The Best Drawing Paper to Use with Drawing Pencils

As I mentioned in this prior article about the different grades of drawing pencils, the paper is an important part of the drawing experience. The way pencils (and other dry media, like charcoal and pastel) work is that when you draw, you leave a trail of the graphite powder that, when compressed, forms the pencil "lead", on the surface of the paper. The various pencil grades indicate exactly how much of the powder you will leave, which determines the quality of the mark you make. 

So, let's talk about that paper surface, which is the other part of the equation. If you've ever tried to draw with a pencil on a piece of slick posterboard, you'll have learned you can't get very artistic with it - the slick surface doesn't have enough tooth (texture) to abrade the graphite particles off of the pencil. It's fine - posterboard is designed for ink, which likes a smooth surface to sit on. For pencil drawings, however, you will want a paper surface with some tooth. How much depends on what hardness of pencil. 

If you are using very soft pencils, use a paper with more texture, like pastel/charcoal paper, which is designed to grab those particles and hold them in their nooks and crannies, allowing you to build up layers of tone. For harder pencils, use a smoother surface, so your pencil won't catch or "skip" on the texture. You'll want to display the sharp, clean line a hard pencil makes on a surface with just enough texture to grab those graphite bits but not enough to dull or smear them. Vellum is a great choice for use with hard leads. 

Just as with any job, having the right tools makes the work a whole lot easier! 

The portrait above was completed with a 2B pencil on Strathmore 400 Series Drawing paper. Strathmore is my favorite brand. It's Scottish, so it's nae crap! 

Other articles about drawing you might like: 

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2016/02/learning-to-draw-first-step-have-right.html

http://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2015/03/i-have-been-professional-portrait.html

http://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2015/03/figure-drawing-101-wacky-secrets-of.html

http://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2015/05/figure-drawing-101-so-you-wanna-be.html 

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