dead

[mlessard]

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[twindragon]

That paper is more for blending etc and using water colors etc...you can find a smoother plate and use that if you are more into cleaner graphic art

[Wight Zombie]

usually the heavier the pound of the paper the more punishment it can take in terms of art. like the heavier stuff you can paint and watercolor on yet the lighter paper would warp etc.

i usually use 80lb bainbridge board that comes in massive sizes and i cut it down to 15x20 in. i also have some really nice thick high quality canson vellum 100lb art paper, very nice thick n white, 11x14in for about 7 bucks for 15 sheets. if your looking for something a little more conomic id suggest the canson 11x14 art book. it is a nicely bound hard back book, 11x14in, has about 100 decent quality sheets, like thick printer paper, and run for about 14 bucks. even though i have a couple of the smaller 8.5x11 canson art paper hardbacks i enjoy the bigger one more, a bit more freedom.

also you can get hot press or cold press paper. hot press is smooth and good for certain things(all of which escape me right now), cold press has a bit more texture and is great for water color and pencils and just about everything ive used on it.

just go to any art store and rumage through thier paper. feel the different textures, check out the thickness, which can take more abuse pending how thick it is eraser and pushing harder wise.

but my vote is for the cool hard bound 11x14 blank art books. they keep your sketches together and bound nicely, sit great on book shelfs etc. ive switched to them years ago and have enjoyed thier totability and protective shelf life immensly. if youw ant to give a sketch away or something simply razor the page out. cake. hope i answered some questions.

[zeruch]

you can certainly get good Bristiol (80+ is where you want to be) and you can get them with smooth finishes. You can always move up further and go for hot or cold press board.

[trevor]

i agree w/ zeruch
bristol is the way to go
8.5x11 is good for sketches but for finished pieces....
smoooth or vellum bristol is the way to go