Best Paper For Graphite And Charcoal

Printer copying paper generally has a weight of 20lbs 75 gsm.

Best paper for graphite and charcoal. Paper surfaces are probably more confusing to newcomers than anything else in the supplies list. Because charcoal is not a precision implement like let s say a sharpened graphite pencil or ink pen the best suited surface for it is one with a lot of texture akin to pastel. Charcoal however is made from burning wood until the resulting substance is the correct consistency for drawing. The best paper for graphite drawings should have a weight of 80lbs or more significant.

Choosing paper for charcoal and pastel drawing is a personal matter depending on your working method and the hardness of your preferred medium. The surface of the paper determines the fineness of detail and the range of value a draftsperson is able to create. Like graphite charcoal is a form of carbon. Rough texture is more suited to charcoal or pastels.

Similarly to graphite the hardest charcoal will give you the lightest values while the darkest charcoal will give you the darkest. Charcoal comes in soft medium or hard consistencies. Drawing painting courses on my website. It will give you good results without breaking the bank.

A guide to drawing paper surfaces graphite charcoal ink by phil davies on 17th september 2018. When we talk about the weight of the paper we are referring to the papers thickness. Weight of drawing paper. This refers to the rough textured surface that drags the particles from the stick or pencil and holds them to the paper.

For graphite or colored pencil a medium texture is best. For graphite drawings with a moderate degree of realism a drawing paper like strathmore series 400 is a good place to begin. To select the best paper for charcoal drawing you have to keep in mind the characteristics of the medium as well as what you desire out of the drawing as a whole. The key to a good dry medium paper is tooth.

Most drawing paper has a coarse texture and that will work against you. I used strathmore 300 series bristol board pads 9 x 12 smooth for this ink drawing. There s a huge variety of choice in surface texture weight colour size manufacturing process and that s just within a single brand. I used strathmore 300 series bristol board pads 9 x 12 velum for this graphite drawing.

Reviews of the best drawing papers with examples.