Arches vs Baohong - Watercolor Paper Comparison

#arches #baohong #watercolorpaper
Hey, this is Goldhand Drawings, Today's video is about
Comparing Watercolor papers.
In this video, there will be a comparison between
Arches Coldpress 100% cotton
vs.
Baohong Academy Colpress 100% cotton
These two gets compared a lot because they do share some similar characteristics but difference in price.
Have fun watching and thanks
Jun

[@stevenmcleanart]

Thanks for the testing. There's a version of the Baohong which in non academy, It costs a little more but is apparently better quality. It would have been great to see how it compared to Arches.

[@amypanddirtytoo1926]

That's the one I love. The professional line. the texture is exactly the same, the sizing, everything. I know I'm 8 months late, but oh well.

[@nguyentai464]

@@amypanddirtytoo1926is the cost more baohong as good as Arches ?

[@amypanddirtytoo1926]

@nguyentai464 for 12 X 16 block of their Professional quality paper it'd about 40 usd. A LOT less than Arches and I can't tell the difference! And Arches was my #1 before I tried the Baohong. I would switch completely to Baohong if I could find their Professional series in full size sheets! Or those big rolls.

[@bijelimedved2983]

@@amypanddirtytoo1926can you tell me wich baohong do you use ??? I knowe only one baohong that sells on alieekspres and i dont know wicth is diffrent wicth is the one that you use ?

[@KobieK]

Doesn’t matter. How can you compare a Chinese knockoff to a few hundred years old European company? lol

[@stevesidare2493]

Drawing is not the reason to reject either paper. People use them for watercolor. Any highly detailed drawing should be done lightly with a harder graphite pencil.

[@missparadise879]

I love baohong paper. I've so far been able to do everything I wanted with it. Love the texture and the way it holds water compared to less textured papers

[@greekveteran2715]

A tip for all watercolour artists: The best quality paper each brand produces,doesn't come in blocks or pads, but in single sheets called "Mould made paper". Blocks and pads usually come with sizing flaws, Mould made paper in sheets, do not have that isses. Surface is also a bit different somnetimes, with the mould paper being more ieal for watercolour painting. So, if someone wants a proper paper, first has to choose, the paper that fit the brand of paint and the kind of painting he/she usually does and then, choose the proper sheet,that can be custom cut to his/hers needs. Natural tone, is usually the best paper quality mould paper, that mils produce.

[@rocifier]

what does that mean: "mould made"? what kind of mould is it? is a mould not used for the block paper? the texture to me seems the same

[@greekveteran2715]

@@rocifierMould made watercolor 100% cotton papers, are THE highest quality papers that many famous brands produce. The papers that comes in blocks, are not that kind of quality, they are not mould made,they are produced in a press, with faster production methods. Do your research.Mould made papers, comes ONLY in big size sheets or rolls,never in blocks or pads.

[@griffinharvey3910]

I'm wondering why you chose the Academy Baohong, which is their student grade. Wouldn't it have been more 'apples to apples' comparison if you had used Baohong's Artist, which is their professional grade? With that said, I do appreciate that you did a comparison; always helpful. :-)

[@penpencilpaint]

hi there, answer to your question is very simple, i cannot find Baohong Artist grade ! i cannot find anywhere that sells Baihong artist grade in Korea 😅😅😅

[@griffinharvey3910]

@@penpencilpaint Well, that would certainly be a good reason! 😀

[@giespel68]

If you don't like the roughness of this Arches paper, look into Arches hot pressed (satiné)

[@greekveteran2715]

Arches Hot Pressed is WAY to smooth though, that's why it's the favorite paper for drawing with graphite pencils for many artists! A mistake most people do, is that they get blocks instead of the sheets that are mould made paper, all brands produce these and it's their best quality paper. Blocks and pads usually also come with sizing flaws, Mould made paper in sheets, do not have that isses. Surface is also a bit different somnetimes, with the mould paper being more ieal for watercolour painting. So, if someone wants a proper paper, first has to choose, the paper that fit the brand of paint and the kind of painting he/she usually does and then, choose the proper sheet,that can be custom cut to his/hers needs. Natural tone, is usually the best paper quality mould paper, that mils produce.

[@appleknocker56]

Glad I saw this video as paper I got is the “academy” Bohong paper and wondered why was having so much difficulty with it! Just ordered 12 sheets of Arches as tired of fighting that paper!

[@IamGadgetcom]

These are watercolor papers...And...it appears that you are using the "student" grade Baohong against the Arches....if so then this test needs to be done over correctly.. Thank you

[@appleknocker56]

After buying that Bao Hong paper (do not believe it’s 100% cotton) & lifting colors was very difficult & if sketching can do it on hot press Arches. I also agree on getting the rolls and soak to stretch.

[@nadinevandenhende8999]

I think that it is not really fair to compare studentgrade Paper with professional Quality. I only use the professional Quality of Baohong and i like it Very much. I also have hotpress. Greatings

[@penpencilpaint]

sorry + forgive me 😅🥲

[@CarolinaCarolina-ph9mx]

I am really glad that I came across this video, and you just saved me wasting some time and money. A good number of artists have been recommending this Baohong Academy line as equal to or better than Arches. They also say that it is better than the Baohong artist grade paper. This shows it is not better than Arches, and that was from your very first drop of paint. That first square on the left on both brands of paper . . . watercolor is all about moving paint in water, it's the life of the paint, but the Baohong Academy line looks like it sorta froze. Solid and dull. Lifting, too, is really important, so the choice is a paper that allows you to do that. The blending and glazing seemed about equal, or good enough, for both brands. It's that first square, however, that really decides it for me. I was playing yesterday with some Canson XL (which I not so affectionately refer to as 'Canson crap'), trying to practice but not waste good paper, but my paint just looks solid and dull - like that first square on the Academy here. Definitely can't use the same touch on the Canson crap as good paper or it just sits there. It's the worst paper for beginners, so I am half-way pleased to have a semi-okay painting now whereas in the beginning everything just soaked into it and sucked. I almost quite because of that awful paper. I'm going to now watch your video comparing the Saunders paper. I am really tempted to buy some 200lb, but not sure. I love the way paint can flow across 140lb with good sizing, but not the way it can buckle. 300lb could be great, but it is not because it takes a ton of paint and water to get anything to move. Could 200lb be the sweet spot? At the same time, if the price of 300lb and 140lb were the same, I'd buy 300lb all day long and learn to deal with the issues because I do love the heavier paper. 😀

[@arsinoe8336]

Thanks for the comparison. If you don't like the rough texture i would try the hot pressed satin paper from Arches. As for the erasing problems i totally recommend the Faber Castell kneadable erasers. I tried so many different brands of erasers and there are so big differences between brands. But the Faber Castell kneadable erasers are really the absolute best. They're so soft and don't do any damages to the paper and they erase everything. Even my colored pencil sketches on rough Arches paper. It's like magic. 😊 You should totally try it. (and yes I'm aware that other brands offer kneadable erasers as well, i tried tons but so far I haven't found one which is only slightly as good as the ones from Faber Castell)

[@penpencilpaint]

i will totally try fc kneadable , thanks for the kind info : ) have a great day

[@CarolinaCarolina-ph9mx]

@@penpencilpaint There is a tutorial somewhere that shows how you can even take your dirty kneaded erasers and use soap to wash them. They come out clean, and can be use about like new. They are wonderful to erase with since they don't leave any marks, but get dirty so quickly that this hack could be handy to someone who works a lot in pencil or charcoal. 🙂

[@TW-il4vy]

I just placed an order for both the Artists' and Academy grade Baohong but canceled the Academy grade after seeing this video. I'm hoping the Artists' grade will perform more similarly to Arches. You saved me some money. Thanks!

[@plastic_biscuit]

Very useful! Thank you for your testing~

[@SairaSaadTheNikonGirl]

actually can't se the clear picture of the paper in terms of more textured or rough so can you tell me which brand is more textured or rough I am looking for a rough texture in cold press thanks plx reply

[@penpencilpaint]

hi there, they both are rough, baihong is rough as arches

[@sunnyjoy229]

Very nice comparison you have done. By far the best comparison between the two papers that i have come across. Only thing as others have mentioned that bahong artist grade would have been a better comparison for this video. Still this comparison was useful to me. Now I need to lay my hands on the artist grade papers.

[@devilgunner278]

Hi. Arches Is my favourite but it's too pricey here so I was thinking of purchasing baohong this time. But this comparison drove me to arches again😭😭 For less texture I use hot pressed one. Your comparison was very appropriate. 👍

[@novi_pacific_island]

there is artist version of Baohong, little bit higher in price than the academy version but works much much much better. In my place they are half the price of Arches.

[@Vcagle30]

Thanks for the comparison.

[@penpencilpaint]

thanks for watching : )

[@karing2171]

Thanks for this comparison. So what paper do you use or recommend?

[@penpencilpaint]

hi there, personally, i really enjoyed using Fabriano artistico, i think baohong was not for me, the paint spreads too fast, not giving enough time to do gradiation, or switching to another color arches, i think the texture is too rough for me, i do sketch quite heavily and arches and baohong both were pretty hard to erase the pencil lines….. i think i like Fabriano artistico…

[@gosnbandar]

@@penpencilpaint I got stack of Fabriano artistico i dont use, it is flimsy and i think worst 100%cotton paper . Baohong academy is way way better for me, so your review is misleading for people, i think you are the only one on youtube who doesent like that paper