is suitable for beginners or for hobbyists. It is also used by experienced artists as it is a semi-rough surface. This is ideal for both smooth and detailed works.
Finally, we have rough surface paper as they are good for washing and not ideal for detailed paintings.
Weight
The weight of the paper does not indicate the quality of the paper but it is important because the lighter ones need stretches and may buckle when wet.
On the other hand, heavy paper can absorb more water, rarely needs stretching, and doesn’t buckle or wrinkle after drying. The weight of paper can be determined by two methods of Ibs. (pounds) and grams per square meter (GSM). It is best to buy paper that is more than or heavier than 300-400 lbs or 600-800gsm.
Heavy papers are expensive but most artists prefer them as they do not need stretching except for heavy washes.
Quality
There are two main qualities of watercolor papers, artists’ quality, and student quality.
Artists’ quality papers have the other name of archival paper. These are acid-free and designed to last long. Student-quality papers are not acid-free and turn yellow and brittle as they age, but are good for beginners for practice as they are not as expensive.
Composition
The composition of the paper also matters as the manufacturers create them using a mixture of water and cellulose fibers.
For artist-quality papers, they use fibers that are 100% cotton, which makes them strong but pliable, and have the other name “rag paper.” The watercolor papers can also come from wood pulp or in combination with cotton and other cellulose fibers. It is best that you use 100% cotton paper if you plan to use scrubbing, scraping, taping, and masking in your paintings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the thickness of the paper good for watercolors?
The best weight of the watercolor paper is more than 300-400 lbs or more for detailed and heavy washes, but 140 lbs are suitable if you are a student or beginner for practicing.
Which is the best watercolor paper for beginners?
It is best to use 140 lbs of cold-pressed watercolor paper as it is common, less expensive, and comfortable. Beginners can use bright white or natural white paper because using much heavier paper may cost more.
Which type of paper is the best hot press or cold press?
Hot press is ideal for those who work with more detailed paintings. It can handle inks, pens, and penciled details as well. It has a smooth surface that lends itself to precision as the surface is smooth. It will not buckle or get wrinkled after the paint dries. It does not need any pre-stretching of paper, so hot-press is better when expecting a great outcome.
Final Takeaway
It is always important to sit back and dig in deep to learn more and choose the best one that suits you because it helps not only in upskilling but also for better outcomes. When choosing the best watercolor papers for putting all your watercolor paintings and more to get amazing results, it is necessary to find the right watercolor paper.
There’s something for everyone on this list, whether you’re a beginner or a professional. So choose the one which is right for you, and enjoy creating amazing watercolor paintings.
If you have chosen one for you from the list, let us know in the comments. Have a great time creating.
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