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If you tend to work with different materials, you will need high-quality mixed media paper to capture your vision. These papers are designed to be a variety of surfaces that can often accept both dry and wet media. Of course, your go-to product will depend on your preferred medium, as some papers have better water resistance than others, tolerate rough surfaces, or have special qualities that allow them to withstand specific creative processes. Find the best brand for your needs in our selections below.
1. Canson XL Series Mix Multimedia Paper
This fine textured paper is perfect for artists who love to work hard. Crisp white and thick, it comes in a roll – available in two sizes – that you can trim to your ideal dimensions. It takes dry media, from pencils to charcoal, very well, but you need to be extra careful with wet media like watercolor and ink, as the surface can smear with too much liquid. A gentle touch and a light wash is best when it comes to liquid media.
2. Yupo Paper White Sheets
Made of polypropylene, these synthetic papers provide an impressively versatile surface that can be painted on and used for silk-screening, printing, pastel painting, graphite and more. It excels at repelling water, so you could layer on watercolor, for example, and the surface won’t ripple. The paper is extra heavy-duty and super smooth – no stretching needed here! And since the surface is non-porous, inks and paints flow beautifully on it and pigments retain vibrancy. It’s also very forgiving: you can simply erase any errors. These are inspirational papers, worth buying even if you don’t have a specific project in mind for them.
3. UCreate Mixed Media Art Paper
This set of papers is ideal for bulk use – such as for classroom projects or crafts in homes with inspiring children. Each paper has a good weight and can handle most dry and wet media, including common craft supplies such as markers, oil pastels, heat paint, and watercolor. These papers are perfectly smooth, and offer a less complex surface than some of our other picks, but will hold up well to inspiring, uninhibited art making.
4. Stillman and Berne Nova Series
If you’re looking for toned paper, these high-quality papers are hard to resist. However, the fairly lightweight 100-pound plates are strong enough that they can be laid on light washes of wet media such as watercolor and gouache without worrying about warping; apply ink without feathers; And erases without accumulating. This durability stems from the size of each sheet internally (meaning the core has been treated to reduce wettability) and surface volume (meaning the surface has been treated to increase water resistance). Each package contains five 22″ x 30″ sheets.
5. Strathmore 500 Series Bristol Velum Surface
This is an art-grade drawing paper suitable for dry and wet media from pencils to pastels to acrylics. Made of 100 percent cotton, the four-ply panels provide a durable surface that can withstand even light layers of washes without warping. Each one offers Strathmore’s “vellum” finish – a smooth finish that looks natural and shows off subtle detail in shading and color. Each sheet measures 23 x 29 inches.
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