What Paper is Made of
Lignin is photoreactive. This means that it reacts to light, causing the paper to become acidic and discolor over time. Newsprint paper is a perfect example: it’s made of wood cellulose containing lignin, and yellows very quickly. When lignin is removed from wood cellulose, however, it results in very durable paper (for example, Strathmore 400 Series Drawing Paper – my personal favorite).
How do you know if your paper contains lignin? Look for acid free drawing paper, or one that has high alpha cellulose content: this means that the lignin has been removed.
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Note that “pH neutral” does NOT mean the same thing as “acid free”!
This is very useful as it so easy for paper to absorb acidity, from:
- certain drawing media we may use
- the oils in our fingers
- the drawing surface we adhere our paper to
- the tape we use to attach paper to a drawing surface
- and potentially many others, so choose acid free drawing paper!
Paper Weight
The resulting total is the weight you see written on your drawing pad, such as “80 lbs”. To figure out the weight in g/m2, the manufacturer weighs one sheet of paper that measures 1m x 1m.
The thickness (or heaviness) of paper depends on its intended purpose, so each type of paper has a typical weight.
There is a common misconception that the heavier the paper, the better the quality. However, heaviness is not necessarily an indicator of quality. Instead, paper weight should be used to help determine whether or not the paper and medium you intend to use are a good match. For example:
If you work with charcoal in several layers, or erase often, choose a heavier, more durable paper. For a drawing that you don’t predict will be too stressful on the paper, your choice can be based more on the paper’s surface quality than its weight. There is no one paper that is perfect for everything, so the paper you choose should depend on the kind of drawing you want to create.
Paper Surface
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There are two main categories of surface qualities:
Hot-press paper is pressed under heated, high-pressure cylinders, and therefore is smoother and has less texture. Cold-press paper is made under lower pressure using no heat, and therefore has a coarser, more textured surface. The rougher or more textured the paper is, the more “tooth” it is said to have. The smoother the paper: the less tooth it has. Why is tooth important to consider?
(Paper can be smoother for graphite drawing, as graphite dust is much finer than charcoal dust.) However, if the paper has a very coarse texture, the ridges will interfere with the line you draw (as shown in the photo above).
This side faces up on the conveyor belt during production, gets the most attention, and is the side with the watermark when you buy a single sheet of paper.
The grain of the paper is less noticeable on the felt side, so it is smoother.
The bottom side of the paper is called the wire side, because it faces down on a wire mesh screen during production. Which side you draw on is entirely up to you. I tend to draw on the felt side because I prefer smoother drawing surfaces. The only type of paper that has the same texture on both sides is two-ply paper. This is basically a double sheet of paper made by glueing two sheets together, with the two front (or felt) sides facing out.
Deciding on a Drawing Paper
To summarize all of the above information, here is an example of my thought process when choosing a drawing paper. For my finished drawings, I look for paper that:
I like a fairly smooth surface to work on, so I choose a hot-press paper. Finally, I want it to be at least medium weight so that I can layer and erase charcoal several times without compromising the surface. As I have mentioned, choosing paper is very much a matter of personal preference. Having said that, below you will find my preferred drawing papers that I encourage you to evaluate for yourself!
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