I’ve tested a number of different papers and I’ve found Bristol Vellum to work great—can take several light layers of soft pastel with minimum dust and did not require fixative. So it should work for pastel pencils!
Is Bristol paper good for pastels?
400 Series Bristol
Vellum finish is excellent for pencil, charcoal, and pastel, as well as airbrush and light washes.
What paper should I use for soft pastels?
Textured paper is the most popular surface for pastels, but you can also use boards, canvas, and even sandpaper.
Can you use oil pastels on Bristol paper?
The textured Bristol paper, known as vellum, is a good choice if you are working with oil, pastels, crayons, pencils, or graphite, and charcoal. Mediums like graphite will adhere well to the texture. When it comes to choosing a brand of Bristol paper, Strathmore Bristol paper comes out at the top.
What is Bristol smooth paper best for?
Smooth Bristol paper
The flat, even surface finish is an excellent choice for intricate and detailed work, making it the perfect choice for ink and pencil-based medium.
What can you use on Bristol paper?
It’s a fantastic surface for pencil, pen and ink, marker, gouache and acrylic paint. Typically, any media that you’d prefer on a flat surface will be ideal on the smooth bristol board. Watercolor paint can be used on smooth bristol board, but it is the author’s experience that it can bleed a little bit.
What can you do with Bristol paper?
Applications. Bristol paper is used for printing documents, brochures, promotional materials and envelopes. It is often used for water color painting. It is also used for paperback book or catalog covers, file folders, tags, and tickets.
Can I use soft pastels on mixed media paper?
Mixed Media paper has a rugged surface that allows for mediums such as oil pastels, ink, stickers, and acrylic paint to work on it. This paper is also ideal for use in dry art forms.
Do you need a fixative for soft pastels?
Soft Pastel on paper may require a fixative, because there’s hardly any texture on the pastel papers to hold the dry media when mainly using soft pastel – pigment with hardly any binder.
Can you use colored pencils on Bristol paper?
Strathmore makes a variety of Bristol papers, all of which work well for colored pencil. Keep in mind, Bristol paper typically comes in two surface types: smooth and vellum. Traditionally a vellum surface would be recommended for colored pencil work because it has a bit more texture and tooth than the smooth surface.
Can I use watercolor on Bristol paper?
And because Bristol board is typically a slightly thicker paper stock, light watercolor washes typically won’t warp it. If you work fairly small in scale or have a light hand with your watercolor, vellum Bristol board may be a good pick.
Can you use solvent on Bristol paper?
It works to varying degrees on different types of paper. For example, as a rule, I don’t use solvents on Bristol because it doesn’t often handle moisture well.
Can I paint on Bristol paper?
It is always best to use watercolor paper, however, many artists enjoy using watercolor on Bristol paper. You can choose to paint on the smooth Bristol paper, but the paint will likely bleed through the paper. Try using a thicker Bristol vellum paper instead as this has more texture.
Can gouache be used on Bristol paper?
Gouache is so versatile, it can be used on a wide variety of painting surfaces including watercolor paper, illustration board, thick drawing paper and Bristol board. It doesn’t work as well as acrylic when painted on canvas though, so you may want to avoid that if you’re a beginner.
Does acrylic work on Bristol paper?
Bristol paper is another good surface for acrylic based drawing work.
Is Bristol the same as cardstock?
Bristol is the lightest form of cardstock at 67lb. Index cardstock is a smooth cardstock that often comes in both 90lb and 110lb (sometimes 140lb). Cover stock comes in 65lb, 80lb, and 100lb.
Can I use hairspray to seal soft pastels?
The properties of hair spray as a fixative for pastel and charcoal on paper. Many artists who create drawings with friable or powdery media, such as chalk, pastel and charcoal, choose to use hairspray as an inexpensive alternative to commercially available art fixatives.
Does Hairspray stop pastels smudging?
Some artists don’t like the way hairspray dries (it can make certain shades look lighter or darker than they should), but studies show that hairspray is a perfectly fine alternative to keep your oil pastels from smudging.
Can you use soft pastels over acrylic paint?
If you have been working with watercolors or acrylics and want to lighten an area, adding a bit of white or light pastel will work great. You can add white pastel over acrylic. You can also add white pastels over watercolor for mixed media techniques.
What mediums work on mixed media paper?
Mixed Media papers typically have a medium/vellum drawing surface with a slight amount of tooth (texture) that works well with mediums like graphite, marker, pen & ink, and colored pencil.
Is pastel wet or dry media?
Dry media
Dry media includes but is not limited to graphite, charcoal, pastels, colored pencils, chalk, and art crayons.