The Holy Paper Grail

I've been QUESTING for paper. Paper that I could bind into journals and use for cartoons with my copic markers. Just last week, I decided I didn't like the pressure I was putting on myself to make a cartoon page every day. It was stressing me out. THEN I found the perfect paper. If I believed in signs, I'd take this as the universe telling me that quitting is a dumbass idea, but I don't. So there. It's called Rendr and I got mine at Blick's Art Supply. It came in pads and books, but the books didn't open wide enough for me. I'm a lefty, I ned that sucker to really lay flat. So I got a pad. And now I want to draw cartoons again. 

Here's the pad:

I used a REALLY dark copic on it, RV69. Scribbled, let it dry. Again. A third time.

It's like MAGIC!

New journal...

I LOST my awesome Fabriano journal. Lost it. How do I do these things? I'm a complete airhead. But since Tim has worked every single day for the past month and I don't have a car, I can't get to Blick's to get more amazing paper. So I used a coupon at Michael's (walked there, it was 38 degrees) and got some Arches paper.

Broke it in immediately because I've been jonesing for my journal! Just another girl...OK, this pic is cool because that magenta on the left side of her face is Shiva oil paint stick! It was mega fun. Kelly has a few (she has everything) and I played with them. Cool stuff, I gotta get some of my own. Oh, and I colored her face with a whole bunch of colored pencils Kelly has, too. I'm totally a creature of habits - Prismacolor all the way - but Kelly is awesome about trying different stuff. There were Polychromos which turn out to be water soluble even though they say "permanent" on them. I used another kind, too...I forget what they were. (Then why mention it, Goog? Do we need to know these things?) Yes, yes you do.

PS Arches paper cracks when you fold it.

PPS It's pronounced "arsh" but that's too close to "arse" and my BFF lives in London so I can't bring myself to say it like that...

Still drawing like Teesha

Maybe I shouldn't say that, she probably wouldn't appreciate me comparing my pages to hers! But at the same time, I'm mimicking her style so it doesn't seem right not to say that and pretend it's my own.

I know, I know - they're both pink AND the last one was pink, too. (The crazy bird thing.) The reason for that is because this is my Paper Research Project journal, all five paper types have to be treated the same. Even the same paint COLOR? I mean, Golden makes lots of pretty colors...

That is true, but if I used a different color, it would be harder to tell how the different papers take the paint. So five papers means five pink pages (magenta, actually). I really, really enjoy journaling like this. Now I'm trying to decide if I should do a WHOLE journal like this, or just a few pages in my everyday journal. I like a page being prepped and ready when I just want to blabber. (Like this morning.) But there are lots of times I want to draw. Have a different journal for drawing? Or combine? I think combine. Eventually I just want to have ONE journal that's for EVERYTHING - the cartoons, paint, drawing, all of it. Can I do that? Dunno. Maybe. We'll see.

Fabirano Paper play!

On the day of Blick Madness ( who could avoid the art store on a day with MADNESS in the title???) I got enough Fabriano paper to make two journals and one extra to play with! Here are my playtime results!

One side:

The other side:

Then I ripped it into strips, ripped them in half, half again, and made a little journal. Here's a couple of pages!

I totally want to do this again, but with more of a plan next time. The mess was pretty fun, but I like plans. Now that I have a messy little journal, I have no idea what to DO with it!!

Marker Paper

Seriously? Do you know how much I paid for this crappy paper?? At least eleven or twelve bucks! And it's in my cartoon journal, since I'm testing papers to try and find the one I love. This morning I tore a piece out of my journal because I used a crappy pen and then tried to go over it with a good pen and blah, blah, blah, so I tore out this piece and THEN I thought "Yay, I can play with my copics on it and see how AMAZING it is - since it's MARKER PAPER!!"

Yeah, not so much. I know the following pics are kind of crappy, I had to take them with my phone, too close for comfort so you could see the color comparisons. The copic marker color chart was given to me by a copic supplier, so it's not even like I printed it at home on crappy paper.

This is e000 - a light color, to be sure, but you can barely even see it on the paper at all. If you didn't KNOW it was colored, it just looks white.

This is e00, another light color, but look at the difference between the chart and the paper - ridiculous!

This is b24 for my son's pretty blue eyes. It's SO bad!! Really, really bad.

I just want to find an amazing copic marker paper that keeps my colors true, doesn't feather, blends easily, and doesn't seep through the back so I can use both sides. Too much to ask?

Fabriano Rosapina

I've been trying to find a paper for someone - someone else gave her a piece but purchased it years ago and has no idea what the actual paper is. She's pretty sure it's Fabriano, but not sure what kinds...so I've been hunting. When I found this Rosapina, I thought it felt a LOT like it. But then I tried to cut it with my razor cutter and it did THIS:

And THIS:

Still, my partner (Kelly!!) has a different kind of cutter and I was thinking if this paper was fabulous we could just try her cutter. And THEN...(dun dun DUN - hear the creepy music, please). Little bits of paper started tearing off when I was blending. It was like using construction paper meant for a Kindergartener.

(This is a little piece of paper on my white pencil!)

Rip here:and here:Another disappointing paper. Still, this is the point of the Paper Research Project. So far my letdowns have been: Stonehenge, Canford (no surprise there, just wanted to test it), and now Fabriano Rosapina. In the lead still: Fabriano Artistico. (Today was Blick MADNESS so I got seven sheets of it...)

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.