Material Notes is a practical guide to art materials, starting with watercolor paper. Explore clear explanations, useful comparisons and printable worksheets to help you choose supplies and understand how to use them.
Understand your art materials
A paper label can tell you its weight, surface and composition, but choosing a sheet means understanding what those details mean for your work. Material Notes connects the terminology with practical questions: Which surface suits fine lines? What does 300 gsm tell you? How can you compare two papers using the tools you already own?
Our guides are for beginners building their first set of supplies and for artists exploring an unfamiliar material. Start with one question, find a clear explanation and follow related guides when you want to learn more.
Watercolor paper guides and comparisons
Our first guides focus on paper surfaces and weight:
- Hot press vs cold press watercolor paper: compare smooth and textured surfaces and decide which to try.
- What does 300 gsm mean?: understand paper weight and what it does not tell you about a sheet.
- Printable paper comparison sheet: record the labels, tools and observations from your own samples.
Clear explanations, useful sources
Guides link to relevant sources so you can explore the details behind an explanation. We distinguish manufacturers’ guidance, calculations and suggested exercises from the results of hands-on tests. Explanatory diagrams illustrate concepts; they are not photographs of tested samples.
Make your own comparisons
The right material depends on the marks you want to make and the way you work. Our blank worksheets help you keep track of your own observations, without prescribing a single best choice for every artist.
Browse the watercolor paper guides and choose a question to explore at your desk.