What papers for art should I purchase

[Kendall]

I want to do a better job of doing art projects for my kids.  We organized the art supplies and we have NO paper(Aside from paper I use in the printer).  So what 2 or 3 or 4 kinds, sizes,  and brands/types of paper would you get?  My kids are 8 and up.

 

Thanks,

Kendall 

[Plink]

What kinds of projects do you have planned?  I ask this because some mediums, like watercolors, work best on heavy paper but others, like acrylics, are fine on most papers. Also, the "tooth" of the paper is important for something like soft pastels.

 

If you aren't sure yet what you will be doing, I'd go for mixed media paper. It is fairly inexpensive and holds up to most forms of abuse. Personally, I like to buy large pages, they can always be cut down for smaller projects.

Edited July 10, 2016 by Plink

[Kendall]

I don't know what projects.  I thought I would get water color paper and then whatever else I need.  I do want to be able to do oil pastels, chalk pastes, markers, pencil, water color, some kind of other paint (recommendations on that are welcome also).

 

My plan is to use ideas from Art Projects for Kids http://artprojectsforkids.org/

 

 

 

Is there a bad/good brand of mixed media paper?  Is there a weight or type of mixed media paper to look for?

 

Thanks!

[amiesmom]

We use this paper and have done many of the projects on artprojectsforkids with them with great success.

[freelylearned]

I use a Canson XL mixed media spiral bound book (blue cover) for art projects and it holds up to ink, acrylics, and collage well. I imagine pastels would work well on it, too. I like that the projects stay together in one book. It doesn't hold up well to watercolors because the paper pills and warps with too much water so I purchased a separate pad of watercolor paper for watercolor projects.

[Wolf Pack]

https://www.amazon.com/Neenah-Vellum-Bristol-Inches-Brightness/dp/B006P1ER8O/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1468249659&sr=8-6&keywords=bristol+paper

 

this bristol paper is cheap and heavy enough for drawing, painting, and pastels

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

I just get drawing paper and watercolor paper for painting. Carson and Strathmore are both good brands. I will get some inexpensive drawing paper pads for their constant doodling though.

[Ausmumof3]

Black paper is nice with oil pastels and it's nice to have some good water colour paper. There is a difference between the proper stuff and the cheap stuff if your kids are old enough to appreciate it.