ARCHES COLD PRESSED vs HOT PRESSED WATERCOLOR PAPER | How They Work Differently + Demonstration

In today's video, we are comparing the Arches Hot Pressed and Cold Pressed Watercolor Paper to see the differences and similarities between them. We are doing demonstration paintings as well to highlight this!
○MATERIALS:
Arches Watercolor Paper (Hot and Cold)
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Sennelier l'Aquarelle Watercolor Pans
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[@kornelart3122]

Awesome! I have been wanting to try this paper out , thanks !

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

I hope you like it:)

[@karenallen6174]

Very useful for a new user of watercolours.

[@maxwell_design_studios]

I love my cold presses paper so I would end up using far too much water if I tried hot press. Arches also carries a rough paper if you want something really textured. I love Arches paper in general. Your paintings looked good, I definitely would've gone in with some more watered down pigment to smooth things out plus that won't darken it too much. Cold press definitely requires a different amount of paint than the hot press paper. I could tell by watching, and I feel like cold press just sucks up more water so you need a wetter brush

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

Oh yeah I definitely didn’t realize how much more water you need with cold pressed paper compared to hot. I’ll have to keep it in mind! I’m sure rough textured paper would require even more also, but I’m curious to try it out! Thanks for watching

[@BeckyTregear]

Lovely paintings, I especially love the one on the hot pressed paper! It can be hard to add more layers, but both types of paper benefit from it. I think on the background mountains if you added more layers you can go over with light washes which will help to prevent them darkening too much, and it will help blend out the streaks. However, it is a delicate balance as some paints will lift too easily when rewet, which doesn’t help get that smooth finish. Sometimes it’s best to leave well enough alone, haha! 😂

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

Thank you! I am thinking about going back to that painting with the mountains and adding another layer to the background ranges. We will see if I actually do😂 I was a bit lazy the day I painted that, and I was so impatient waiting for each layer to dry!🥴

[@ColorfullyOptimistic]

Thank you for this! Arches is soooooo expensive but worth. I enjoyed seeing how each performs.

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

Really expensive, I know! So is fabriano too. So far I haven’t found a cheaper paper that works for me😩 thanks for watching!

[@kjoy831]

@@AlexisCassandraArt does fabriano have hot pressed?

[@MirandaWatsonArt]

I have barely used hot press paper, and a few of your comments will help me out when I do go to use it again. Thanks for that!

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

It is definitely a different feel to cold pressed paper! but I understand why most watercolor artists prefer cold pressed!

[@janealan2142]

Nice examples.

[@neur]

Hello! Thank you for the comparison! Did you stretched the papers previously?

[@NaomiCoutureArt]

This was great to watch, as someone who prefers cold press it's interesting to hear why you prefer hot press paper. I find I can't lift paint of blend edges out as smoothly with hot press, but I like the texture I get with cold press and if you like to do an dry brushing I find textured paper better.

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

I want to practice more with cold pressed because I think it works really well for a loose/textured style of painting. Hot pressed definitely is hard to get a smooth look, I have to do many layers! I will have to try dry brushing sometime ! Thanks for watching!💙

[@yuunishinoya1226]

I wish I had seen this channel when I was just starting out in art. I'm too late but probably I'm going to watch your previous videos.

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

I have a lot of videos you might still enjoy that aren’t as geared toward beginners:) thanks for watching!😊

[@claritzairosario68]

Hi Alexis!!! Beautiful watercolor painting! I love to use Arches Hot Preseed watercolor paper for colored pencils! It's so beautiful texture for this medium! I have not tried Arches fine grain cold preseed watercolor paper...but I have used a Canson XL watercolor paper, I love it! because I can add layers, and it holds a lot of water. I don't like using Arches Hot Preseed for watercolor work, I used it on an illustration of a sea turtle, with Derwent Inktese pencils and blocks, and I didn't like it that much. I really liked your demonstration! I find them to be excellent watercolor papers. Thanks 🥰😊

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

Thank you!! I have heard of artists loving that hot pressed paper for colored pencils, so maybe I will give it a shot. I feel like the cold pressed paper definitely works better for actual watercolor work! Thanks for watching!❤

[@claritzairosario68]

@@AlexisCassandraArt 🥰😊❤️

[@stinar37]

Can you please clarify? I just purchased one of Arches’ hot press pads after not having used hot press paper in years. I was surprised to find that both sides of each page are not equally smooth. With cold press, you’re meant to paint, or so I was taught, on the “rough” side of each page, even though your stamp is on the smoother (back) side. This hot press pad is ordered with the smoother sides on top. On which hot press side (totally smooth or not “”) is it correct to paint? Thanks

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

Yes both sides are different! I don’t usually use the rougher side of the cold press because I find it a bit difficult. I think you’re meant to use the top side. Thanks for watching!

[@WeblightDreams]

Very nice comparison, sadly I don't have any of either one of these. :(

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

They are quite expensive. I often cut them in half and do smaller paintings just to make the paper last longer lol

[@shadowguard3578]

Interesting comparison video. The demonstration paintings are so helpful and the paintings are beautiful! I can’t bring myself to buy Arches because it’s sized with gelatin. I bought some Fabriano hot pressed watercolor paper and their 25% cotton cold pressed watercolor paper, and two mini Legion 300lb cold pressed watercolor paper pads since these are gelatin free. I’m a beginner at watercolor, and to tell you the truth, I’m finding watercolor difficult, so I keep on using my watercolor pencils, and the hot pressed watercolor paper is excellent for watercolor pencils. In my hands my watercolor pencils end up streaky on cold pressed watercolor paper. I can’t get the lines to completely vanish. However, I’m better at using my watercolor pencils on hot pressed watercolor paper.

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

Thank you! Im glad you found the vid helpful. That’s too bad about arches, I had some fabriano hot pressed in a big roll and I want to maybe make a cold vs hot pressed for Fabriano too once I buy some more. Watercolor is very difficult, I am more of a pencil artist and it honestly is the biggest learning curve compared to any medium I have tried! I should have mentioned watercolor pencils in the video ahhh I forgot! They do work well on hot pressed paper.

[@NaomiCoutureArt]

I usually prefer hot pressed paper with watercolor pencils, but I just tried them on my academy cold pressed paper...they blended out like a dream and were very pigmented! I did a rose painting.

[@shadowguard3578]

@@AlexisCassandraArt Fabriano cold pressed versus Fabriano hot pressed using watercolor pencils would be an interesting comparison. 😀

[@shadowguard3578]

@@NaomiCoutureArt what brand is the academy cold pressed paper, thanks? Do we get to see the rose painting as a video? 😃

[@NaomiCoutureArt]

@@shadowguard3578 I’m pretty sure it’s just called academy paper. If you look in my video descriptions I have it link under watercolor paper. You can at least see what it looks like and the details. I did the rose as a Patreon tutorial but it will be a voice over video on KZbin as well eventually.

[@stinar37]

Great video. Which side of the hot press did you use ?

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

The front side of the hot press!

[@rtb03791]

Does the hot pressed work well with watercolour pencils

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

I feel like it does! However, my issue with Hot pressed I notice more recently is the streakiness or patchiness you get sometimes with both watercolor and watercolor pencil. Multiple layers of watercolor pencil does seem to fix this

[@tvchanel5891]

I like

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

Thank you!

[@ChristinaTodd1970]

My favorite is cold pressed. Always.

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

Yes, cold pressed is awesome! Thanks for watching

[@ChristinaTodd1970]

@@AlexisCassandraArt I do like the painting on the hot press better even though I don't like painting on it. The color palette you chose is pretty

[@desmirage]

What paint do you use?

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

I use Sennelier l'Aquarelle!

[@katalinelo8011]

How did you do that it didn't buckle? I never manage that. Even if I tape it down on all sides... as soon as I hit it with water, it buckles till it is completely dry. Depending on how much water slightly to really deep valleys. And I usually don't even do wet on wet or anything that requires much water really and always use 300 gsm paper. I must do something wrong... (to be honest I never tried Arches, it is too expensive for my budget. So if the only solution is to use a paper this expensive, I deal rather with the buckles. It is not worth for my current skill level to invest in very expensive materials.)

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

For the cold pressed paper demonstration you’ll notice my paper buckled a bit too as I did the wet on wet technique for the sky! It also buckled on the bottom where the trees were. Once I’m done with a painting and it dries I just put it between two really heavy books so it flattens out. Check if the paper you’re using is 100% cotton- if you can find 100% cotton watercolor paper at a cheaper price (any brand not just arches) it will perform very well with the paints!

[@LeahElisheva]

@@AlexisCassandraArt Arches 300 lb ( 640 gm) rather than the 140 lb - won’t buckle 😊

[@user-hv2rv9ox2y]

I prefer hot pressed paper. I think I'm just terrible with cold pressed, but it is not my favorite and it's too rough and texture. I don't like using it at all. Also it uses too much paint and not good for markers like the hot pressed version is. Hot pressed all the way for me!

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

It definitely soaks up a lot of paint, and I agree the markers don't go on smoothly! I think for me, i enjoy having both options but I can also see why people choose one or the other

[@xXxJSCOTTxXx]

I just got into watercolor brush pens and didn't want to skimp on the paper. Although I was looking for a cold pressed or rough finish, I went for hot-pressed because it was on sale and the shipping was sooner. I figure I can always buy other types of paper at another time. For now, I can just experiment with the Arches hot-pressed, as well as the presumably cheap paper that came with my Chromatek brush pens.

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

Yes, use what you have to start, even sketchbook watercolor paper if needed just to practice and not worry! both hot and cold pressed arches are a good investment, can't go wrong

[@eni_oyee]

First!

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

thanks for watching!