Choosing the Right Drawing Paper Fiber/Material Most common types of drawing papers are made from cotton, cellulose, or a combination of fibers. Cotton paper Cellulose paper Combination or blended Made from cotton fibers Made from wood pulp Made from various plant Most durable Can turn yellow and fiber combinations Can handle heavy erasing deteriorate if not acid-free Many uses depending on Highest quality is archival Great for a variety of fiber make-up (100% cotton rag) materials Finish Manufacturers generally offer three traditional finishes, usually labeled rough/unfinished, cold press, or hot press. Rough or unfinished Cold Press Hot Press Not smoothed or pressed to Smoothed slightly by cold Smoothed completely with retain rough texture rollers or plates heated rollers or plates Strong tooth for grabbing Less textured Allows for the most detail charcoal/pastel Weaker tooth Flat, hard surface Versatile for many mediums Great for illustration Weight Typically in the US, papers are measured by the weight in pounds of one ream (500 sheets). However, the irregularity of this conventional method has led to the use of metric measurements or grams per square meter (gsm). Use the chart below as a quick guide. Paper Type Weight in lbs Weight in gsm Best Use Tracing paper 25lbs 40gsm Pencil, Marker, Ink Newsprint 30-35lbs 45-50gsm Pencil, Charcoal, Pastel Sketch paper 50-60lbs 74-89gsm Pencil, Ink Drawing paper 70-80lbs 100-130gsm Pencil, Marker, Ink, Charcoal, Pastel Bristol 100lbs 260gsm Pencil, Marker, Ink Watercolor 140lbs 300gsm Ink, Charcoal, Pastel Size Size is a natural or synthetic solution added to paper to prevent it from absorbing too much moisture. Sizing is added to the paper pulp during manufacturing or applied to the paper surface after the sheet has been formed. Some paper is both internally and surface-sized. The Art of Education | www.theartofed.com .