Canson XL Series Watercolor Pad, Heavyweight White Paper, Side Wire Binding, 30 Sheets, 9x12 inch

As someone who spends a lot of time experimenting with different materials and techniques for both personal projects and professional exploration, I’ve used a lot of watercolor papers over the years, and Canson XL Watercolor Paper (7x10 inches, 140 lb) is a solid choice that consistently delivers. If you’re looking for a reliable option for quick sketches or trying out some watercolor work, this paper checks all the boxes. It’s the perfect size—compact and portable, making it ideal for moving between spaces, whether you’re in a studio, on-site, or just out in the field. The 7x10 inch format is just right: not too big, not too small, and easy to store without taking up too much space. For the price, it’s surprisingly good quality. The texture is fine and subtle—not as pronounced as higher-end cold-pressed papers, but it’s more than adequate for ink, watercolor, and mixed media. It holds up well with light washes, though if you overwork it with too much water, it will start to buckle. But overall, it’s a great option for those who need something that’s dependable and won’t break the bank. Whether you’re layering ink or experimenting with color washes, it provides a solid surface that performs without fuss. It’s definitely one of those papers that, once you try it, you find yourself coming back to. If you want a versatile, affordable paper that you can rely on for both quick studies and more finished pieces, this is a great choice.

If you're planning, as I was, to make a watercolor sketchbook with this, it's grain short, with the grain running parallel to the 11 inch side. Even so, and even with the glue being on the short edge, this falls apart quite easily, a plus for me because that means no tearing. A minus if you intend to keep the book intact. If you want the best paper out there, go with Arches. If you plan to do the curriculum with Watercolor College, Chris Lyonn, the instructor, has stated if you're in the US, just go get that. I tried this on a lark, and he's not wrong. It can't do the things Arches can, for the techniques in that class. That said, if you're painting with Sarah Cray over at Let's Make Art, this is the exact paper she uses, or at least used to until they released their home brand, and it works perfectly for everything she teaches. The difference? While both embrace the spontaneous nature of watercolor, especially in things like clouds and trees, Chris avoids blooms and the rough, unblended edges they create. Sarah embraces blooms and the visual interest they provide. This paper makes it easier to get, harder to avoid, blooms. Chris works with natural pigment tube and pan based paints from brands like Winsor and Newton and Daniel Smith, favoring the lightfast properties and colors more suited to realistic paintings. Sarah favors dye-based liquid watercolors from brands like Dr. Ph Martins for their brighter colors better suited to illustrative painting. This works better with those dye-based paints, not as well with the tube and pan. So it's either perfect or meh, depending on your intention. Additionally, this is popular with the urban sketch crowd because it is a stable, strong paper that can put up with a lot of reworking the under drawing without damage to the paper fibers. If that's what you are looking for, then this is a great choice. That's my planned use for it, once it's in a sketchbook form. That property of ease of reworking makes it ideal for beginners.

I love this watercolor paper notebook. It is the perfect size to travel with. The texture and ease of use makes for very pretty pictures. Paint and markers do not bleed through the pages. The durability of the whole notebook is outstanding!! I definitely would recommend to anyone.

This is one of the best deals I've seen on watercolor paper. This is excellent paper at a terrific price. I started doing watercolor again recently after about 25 years' haitus. As you can imagine, brands and types of papers, paints, and other watercolor supplies have grown exponentially since I last did watercolor, so I had to buy several different brands and types of paper before I found the one I love. THIS IS IT, in case that wasn't already clear. It has the perfect balance of texture and uniformity in both finish and thickness without the typical roughness of other mid-grade cold-pressed papers. Plus, it accepts both color and wash beautifully and consistently. It's also heavy enough to not warp/buckle much when you do extensive color washing without taping. That's not to say it DOESN'T buckle at all, but I lay down tons of water on some of my prints and also never tape my paper down before I start to work. Have to say: I am really impressed with how little this warps, all that considered....even with heavy water dumps. ***BTW:**** The easiest remedy for the warping and buckling, I've found, is to let the work completely dry--24 hours, on the safe side--then turn it, face down, onto an ironing board with a firm piece of clean, unbent high-density cardboard that's larger than my print so I can iron it flat. I iron my work gently, with the iron set between "low cotton" and "low linen", depending on the amount of buckling. I also use the lowest setting of steam on my iron. Because it really helps to quickly even out wash-warping. Works much better than pre-taping!

Wonderful sketchbook! Paper quality is great.

the product though one of my favorites to practice with and do small card fronts for greeting cards I have a problems with the shipping of it...I will find the proper place to express my concerns. Otherwise the product always seems to perform well even though it is not cotton based..I do like it. However: Amazon placed my two Watercolor pads in a box with a 500 sheet Ream of Copy Paper and it bent the heck out of my Canson Xl Watercolor pad. The other was in a bubble wrap and was perfect...but the Condition of the Canson WC Pad is very disappointing

This is one of the most common brands of budget watercolor paper, and it’s easy to see why. It’s pulp paper rather than cotton, but for the price and availability it does a good job. The sizing is consistent across the sheets I’ve used, so there aren’t distracting patches or spots where the paint reacts unpredictably. It’s not the same as working on a cotton sheet, but it performs reliably for what I use it for and is more than fine for practice, studies, and comic work. I’ve use this mainly for ink wash comic pages, and it’s held up pretty much as expected. Even though it’s cold press paper, it’s almost like hot press, smooth enough to comfortably draw on with pencil or pen before applying washes. That makes it a good and cheaper alternative to bristol if you want to combine line art with washes while keeping the tooth of watercolor paper. The surface doesn’t fight your tools, so sketching, inking, and then washing over the lines is very workable. If you trim an inch from the 11-inch side, you get an 10×15 sheet, which lines up with standard American comic work area dimensions on an 11x17 sheet. That makes it easy to integrate into comic workflows without too much extra adjustments, and it saves time when prepping pages for scanning or print. You can go right out to the edge and make borders in post (the digital process). The weight can handle moderate water applications without immediately breaking down, but it will start to peel with heavier washes, but once dry it usually settles enough to keep working. For ink wash especially, it’s reliable and has the right feel under the brush. The paper takes general layering and lifting decently, though like all pulp papers it has limits if you push it too hard. It’s not premium stock, but it’s dependable, versatile, and easy to find. For people working on comics, ink wash, or just everyday watercolor practice, it’s a good pad to have on hand. —Nathyn Brendan Masters Night Phoenix Press

I do watercolor painting with my kids every week and I believe high quality materials are important (even for kids!) when they are learning. After shopping around and trying a few different brands, this is the highest quality for the best price. It does not pill easily which is important when you're working with kids who have a tendency to "scrub" the paper with their brush. Holds up great for wet on wet technique.