Alternative to newsprint

[Whirly]

The staple for short pose life drawing seems to be conte on newsprint. It tends to be what the artists I like use.

I seem to be having trouble finding affordable smooth newsprint paper here in the UK (its supposed to be the cheapest paper!)

Whats a good alternative that works well with conte pencil or charcoal pencil for quick sketch?

[KeeTwee]

This seems pretty affordable Hope it helps.

http://www.bagnboxman.co.uk/acatalog...r-offcuts.html

[ikken]

if you need cheaper paper, a3/a2 pads of craft paper are good too.
it's that brown wrapping paper sliced and binded nicely for artists.
you can use it with both dark charcoal and light conte/chalk, so it's a win/win

[Whirly]

thanks for the recommendations guys.

I have just worked out the difference in drawing pads from US and UK

For a drawing of pad 500 sheets of smooth from the USA it will cost £8
In the UK it costs £115 !!!!

[bcarman]

thanks for the recommendations guys.

I have just worked out the difference in drawing pads from US and UK

For a drawing of pad 500 sheets of smooth from the USA it will cost £8
In the UK it costs £115 !!!!

That's incredible! Do your butchers use paper to wrap? I know we buy huge rolls of it. Check to see if any art schools are throwing away or selling used supplies. You wouldn't believe how many 1/4 or half used pads are around.

[eezacque]

For a drawing of pad 500 sheets of smooth from the USA it will cost £8
In the UK it costs £115 !!!!

Do you have a reference for this?

[Farvus]

The cheapest large format paper I found was just plain printer paper roll. It comes in various different sizes. The only disadvantage is that you need to cut it into sheets of paper.

[cro-magnon]

http://www.artesaver.co.uk/acatalog/...Newsprint.html

£22 for 500 sheets of newsprint. this is seawhites' online shop, so you can probably pick up the same pack if by chance there's an actual seawhites outlet near you.

[Whirly]

http://www.artesaver.co.uk/acatalog/...Newsprint.html

£22 for 500 sheets of newsprint. this is seawhites' online shop, so you can probably pick up the same pack if by chance there's an actual seawhites outlet near you.

Awesome .. thanks for the link Cro-magnon! .. wonder if its smooth newsprint though since rough is easy to get anyway and its the smooth stuff that's needed.

eezacque@xs4all.nl: Sure thing here is my reference.

UK 50 Sheets
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Strathmore-S...2441101&sr=8-1

US 500 Sheets
http://www.dickblick.com/products/bl...ose-newsprint/


By the way I bit the bullet and just bought from Dick Blick, waiting on hearing what the shipping costs are. Wanted to make sure it was the right stuff.

bcarman: Half used rolls threw up images of paper being partly soaked in meat juices hehe.

Farvus: Thanks for the tip mate. Seems to be our alternate solution over here. No idea why newsprint is unpopular here.

[eezacque]

Awesome .. thanks for the link Cro-magnon! .. wonder if its smooth newsprint though since rough is easy to get anyway and its the smooth stuff that's needed.

eezacque@xs4all.nl: Sure thing here is my reference.

UK 50 Sheets
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Strathmore-S...2441101&sr=8-1

That's funny! I was sure this was a typo, but checking with the supplier, the price seems to be correct. Strathmore 300 is listed as a heavier newsprint, which explains some of the difference, but not all. I am buying newsprint pads for $1.50 here, and I am totally clueless why I cannot find a decent supplier in the uk. Your best bet might be paxkaging industry, like http://www.onlinepackagingshop.co.uk...t-offcuts.html

[Whirly]

Shipping from Dick Blick 70 dollars so thats out the window. I just bought the amazon one for now since its a drawing pad. As a one off payment its not bad then I have something to compare to. I can get cheap pads here its just people seem to think conte goes really nicely on newsprint.

I might be fine with the cheap cartridge pads we have here for life drawing, but its nice to have something you guys use for comparison

[Candra H]

Thats interesting that you cant get hold of newsprint so easily here in the UK. When I was at college, we used it all the time and it seemed pretty plentiful. But that was about ten years ago so maybe things have changed.

After a quick bit of searching, you're right. It's not available on my usual online art store and I couldnt find much on google. Just this place in England that produces newsprint for newspaper companies -

http://aylesford-newsprint.co.uk/index.php

I put the link up because maybe they'd be willing to do a deal if you're really interested in getting hold of it in bulk.