The professional watercolor paper is definitely a better quality paper. You can tell by the way the paints soften down into the paper and the result of the flowers is much more beautiful. I definitely prefer the look it gives. But these tests really don’t tell you which one performs better. You need to do a more advanced painting and test it when you glaze and layer your paint. It needs to be able to hold up to several layers of paint. For example, I was recently using some fabriano 25% cotton student grade paper. I thought it would be fine so I drew and painted a deer in the woods in a winter scene. When I tried to put a second layer on the deer after it had dried, the first coat of paint lifted up. I almost ruined the painting but was able to fix it so that no one will even notice. I definitely will never use anything except professional grade paper for any of my serious art works. Professional paper is always better if you are going to do any kind of painting besides just one layer beginners painting. This was a fun and interesting video to watch! Thank you!
I have used both of these papers over the past 18 months. I agree that the Academy is great value for money. However, the Artist's grade is a better quality - there are a few areas on some sheets of the Academy where there seems to be a problem with the sizing. Either it is unevenly distributed or something - so the paint doesn't get absorbed the same way as on the rest of the sheet. Not a HUGE problem - it's still an excellent paper. I also quite like the rougher texture on the Artist's quality. Good video - thanks for doing it.
I purchased the artist grade awhile back, I hated it SOOOO much. I always wondered what the difference was between these two papers so thanks for the review!
I haven't been doing watercolor very long. I tried both papers and I prefer the Acadamy over the Artist because it seemed smoother. The Artist felt grittier. I'm still learning. I'm buying lots of paper. I'm just loving watercolor.❤
Good comparison. The Artist has bolder color even though you use more water. The pigment shine & color move a bit faster, imo. Aside from that … similar in quality.
The academy paper is excellent to use and you can get academy blocks in fine, medium and rough textures, i have all 3 in the sizes you have here. Thank you for the review - much appreciated!
Thank you for the comparison! I tried the paper sample from artist baohong paper and I really didn't like the texture. I didn't realize the texture could be so noticeable from the two papers. I already made an order for baohong academy blocks 😊
I love these reviews, and yes Legion is great. I also love Meeden. Little less on Fabriano and New York Central, but good ones. The real test, though, is how the paper holds up after 10 layers and some hard reduction of dry paint. Try that next review. Will take some pausing of the video, though.
Same here. And at Christmas, I was folding watercolor paper to send cards and the Artist quality Baohong cracked on the fold, it was thicker and more brittle. The Academy did great. I also didn't like how much texture the Artist one had, though I'm sure that's just a personal preference.
😳 14 dollars on Amazon?! I just bought that same block (Academy, same size) for $4 on Shein. 🙏🥰 Thank you for this comparison vid! I've wondered what the artist grade paper was like.
Hullo, I purchased both "brands" or lines of papers from Baohong in Hot Press and there was no difference that I could see in them. Now I believe that the "artist" grade has more or better sizing, perhaps it is added internal sizing? The paint did move much more on the Artist grade over the Academy line of paper. I did similar tests on the hot press paper lines.
Me too! The profesional hot press was weird to me. Gets super patchy quickly and the layers dont look smooth. Even if I was gentle on the layers it gets muddy
You mentioned hobby lobby brushes. Have you tried their brand of watercolor paper? It’s NOT 100% cotton but tried it and it’s pretty good. My daughter and granddaughter swear by it. Wonder how it would compare in your test of 21 brands? Thanks for this comparison here.
Interesting! Just a head’s up…in your title baohong is misspelled! ( When I first typed the word, autocorrect changed my spelling to something different altogether!😅)
26:56 The paper on the left shows far more detail to the clouds, esp at the bottom of the paper. All up watching this I prefer the left side paper. As a painter of water colour for 30years, I would Only use the Academy 100%.
@@opalmint- could you share how we could get some? Is the paint artist on Etsy? I’m also interested in where to get the brushes you showed us. Thank you so much❤ Just subscribed!
Cuantas capas admite cada uno? Es importante para ver la diferencia en una pintura completa. El ciel tiene mas frofundidad en artista. Academy es mas plano. Yo prefiero Artista.
I prefer Academy, I like the texture more. The Baohong isn't worth the extra money to me. The colors did look a bit more pigmented on the Baohong. Both are good papers though!
They are both Baohong paper. One is student grade and the more expensive one is artist grade. I use both all the time. The artist grade can take more layers of paint, but academy is excellent too.
The professional watercolor paper is definitely a better quality paper. You can tell by the way the paints soften down into the paper and the result of the flowers is much more beautiful. I definitely prefer the look it gives. But these tests really don’t tell you which one performs better. You need to do a more advanced painting and test it when you glaze and layer your paint. It needs to be able to hold up to several layers of paint. For example, I was recently using some fabriano 25% cotton student grade paper. I thought it would be fine so I drew and painted a deer in the woods in a winter scene. When I tried to put a second layer on the deer after it had dried, the first coat of paint lifted up. I almost ruined the painting but was able to fix it so that no one will even notice. I definitely will never use anything except professional grade paper for any of my serious art works. Professional paper is always better if you are going to do any kind of painting besides just one layer beginners painting.
This was a fun and interesting video to watch! Thank you!
I have used both of these papers over the past 18 months. I agree that the Academy is great value for money. However, the Artist's grade is a better quality - there are a few areas on some sheets of the Academy where there seems to be a problem with the sizing. Either it is unevenly distributed or something - so the paint doesn't get absorbed the same way as on the rest of the sheet. Not a HUGE problem - it's still an excellent paper. I also quite like the rougher texture on the Artist's quality. Good video - thanks for doing it.
I purchased the artist grade awhile back, I hated it SOOOO much. I always wondered what the difference was between these two papers so thanks for the review!
I haven't been doing watercolor very long. I tried both papers and I prefer the Acadamy over the Artist because it seemed smoother. The Artist felt grittier. I'm still learning. I'm buying lots of paper. I'm just loving watercolor.❤
Good comparison. The Artist has bolder color even though you use more water. The pigment shine & color move a bit faster, imo. Aside from that … similar in quality.
FWIW - FYI - The Artist grade is now also being marketed under the name of "Master's Choice".
The academy paper is excellent to use and you can get academy blocks in fine, medium and rough textures, i have all 3 in the sizes you have here. Thank you for the review - much appreciated!
Thank you for the comparison! I tried the paper sample from artist baohong paper and I really didn't like the texture. I didn't realize the texture could be so noticeable from the two papers. I already made an order for baohong academy blocks 😊
I love these reviews, and yes Legion is great. I also love Meeden. Little less on Fabriano and New York Central, but good ones. The real test, though, is how the paper holds up after 10 layers and some hard reduction of dry paint. Try that next review. Will take some pausing of the video, though.
I actually prefer the academy over the artist but they are both really great paper
I'm glad I'm not the only one. 😊
I to preferred the Academy
Same here. And at Christmas, I was folding watercolor paper to send cards and the Artist quality Baohong cracked on the fold, it was thicker and more brittle. The Academy did great. I also didn't like how much texture the Artist one had, though I'm sure that's just a personal preference.
La diferencia se nota cuando haces una pintura. Artista admite más capas
FWIW - FYI - This paper is also now being marketed under the name of Meeden.
😳 14 dollars on Amazon?! I just bought that same block (Academy, same size) for $4 on Shein.
🙏🥰 Thank you for this comparison vid! I've wondered what the artist grade paper was like.
not that amazon is that much more ethical but Shein is notoriously bad.
Haha didn’t want to pronounce it wrong but ended up spelling it wrong. Anyhow, great content, well explained.
Lol, yep! 🤪
Hullo, I purchased both "brands" or lines of papers from Baohong in Hot Press and there was no difference that I could see in them. Now I believe that the "artist" grade has more or better sizing, perhaps it is added internal sizing? The paint did move much more on the Artist grade over the Academy line of paper. I did similar tests on the hot press paper lines.
Yes. I have also found this.
I have both but truly prefer the Academy. Thank you for the review.
Me too! The profesional hot press was weird to me. Gets super patchy quickly and the layers dont look smooth. Even if I was gentle on the layers it gets muddy
@C4rl4glz Yes!! Happened the same for me too. The Academy Hot pressed is better. I actually stocked up on the Academy 😅
Beautiful awesome work💟💖💟💝💛💗💝💛💖💛❤💞💖👏💟👏💕💛❤💞❤💞❤♥💗💖💟❤💞💗💟❤💟💕💞
This was super helpful!! Thank you!
You mentioned hobby lobby brushes. Have you tried their brand of watercolor paper? It’s NOT 100% cotton but tried it and it’s pretty good. My daughter and granddaughter swear by it. Wonder how it would compare in your test of 21 brands? Thanks for this comparison here.
@@suewegert2323 I actually haven't. Maybe I should do a non cotton paper video.
Interesting! Just a head’s up…in your title baohong is misspelled! ( When I first typed the word, autocorrect changed my spelling to something different altogether!😅)
Oh no!!! Thank you!!
which brand is that first watercolor set u used? wwhered u get it from
Thank you I have a new block of academy to try. Would you mind sharing what paints you used in the demo? Love both palletes
The Ocean Paper Bamboo palette!! It's definitely a favorite!
@@opalmint- ❤where can we purchase it please?
Thank you!
26:56 The paper on the left shows far more detail to the clouds, esp at the bottom of the paper. All up watching this I prefer the left side paper. As a painter of water colour for 30years, I would Only use the Academy 100%.
Absolutely wonderful ! Thank you 🍃
Hi. Could you please tell me what paints those were in the wooden box? They look very interesting. Thank you!
Ocean paper paints!! They are handmade from Hawaii!! I love them
@@opalmint- could you share how we could get some? Is the paint artist on Etsy?
I’m also interested in where to get the brushes you showed us.
Thank you so much❤
Just subscribed!
This was great. Thank you!
Academy one is cold pressed right ? Actually I was thinking to buy academy for portrait watercolor. What would you suggest?
Yes it is cold pressed. My preference would definitely be the academy!
@@opalmint thanks 🍀
They are both cold pressed, both 100% cotton, both 140lb/300gsm.
0:52 I Don't want to say wrong... but typing wrong is fine...
It's *BAO*HONG not BOAHONG...😅
Cuantas capas admite cada uno? Es importante para ver la diferencia en una pintura completa. El ciel tiene mas frofundidad en artista. Academy es mas plano. Yo prefiero Artista.
I prefer Academy, I like the texture more. The Baohong isn't worth the extra money to me. The colors did look a bit more pigmented on the Baohong. Both are good papers though!
I agree!!
They are both Baohong paper. One is student grade and the more expensive one is artist grade. I use both all the time. The artist grade can take more layers of paint, but academy is excellent too.
The Baohong artist grade cold press is way too textured, I hate it!
0:52 I Don't want to say wrong... but typing wrong is fine...
It's *BAO*HONG not BOAHONG...😅