Paint will always lift easier from pulp paper than 100% cotton paper (Strathmore 400 is pulp) and using a non-staining pigment on Arches would have given a similar result. Hence why layering on pulp paper and heavy washes are problematic because water/pigment stays on on the surface longer. It all depends on your painting style as to which you prefer but seamless washes/layering and gradations are much better achieved on 100% cotton.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Yes you are right

Hi! Thank you for the comparison. Maybe I'm wrong but I've been on their site, Strathmore 400 is not 100% cotton... but it seems to rock as if it was!

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Pleasure! Yes i believe you are right... i couldn't find any information on amazon from where i bought and i did test it myself before making the video. It felt and acted like 100% cotton

@That1HippieChick

3 жыл бұрын

Strathmore 400 is indeed a pulp paper, however they do make a 100% cotton watercolor paper in both hot and cold presses. You can find it by searching Strathmore Ready Cut Watercolor and it is their 500 line. Cheers 😁✌️🎨

@fangchick93

2 жыл бұрын

The 500 series has 100% cotton, and it is phenomenal

So happy with your testing and comparisons. I had been using Strathmore for my watercolors for 45 years without ever doing a comparison. (shame on me) With my particular painting style I grew accustomed to working with it, or perhaps it worked with me, never wishing to change paper for any reason. I've been using it since the art school days in the 80's, happy to see I did not waste years using the wrong paper.

Best comparison of watercolor papers I’ve seen - thank you!

This was sooo helpful! I am finally convinced on which one to buy after this video and I've watched some many. Thank you

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Am glad it helped!!

That was really good.

@niazhannanwatercolors

Жыл бұрын

Thanks 😊

Wow, this was really eye opening!The very best comparison I have seen. I am just a beginner about watercoloring, this was so helpful for me. Thank you so much for the test. I watched it twice. This is first time it's clear to me.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you 🥰 am very happy and glad that you liked it 🧡

For drawing or washes over Graphite drawings, , I really like Arches Hot pressed and then Daler Rowney Heavyweight Smooth. A good value sketching/drawing paper, that works ok with colored pencils too, is the Daler Rowney Heavyweight Fine grain. great value too because it only costs 5$ per 30 sheets block! I just discovered that Strathmore watercolor journal, a week ago and I really wanted to give it a try. Now I'm definitely going to get it soon!! Thanks for sharing!!!

Strathmore 500 watercolour is my favourite. It's super affordable, high quality and completely vegan (arches uses rabbit glue for sizing).

@niazhannanwatercolors

2 жыл бұрын

Mine too!!

One of the most informative comparisons of paper I have seen.

I haven't tried any 100% cotton papers but tried so many wc sketchbooks, and the Strathmore is my favorite. I love working in it so much, it's a great paper, I'm happy to see it being appreciated!!

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Yes Strathmore is awesome 👌

Thank you so much. This was so helpful. I bought the wrong paper - Strathmore Mixed Media - and now know which one to go for.

@niazhannanwatercolors

2 жыл бұрын

Pleasure!!

Really enjoyed this! Thanks!

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Am glad you liked it😇

Nice comparison, thanks!

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks 😊

Just the exact video I need

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

😊

It's sad that you didn't have Canson Heritage/ cotton for this comparison. I'm wondering how the test would be but I hope in future you can do that. Im in love right now in W&N but really like Canson H texture 👍☺️ I know W&N could be very expensive in some countries but I'm lucky to live in UK and here arches is similar price. Arches hot pressed is excellent for pencils, graphite and pastel pencils 👍

For the tape, one thing I find useful is to remove it's tackiness by putting it on a piece of fabric first (I usually put it on whatever I'm wearing lol) then peel it off again and put it on the paper. It helps to prevent breaking the paper when peeling the tape at the end :)

I am a beginner watercolor artist…. I saw this video and some other research before buying a bunch of cotton paper from different brands. I have now tried 3 brands 100% cotton… arches and strathmore 500 being a couple of them. In my opinion the strathmore one is the worst. It performs a little better than the canson xl I started with (it wasn’t even cotton). Arches and the other brand are the best and are pretty similar so far I haven’t done enough to notice dramatic differences. I think it comes down to personal preference and painting style. The video looks about right.. the strathmore one is able to lift paint easily … which I don’t like because it’s also harder for me to get pigment to stay on this paper. It doesn’t behave like cotton in my opinion…. It’s very hard to blend colors and layer… 😅

@blatte1111

9 күн бұрын

I just saw the you used 400 series… I do not know if that makes a difference but my strathmore paper is 500 series premium 100% cotton and I hate it for watercolor.

I recently bought Arches watercolor paper and while i enjoy working with it, one of the first things i quickly realized was that you couldn't lift the paint 😂 even the cheap watercolor paper brand i was using before allowed you to do that! But Arches is capable of other cool stuff so I'm still happy with it. I'd like to get the Strathmore one someday

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

True that!! I give Strathmore 1 point lead 😄

@choux8372

2 жыл бұрын

@r laze yeah, that's a good way to describe it. I was using an Amazon brand of watercolor paper and one of the issues i had was the paint lifted off easily, so layering was hard. But working around that allowed me to produce some nice paintings. Arches is simply a different medium to work with

Fantastic comparison and gives me great ideas which paper to use depending on what techniques I'll be using. No tape on Canson! :-))

@niazhannanwatercolors

2 жыл бұрын

Am glad!

Past few days I am struggling with selecting a good affordable paper. I searched almost all available sources but got nothing concrete like your review. Explained very well. This cleared all my doubts. Thank you for this excellent video ❤️🙏

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks i appreciate it and am glad it did help😊

this was helpful .... thankyou

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Am glad😊

This is surprising. It seems like arches might be the paper equivalent of winsor Newton watercolour. Great quality and safe but you might have to venture further for a wow pigment... having said that I'm sure that this is a vast oversimplification and i will have offended many. If so... sorry. Anyway, Strathmore is one of the few papers I've never tried so I guess it's on the list. I hope I love it because it's so much cheaper! I love your videos and reviews. So thorough and creative.

@niazhannanwatercolors

Жыл бұрын

Thank you appreciate it. I love Arches more than any paper but sometimes you need some minute adjustments where Strathmore shines

As an old-school user, have to say a word for Arches, because watercolour is not supposed to wash out the colour after you have done it, when adding a second coat of water, the first coat remains, it can add density to it not to wash out, or thinning it, that is why it is made to absorb the colour. but many artists like the new tech of lift Up highlight, it makes Arches come to weird functionality stubborn.

@niazhannanwatercolors

8 ай бұрын

Great info thanks!!

@doudouhuang6433

7 ай бұрын

Cheers, but make sure to get it right in the first place😀

Thankyou so much for this review! Really helped me alot🔥😍

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Am glad it helped 😊

I tried using Canson Montval but meh. I dislike. I like the cheaper Canson watercolor paper which is around 70 php (I am from 🇵🇭) --roughly around 1.5 usd. Montval is thicker but the way it absorbs the water and paint is the bad. I also like to use Fabriano 25% cotton paper since it is also cheap here. Arches is favorite watercolor paper but I rarely buy it since it is hella expensive. I also like Strathmore 500 series. It works well but I find some issues on lifting and glazing.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

True that..Canson just doesn't seem to absorb water and hence dries way faster. These cheap papers are good for quick washes and not for bigger pieces!

Appreciate that bro.

@niazhannanwatercolors

Жыл бұрын

😇

People talk so highly about Arches but I gotta say the Strathmore has much more brilliant colour in this comparison. I've been working with the 400WC from them and noticed some slight warping but besides that it's been great. I like to ink out scenes and then colour them in with WinsorNewton WC and by the sounds of it Arches is a little fuzzy and isn't great for illustration; strictly a paint paper. I might give Arches a shot to test it out myself but for the dramatic jump in price I think Strathmore just might be where it's at honestly. Oh. And I use masking fluid instead of tape on whatever I'm working with if I need a covered area, it's never stuck/torn up any of the paper.

@niazhannanwatercolors

2 жыл бұрын

True that...until i did this comparison i was using Arches from the time i started painting. All i knew was Arches is the best but guess what..i was surprised by the hype people created! But now am here to review all art supplies based on their usability and not 'Labels' that people put on them like 'artist's grade students grade 100% cotton 0% cotton' just doesn't matter.

Very interesting! I like working with Arches, but it’s pricey and hard to come by locally. Just seen these Strathmore hardcovers and thought about getting them, but passed. Looks like I’ll have to give them a try.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Thank! Ya Arches is pretty expensive. Strathmore buckles up the least amongst the three and stays wet for longer.

@fangchick93

2 жыл бұрын

Strathmore 500 also comes in loose sheets for about $10 for 10 8"x10" sheets.

It says Canson on the back of many Arches watercolour paper packages. In comparing, wouldn't they be the same? Maybe it's just the older or newer ones. Hard to find what's going on with that.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

It's just a comparison between what we have in our stock and pullout the best that suits our taste or style of painting.

Thank you, this was really useful. 👌😊

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Am glad😇

I would love to see a comparison with the canson 100% cotton paper. Button lovely video

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Canson 100% cotton is hard to find...i guess you are talking about Heritage series!

@alexandrag89

3 жыл бұрын

Not just heritage. They have two kinds. Moulin du Roy as well

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

@@alexandrag89 That's great..i will track and kill them down too

@andreapala8166

3 жыл бұрын

@@niazhannanwatercolors yes, i would really enjoy a review of Canson Moulin du roy! ☺️

Thank you for video

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Pleasure 😇

I personally like arches and strathmore but for cost I really like strathmore paper the best.

@niazhannanwatercolors

Жыл бұрын

True that

Most of the differences with the Montval are because you are comparing it's hot press to Arches and Strathmore cold press. Pooling of paint, and lack of granulation, are because hot press does not have the texture to absorb the paint, or to give the granulation somewhere to settle. Also, how do these hold up to scrubbing? For me, Strathmore balls up very quickly, but Montval can take some scrubbing. Tape removes much better if you first stick the tape to your clothing, then to the paper. Pull the tape off at an angle away from the paint.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

I appreciate your comment..but i don't think there is any harm to compare hot to cold press. Yes granulation depends on texture but for your kind information 'texture has nothing to do with absorption '...it depends entirely on the material cellulose or cotton or synthetic! For lifting up paints arches was the worst amongst the three. And finally the tape was removed in an odd manner i.e pulling it 90° to the paper to make sure we torture the paper as mush as we can. Its a "TEST" video! You can check my other videos how i pull the tape from the paper without any damage.

when the paper tore... OUCH I'm surprised your strathmore performed well it seems, because I kinda hate working on mine. It seems to hate water lol but if I am careful with the water load in my brush and I don't fiddle with it too much, it's fine.

@blatte1111

9 күн бұрын

Me too! I hate the strathmore paper..

This is an awesome comparison video. I work between all of these brands you've compared here. This helps me choose what type of subject to attempt on which paper. One question, Granulation shows up best on hot pressed or cold pressed? Also, what's the best brand for granulating colours according to you?

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! More texture on the paper means more granulation and cold pressed are always more textured than hot pressed..tiny particles settle in between the gaps of those textures is what we call granulation. My choice Arches 140lbs Rough.

@brindasachdanandam7789

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it makes sense now 😊 Thank you for the reply ✨

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

@@brindasachdanandam7789 Anytime!

Thank you for the video, it was of great help. Maybe I'm missing something, but the Montval paper in your video says "Cold pressed" on its cover, yet you marked it as "Hot press/fine grain". Can you please explain why? I'm a little confused there.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Hey thank you and at the same time i apologize to mention it wrong it not hot press but cold press fine grain! 🙏☹

@sepsax

3 жыл бұрын

​@@niazhannanwatercolors I see, thanks Niaz! (-: That actually makes the comparison more fair, when all three of them are cold pressed.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

@@sepsax True that!!

KZread is stalking me. I was just comparing these three along with Arteza and Field Artist for watercolour sketchbooks on Amazon last night! Perfect recommendation. I deffo have to start at the lower end of the scale since I haven't touched watercolour since high school so I think I'll try the Canson or Arteza. Great video Niaz, it's my third one in 24hrs so I guess I have to subscribe now? 😂

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you 😊Material really doesn't matter much..it just helps to make things a little easier. Do subscribe if you feel it will be helpful to you. More great lessons are coming...

@K.YouTube2

3 жыл бұрын

@@niazhannanwatercolors I did sub. Thanks for the tip. I played around in a Mixed Media Arteza sketchbook last night and it wasn't too bad.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

We really need the option to send images on KZread comments! What do you think? And thanks for the sub!

@K.YouTube2

3 жыл бұрын

@@niazhannanwatercolors That sounds great in theory (especially for the art community) but too many would take advantage for it to be worthwhile.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Yes you are right!

Very nice comparison. Thanks!! Thumbs up. Just a personal take (off topic): the sound experience of this video is very unpleasant (specially with headphones) with the music going from left to right ear all the time. Had to mute it .

@niazhannanwatercolors

Жыл бұрын

Thanks. Sorry about the music!

Aahhh.. That was not a fair trail. 😉. The parameters for testing various paper ought to be the same. Canson Montval is not a 100pc cotton paper whereas the other two are. Cotton will win hands down any day. Canson does make 100pc cotton paper too. This was like a fight between heavyweight champ versus bantam weight champ.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

😄 True!

I'm shocked at how arches failed the lift test. Especially since most artist recommend it.and I was wondering what strathmore paper you used? Cause I was wondering if I was the 400 series or the 500 series. Thanks

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Exactly it was a shock to me too as I've been using Arches from day 1 and my favoritetill then i put my hands on Strathmore. Its Strathmore 400 series

I feel like you started out with a bias lol but great comparison either way. I feel like you made sure it was a little better on the best paper.

@jonnnn7699

2 жыл бұрын

But I don’t blame you I love the strathmore definitely my favorite I’ve ever used lol 😂

@niazhannanwatercolors

2 жыл бұрын

Honestly i was inclined towards Arches but i was surprised

@blatte1111

9 күн бұрын

Yeah I think he was biased towards strathmore too. I did not like this paper at all but I think the channel guy is used to working with it and learned to love it.

So you're a Stratmore guy😂 Great video. 😄👌🏻 I have used Canson montval as a beginner and still do. Very nice paper for the price. Arches seems untouchable lol. I wouldn't be able to lay any paint on that gold.😂 I'd suggest you to try scholar stationery papers as well. I was surprised by their quality at such a reasonable price. Better to buy from their website itself.

@estherphingmoo5172

3 жыл бұрын

P.S. Lifting up some the glue from the masking tape before laying it on the paper won't tear your paper even on canson.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks i appreciate it. This is the first time am using Strathmore and suddenly decided to switch from Arches! I will try those paper for sure 😊

overall Strathmore better watercolor paper , interesting . nice video.

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Yes its a bit shocking to me though!

from my perspective I noticed a clear bias for Strathmore. Also, I don't know if its good to compare Canson with the other two... I assume hot pressed texture should be different but is hot pressed from Canson that similar to cold pressed to other brands? Also how much user error was there? I assume Strathmore is your preferred paper considering the bias and I have experience with Arches to know it's VERY thirsty... so while it might look like its harder to lift paint, it has a window of time to lift while its wet, so while it might be harder to lift after its dried, its definitely more prepared for many layers. im not saying bias is bad, but remember to be objective. I've seen plenty of people who are more experienced with cheaper art supplies and prefer using cheaper than expensive artist grade supplies merely from lack of experience. (kinda like trying to drive a sports car after driving a mini van... the speed might be too excessive and the lack of control might be a downside.)

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

I appreciate that you are putting so much time & effort to put your points. But it doesn't mean i have to agree with all of those as these things are subjective. And about being 'bias'...you wouldn't have said it if knew me. Am a kind of guy who is transparent and doesn't give a damn to speak what he feels. It is what it is! I've been using arches from the time when i started till today and this is my first time using Strathmore and i was shocked when compared to arche! Its bloody good to my needs "to my style of painting"!!! Have a great day ahead 😊

good👍👍

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

😊 Thanks

Nice comparison👍... But we can't compare 20% cotton with 100% cotton.... There will be significant difference... I suggest to compare canson 20% with brustro 25% ... Lets see what's the difference...

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!! But people need to know what is the difference between 20% and 100% cottage pepers

@pranjalshelar3830

3 жыл бұрын

@@niazhannanwatercolors oh i see😊🤘

😂😂👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻now I know! thnxxx

@niazhannanwatercolors

2 жыл бұрын

Pleasure 😇

loving the drug adicted candy crush soundtrack theme LOL

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

😄 Thanks!!

I thought Canson was 100% Cellulose, Cold Pressed? Also - I always tape on my jeans first to lessen the adhesion before I tape it to the Montval paper (which I use mostly for practice). And even then, I'm still very careful when I remove the tape. Otherwise, it does tend to peel quite badly like what's on the video.

@niazhannanwatercolors

2 жыл бұрын

Hmmm true that

I can only afford Canson in my country......the other top brands are just to expensive and reserved for the wealthy only!!

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

Hey please don't say that..we all born rich. Its just the mindset we need to fix. You are not a penny less than anyone else🧡

Link to the music please

@niazhannanwatercolors

2 жыл бұрын

Its from yml

I love montval I don't know why... :/

@niazhannanwatercolors

3 жыл бұрын

I too love Montval !

Again; it can be a matter of price?

@niazhannanwatercolors

2 жыл бұрын

It could be

Strathmore 400 and Canson Montval are 100% cellulose. NO cotton.

@niazhannanwatercolors

2 жыл бұрын

Aaaaannnnnnn😭 soryyyy

Le papier Strathmore n'est pas en coton.

Constructive Criticism: If your video is designed to review and compare papers, we need to hear you speak. Music is not appropriate for this venue.

@niazhannanwatercolors

11 ай бұрын

Yes absolutely!! So I started sharing videos like these👉🏼Watercolor Painting Tutorial | From Beginner To Pro in Just One Video | My First Voiceover Video😎 kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIGjt8adnpmcZ8Y.html

@niazhannanwatercolors

11 ай бұрын

An EPIC Watercolor Tutorial for Beginners ~ You don’t want to miss this! (Voiceover Tutorial) kzread.info/dash/bejne/mYKNtNp-m5yZnaQ.html

@niazhannanwatercolors

11 ай бұрын

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing and Using the Best Brushes for Stunning Results kzread.info/dash/bejne/qal2ksGaqt27ec4.html