Paper?

Saturday is the day - January 1, 2011. I'm going to start keeping a manga journal. I posted some pictures of my new journal (Strathmore smooth Bristol!) that I've been making comic book panels with. But it bothers me that I can't use both sides of the page because the copic markers that I plan to use will leak through the back. How do I know? Tried it of course.

Front:

Back:

I haven't found a paper yet that the copics don't bleed through. So yesterday Ajae is telling me about a paper she used in some kind of class (clearly I pay close attention to people) that had a coating on one side that didn't let markers bleed through. It sounds interesting except the problem remains the same - can't use both sides.

So I wondered what kind of coating would be OK for copics to draw on and still be blendable? (That's not a word, in case you're wondering.) My first thought was matte medium, so I asked my copic expert (Kelly) and she said I should be able to color over matte medium. (You can't used them over acrylics, it's bad for them even though Teesha does!) So, I tried it.

Front:

Back:

In other words - it WORKED!!! I tried three different papers but NOT the bristol - what was I thinking? I have another journal with Bristol paper that I can try it with and if it works, I'll be able to get two months of manga into my Bristol journals! Yay!

Short paper!

I LOVE this paper - smooth bristol. I love really smooth paper. Whenever people talk about how their paper has a "nice tooth" it makes me cringe a little. Why do I want my paper to bite me? Anyway, I got this paper at Michael's:
And it's a quarter of an inch short! See that red line that's just above the paper? The paper should be all the way up to that line. Now, I know a quarter of an inch isn't a BIG deal, but still. I emailed someone at Strathmore (two people, actually) and have gotten NO response which I just think is RUDE. Of course, it's not going to stop me from buying this deliciously thick, smooth, wonderful paper. But still.