process talk: watercolour papers

i finally tore one of my new(ish) full sheets of papier d'arches into smaller sheets today, to start a 6/6 painting of jetpack attack cody, and i'd forgotten how nice painting on arches is, after my test of the shizen paper.

the shizen was nice enough at first - i think i like the smoother hot press paper better - but it quickly became clear that the shizen is just way too thirsty for the way i paint, plus, especially on the rougher paper, erasing just tears the paper up and makes a mess. since i prefer to sketch directly on the paper rather than make a sketch and then transfer it, it made me very frustrated very quickly. the padme painting i did (here) nearly got destroyed in the process of erasing, and there are a few pieces where even though i erased and damaged the paper, the sketching is still a lot more visible than i would like.

i need to check what weight i bought of arches, because it's not as heavy as the stuff i used to use, and also so depending on whether i like it or not i'll know what i want when i resupply. i also tore one full sheet down to make another watercolour sketchbook, since i finished off the one i made of reused paper. i think the lighter weight will be a benefit there, since it will make it easier to sew into book form, but we shall see.