White Paper

Continuation of my paper list. White paper today, not including watercolour paper. Not much that I can write about white paper, its white :p Ok so when using white paper you don't have to worry about the colour of the paper changing the final colours of your pencils, what you put down is what you end up with. Generally easy to transfer your drawing on white paper either with transfer paper or a projector, unlike with coloured paper where you sometimes have a hard time transferring your image onto the coloured surface so your lines will show up. Most people have some kind of white paper around so its easy to find in the house or in a store. You can have problems sometimes getting proper values on what you are drawing because there is not a base colour to work from and it can take longer to colour your drawing because you might need more layers to make up for a lack of paper colour. I generally tell people that ask me what type of paper to use and they are just starting out with CPs, to stick with white paper until they know how the pencil colours react to each other. After a person figures that out, then move onto the coloured paper.

And now for a blast from the past ;)

Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip
(this was done in 1997 o.0 :p and I still have it lol)
Printer Paper

Printer Paper

Just your everyday printer paper that does come in different thickness'/weight. And there can be a difference in how white the paper is as well. The paper is smooth and the pencils are easily blended on it. Not recommended for really important work though as the paper can be pretty easy to wreck and crumble and can yellow really easily. For sketching (or a really naive 16 year old :p) it works well. Because there isn't much of a tooth to the paper if any at all, you can't get a lot of layers of pencils on it so building up colour can be a problem. To get ideas how the colours interact with each other it works well as you generally only need a few layers to figure that out, but on the whole its not a paper that is generally recommended.

Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip

Strathmore Bristol paper

Strathmore Bristol

I have used the 300 series vellum finished bristol. Nice clean bright white paper. You can get smoother paper but I can't imagine using CPs on it, as this paper is hard enough to use on this series. It takes the pencil pigment no problem, I just find that you can not get that many layers on it and because of that it is really hard to get any kind of dark value to a piece. There is literally no tooth on this paper. You do get a nice smooth finish to your piece, and it is really easy to burnish areas that you want to as long as you have enough coloured pencil laid down before hand. There isn't a problem blending colours as long as you can get more layers to do so, and what you lay down on the paper will be the colour you end up with in the end. I prefer to use this paper for ink work because it is so smooth the ink just flows over the surface.

Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip
Robert Bateman Sketchbook paper

Robert Bateman Sketchbook

This is my favourite of the white papers that I have used that isn't a watercolour paper. I really wish you could get sheets of this paper instead of having to buy the sketchbooks with their coil binding. Takes about a dozen layers before you have to struggle to get more and the pencils glide over the paper surface. I find that you really do have to push your values with this paper or things can look really washed out. The pencils blend easily on this paper, and you can wet the paper down a little bit if need as long as you don't soak it. Its a sketchbook paper, but its of high quality and I have pieces that are over 10 years old done on it and they are not showing any signs of yellowing or the colours fading on the paper. Not as smooth as the bristol paper, but still pretty smooth to the touch and if you want a smooth look to your work this paper will work too. Because there is a bit more tooth then the bristol paper, it gives you a bit more to work with so you can creat your own textures on it.

Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip
Stonehenge paper

Stonehenge

I could have put this in the watercolour section as you can use it for wet media, but since it is what a lot of CP artists use and is a white paper I decided to put it here. You can get it in different shades, but I haven't been able to find any (and I really want to try the black paper). It takes A LOT of layers which has its disadvantage and in advantages. I probably sound like a broken record because I have said it before, but I really do think this paper is overrated :/ Yes you can get lots of layers when using it, its a high quality paper, and the colours will stay bright on it. But you can also get that with other papers and I really do not understand the appeal of spending hours upon hours on one small section with multiple layers when you can get the same effects with less time on different paper. Sometimes you do need to use a lot of layers to get the proper values of what you are drawing and this paper is one to use, but if you use too many colours you could end up with a paper that looks like its covered in mud. I find that using a sharp point on the pencils work best compared to a rounded or dull point. You can get a nice soft effect with it but that also means that sometimes you will have problems with the pencils smudging or smearing on the paper. I know this isn't that paper for me, but lots of people do love using it. I do like it combining the pencils with Neocolors as you can wet the paper to no ill effect and the combination of crayons and pencils cuts down on the time needed to complete a piece. Because it is a very soft paper you have to be careful about scratching the paper's surface as even the smallest scratch can leave an indent on the paper :/

Part one Coloured paper

*I will be making a post soon about the new comment systemand how to use it :)