Watercolour Pads & Blocks

Breaking down the basics of watercolour pads and blocks

Artist paper is a quintessential art material that needs to be medium appropriate. Good quality weighted watercolour paper - in the form of pads or blocks - will always enhance the appearance of your watercolour paintings.

Watercolour paper pads and blocks paper are available in 3 surface types:
1. Hot pressed - the smoothest option and is popular with illustrators and designers for its flat finish which makes it good for reproduction. It is also used by botanical watercolour artists who paint in fine detail.
2. Cold pressed - popular with artists for its slightly toothed and medium-textured surface, making it ideal for various watercolour paint techniques. This is the ideal watercolour paper for beginners.
3. Rough - Watercolour artists who have a loose painting style generally choose this rough-textured artist paper; the deep pits in the paper allow artists to get the most out of the granulation of watercolour paints. It is not recommended for fine detailed watercolour projects.

Watercolour paper pads and blocks paper are available in different weighted options: (The weight of watercolour paper is either measured in grams/square metre or by lbs/ream).
- Watercolour paper pads and blocks where the paper is thinner and lighter in weight will buckle and warp when lots of water is added. To overcome this, you will need to stretch the paper.
- Thicker, heavier weighted watercolour papers are more robust and won't need stretching, but are more expensive.
- 140lb / 300gsm is the most popular weight of watercolour paper and it will stand up to typical watercolour washes and is most readily available in pads or blocks.
- When experimenting with a very wet watercolour style that has multiple layers of watery washes, then paper that is 200lb - 300lb (425gsm - 640gsm) is best suited for this technique.

Student quality watercolour paper is machine-made whereas artist quality is generally hand-made and will handle the paint more effectively and won't deteriorate over time.