ArtfinitySynthesis Watercolor Paper Pads - White 74lb., 200gsm Synthetic Paper for Painting, Sketching, and More! - 11x14"

Super paper for craft alcohol inks

Was worried about the thin weight of the paper but, no problems what so ever. Finger prints were easy to remove.

Would not purchase this again, I do not seem to know how to use this item correctly.

I have long wondered why people recommend plastic art paper for watercolor. When Yupo paper first came out, everyone raved about it in my art club FOR WATERCOLORS. I was about to buy some when someone gave me a piece to play around with. I thought it was the dumbest thing EVER for watercolor. This paper is like Yupo paper. But don't hang up here- it has another amazing use.HOW THIS COMESThis comes in a pad. The pad is in a plastic sheath so if it is left out in the rain on the porch, at least you know it stands a chance of being protected.TEXTURELets be blunt here. This is plastic paper. It has a smooth finish and it is thicker than most sketch pad paper, but it is still thin and pliable.WATERCOLORAs I said before, I found that this paper for watercolor is stupid. I use expensive artist grade watercolor most of the time, and I do not want to be painting and wiping off to paint again. I prefer my work to stay where I put it for a later time. If I were to use cheaper watercolor, it would still be a waste of time unless I want to just practice techniques, I guess. But honestly, the paper repels most watercolor so I think it is a waste of my time.ALCOHOL INKSThe real star of the show when using these papers is alcohol inks. Now THERE is something worth taking the time to work with. I had put on some art work on a paper, then did not like it so I wiped it off. The thing is that the paper was now stained blue- ice blue. That got me inspired to get out some fiery alcohol inks and start creating artwork. I was not disappointed. Using metallic and regular alcohol inks, I was able to create the really beautiful painting that I posted a photo of for you.You have to be sure that it is complete dry and not tacky prior to storing, or it will stick to plastic bags. This got a bit crunched by someone in the family who stuffed it in a place instead of leaving it flat on the shelf as I wanted it to be. It still looks great though.ALCOHOL MARKERSThe alcohol markers make a great way to use this paper too. Combined with alcohol ink and some alcohol to create some artistic chaos, this paper is fantastic to play with. Once it is where you want it, you can set it with a setting spray appropriate for the paper AND alcohol inks.THE BOTTOM LINEThis is not really good for watercolor, I just won't waste my paints and time with it. However, when used with alcohol inks and alcohol markers, it is spectacular. I LOVE IT.MY RATINGFIVE STARS for alcohol inks. I am in love with this paper. With watercolors, no stars. So I will leave this at FOUR stars since they are advertising this for watercolors. If they remove the watercolors designation, it would definitely be FIVE STARS.

Pros:-This paper is a unique and great for specific uses! To my knowledge, those uses are alchohal inks, non water based media, and as mixing paper.-Since this paper does not absorb wet media, colors truly look incredible on this paper. Though keep in mind that you cannot use any basic techniques you might know from painting mediums like watercolor.-This paper is also nice as a mixing palette as mentioned. Since it dosen't absorb water, I've used this in palettes to mix paints which cleans easily off with some staining.-Decent quality for this type of paper; comparable to Yupo.Cons:-Really restricted to few uses. I would not reccomend this paper unless you have a specific use and know it will be successful for that. Keep in mind that this is not regular watercolor paper!Overall 4.3/5

I received this pad of art paper specifically to write a review. That said, I try to be honest and open in all my reviews.(This is a resubmit for the review; last time I included pictures. I will add some later if this makes it through the automated filter.)When I requested this pad of art paper, I was attracted by the headline, "watercolor paper." I got the 20"x26" paper, and that is fairly large for watercolor.The first thing I noticed was the pad came very well packaged including a watertight plastic shrink-wrap.The paper is very smooth and has a slightly slippery surface. At first I thought it was some very high-end, cold press paper, but it is only 75 lbs. After researching a bit, I found out that this is synthetic paper. In this case, it is made of various chemicals (90% Polypropylene/ 5% Polyethylene/ 5% Polystyrene); this is directly from the manufacturer's site.This was my first time using the product, and it came with some unexpected results.First, while it did not tear or fold easily, that is a good thing, I had to prop it and back it to use it on an easel. It is probably both easier and more effective to paint with this particular paper on a flat surface where you can spread it out, and there is less of a tendency for the paint to run.Second, the paper is slick, and the paint went for miles in a thin coat. You can use a lot less paint for the same coverage that you get on other media.This tends to produce transparent effects. For opaque applications, you need to either do multiple coats or use a thicker application than you might use with other media.Third, the white is really bright, much brighter than I am used to using, and this creates truly intense colors.All in all, it was an interesting and fun experience. I love trying new media and techniques. I will be experimenting with this new paper for the next couple of months.You will not be able to use your traditional, tried and true painting techniques on this paper, but you can do things that you were not able to do with more traditional media.I highly recommend this product.