Watercolor painting is proven to be among the hardest medium to perfect. It will take skills and passion so that you can perfect this form of art. In watercolor painting, choosing watercolor paper is crucial. Not all paper is applicable for watercolor painting so one must know the different types of watercolor paper. There are actually certain types of watercolor paper that can suit a person's skills in watercolor painting.

Watercolor paper may differ in forms and sizes and these differences have differences have an effect on the painting's outcome. For a watercolorist, you must choose the right watercolor paper. Watercolor papers are sorted into three kinds. These are the hot press paper, cold press paper along with the rough paper or often known as coarse paper. These three varies on the surface texture of the papers, the surface texture is referred to as "tooth".

Hot press watercolor paper offers the smoothest tooth among the three that's why it is simply called as smooth. Watercolorist who wants a little bit of challenge in their work uses this type of paper because it takes good skills to work on hot press paper. Fine controlled lines and radiant colors are perfect for this paper and also the combination of watercolor and pen-and-ink works well with this paper. The paint dries quicker on this paper. Cold press watercolor paper contains a medium tooth and paints usually do not dry rapidly. This kind of watercolor paper is advisable to use for watercolor beginners since it has versatile surface that is simple to work on and may work on most watercolor techniques. The last category is the rough/coarse watercolor paper. The texture of the paper is rough, really rough. If you're a newbie, this sort of paper is a challenge for you because it is hard to control the paint and it dries up very slowly yet old hand in watercolor painting take this as a benefit. Just in case you're more into large scale painting and bold brushwork, watercolor paper is a good choice.

In addition to the kind of papers, the price and quality of the watercolor papers also varies. Watercolor papers can be produced from wood or rag. Normally, watercolor paper made out of wood has low quality and cheaper. While watercolor paper made from rag has higher quality and expensive. If you want a beautiful painting it is far better to pick rag paper over wood paper. The weight of the paper also matter. The weight of the watercolor paper is measured by pounds, the heavier the paper the ideal it is to use. Most watercolorists use 140lb since it works well for every purpose. Large scale paintings and heavy washes must use heavier paper and 300lb is quiet common for this. The format of the watercolor paper also varies from pads, blocks, sheets and rolls. Pads are just like sketchbook and easy to tear. Blocks have four edges of the paper bound together. Sheets are best if you want to use a single paper to avoid compromising the entire pads. And rolls are usually long and economical.

Other factor that must be considered before purchasing watercolor paper is the acidity of the paper. It is advisable to choose acid-free paper. Acidic paper will eventually slowly wipe out your painting. The whiteness of the paper also varies for every watercolorists, some would choose very white paper while others likes off-white. Also, it is important to buy papers that are still sealed specifically if you don't want your fingerprints everywhere over the paper.

There are actually things to think about when selecting a watercolor paper. It's best if you have to know it first so that you will know very well what paper suits for you and also to avoid spoiling you painting.