Watercolour Paper Explained: Best Choices for Beginners & Progression

When artists struggle with watercolour, they often assume the problem is their paint, their brushes, or their technique. In reality, the issue is very often the paper.

In my experience, paper has a greater impact on your results than paint quality. You can learn and practise effectively with student grade paints, but poor paper will actively work against you, no matter how good your technique becomes.

This article explains what beginners should use, why buckling matters, and why moving to 100% cotton paper is the single best step you can take if you want to improve.

Paper Options for Beginners

If you’re just starting out with learning colour mixing, brush control, and getting a feel for how watercolour behaves, cheaper watercolour paper is absolutely fine. If it means you won't be too precious and afraid to make mistakes, then its probably going to be a good choice for now.

The key points are:

• Make sure it is labelled watercolour paper as cartridge or standard drawing paper will buckle too much, and mixed media paper will not be absorbent enough.

• Choose the thickest weight you can afford. 300gsm (140lbs) is perfect

• Expect it to behave differently from cotton paper

Cheaper watercolour paper can be made from wood pulp or a blend of wood pulp and cotton fibres, is more affordable and widely available, which makes it ideal for:

• Practice

• Colour charts

• Sketchbook work

• Loose experimentation

the fundamental difference between non-cotton watercolour paper and 100% cotton watercolour paper is how they absorb and interact with water and pigment.

Wood Pulp / Cellulose Watercolour Paper

One of the most misunderstood aspects of watercolour paper is the role of fibre content, specifically the difference between cellulose (wood pulp) and 100% cotton. Both types are engineered to handle water, but they behave very differently:

Cellulose Paper (Wood Pulp or Blends)

• Made from wood pulp or a blend of wood pulp and cotton fibres.

• Absorbs water less evenly, so pigment can sink or pool unpredictably.

• Often dries faster and can give you faster drying time, but less predictable wet-in-wet behaviour. 

• Surface strength is lower; repeated washes or lifting can damage the surface.

• Many are acid-free due to chemical processing, but being acid-free does not mean cotton is present. 

Cellulose watercolour paper is excellent for practise, colour-mixing, and experimentation, especially when cost is a constraint. You can learn brush control and technique just fine on it.

However, the way water moves, absorbs, and dries on cellulose sheets is materially different from cotton. It doesn’t hold water as long or as evenly, so subtle blending and glazing, the bread and butter of expressive watercolour, are harder to control.

Here are a couple of options for budget-friendly cellulose paper.

ONCCI Watercolour Paper Pad A4, 30 Sheets Watercolour Sketchbook 300GSM, Cotton Blend

120 Sheets Watercolour Paper A4, 140 lb/300 GSM Cold Press Water Colour Paper for Students

100% Cotton Paper

• Made entirely from long cotton fibres which are stronger and more resilient.

• Holds significantly more water and lets it absorb slowly and predictably.

• Gives you greater control over washes, layering, and edge softening, because the water and pigment stay open longer.

• Better resists surface disruption during lifting, scrubbing, or reworking.

• Generally more archival and durable due to cotton fibre stability.

Cotton paper is ideal for serious development because it teaches you water behaviour rather than requiring you to compensate for the paper’s limitations.

Paper Weight and Buckling (Explained Clearly)

Paper weight is measured in gsm (grams per square metre). As a beginner:

• 140lb / 300gsm should be your minimum

• Heavier paper buckles less when wet and is easier to manage

• Thicker paper gives you more time to work wet-in-wet

A heavier sheet (e.g. 300 gsm) will always buckle less than a lighter sheet, regardless of fibre content. But the real performance difference isn’t just about whether the surface stays flat, it’s about how water and pigment behave on the paper’s fibres.

Why 100% Cotton Paper Is a Step-Up

If you want to genuinely improve your watercolour technique, upgrade your paper before you upgrade your paint. Moving to 100% cotton watercolour paper is where most artists experience a noticeable leap in results.

Cotton paper:

• Absorbs water evenly

• Allows paint to flow predictably

• Gives you time to lift, soften, and adjust

• Makes glazing and layering far easier

Crucially, this is where you truly learn water control, how much water is in your brush, on your paper, and in your paint. You can still use student grade paints on cotton paper and achieve better results than professional paints on poor paper.

Here are a selection of 100% cotton watercolour pads

MEEDEN Watercolour Paper Block, 300gsm Textured Surface Cotton Watercolour Paper Pad, Cold Pressed, 20 Sheets. The paper in this large pad can be divided into 2 making it an economical choice.

MEEDEN Watercolor Paper Block - 100% Cotton Watercolor Paper Pad of 30 Sheets, 140lb/300gsm. This pad has a selection of rough, cold press (textured) and hot press (smooth) to try.

Fuumuui 100% Cotton Watercolour Paper- Updated Version, 22 Sheets A4 Cold Pressed Watercolour Paper Block - 140LB/300GSM

ARCHES 23 x 31 cm 300 gsm Cold Pressed Watercolour Pad. A firm favourite amongst many professional watercolour artists.

How Paper Quality Affects Your Painting Results

A common frustration I hear is:

“I’m following the tutorial exactly, but my painting doesn’t behave the same way.”

Very often, the difference is paper.

Most experienced artists and demonstrators are working on 100% cotton paper, even if they don’t explicitly say so. The softness of edges, smooth blends, and controlled blooms you see are far harder — sometimes impossible — to replicate on wood pulp paper.

If you’re struggling to achieve the effects you see in tutorials, it is very likely your paper, not your ability.

Acid-Free vs 100% Cotton — What’s the Difference?

This is a common source of confusion.

• Acid-free does not automatically mean cotton

• Acid-free paper can be made from wood pulp or cotton

• Many wood pulp watercolour papers are acid-free

“Acid-free” simply means the paper has been treated to resist yellowing and deterioration over time. It’s a good feature, especially for finished work, but it does not tell you how the paper will behave while painting.

To identify cotton paper, look specifically for:

• “100% cotton”

• “Cotton rag”

• “Rag paper”

If it doesn’t say cotton, it almost certainly isn’t.

Good paper doesn’t fix technique — but inexpensive paper can hide it.

Final Thoughts for Artists Who Want to Improve

If you’re an absolute beginner, use wood pulp watercolour paper without guilt. Make sure it’s designed for watercolour, choose the thickest weight you can afford, and focus on learning.

But if you want to develop, to really understand water, layering, and control, invest in 100% cotton paper, even if you’re still using student grade paints.

In watercolour, paper isn’t just a surface. It’s an active partner in the painting process. If your work isn’t behaving the way you expect, the solution may not be more practice, it may simply be better paper.

If you’re choosing tools for pet portraits, you might also find useful my article on best watercolour brushes for pet portraits.

Also see my comparison of student vs professional watercolour paint.

Save this guide to your resources and share with fellow artists who are growing their watercolour skills.

Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend brushes I personally use and trust.