Hi everyone, I have a question that I am interested in knowing. When I draw, I draw on paper and I noticed some people use Bristol Board - to be 100% honest, I dont even know what bristol board is and I have never used it. Can someone explain to me the difference and if one is better than the other?

Never used it but here is what wiki has to say..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_board

I noticed that a member of our community - BRB - uses Bristol board, and his drawings are so crisp and fresh. My question is which is the best type of board to use (vellum or smooth) and what exactly is the difference between the two

I always use Bristol paper for portraits - Bristol smooth and am now using the 500 series plate finish (hot press). There is also Bristol Vellum which has a slightly textured surface.

What I consider 'board' is Illustration board which is about 1/4 inch thick and very sturdy, not foldable or bendable. Bristol 'board' is commonly sold in variety stores and used for those endless school projects. It is smooth sheets of cardlike paper. I haven't used that type for drawing before.

Bristol paper comes in a variety of types which indicate the finish of the surface. The 300 series is the most common for smooth, the high numbers mean a slicker surface and are known as 'plate'. These are used for detailed drawings using graphite or ink mostly.

As for which is better? The jury's out on that, as its down to individual preference and experience. The very smooth bristol papers with plate finish are harder to achieve deep darks on, but beautiful for fine detail and delicate work. For example, I will be starting a portrait on Bristol smooth 500 of my grand daughter soon. I can get that soft skin and delicate features more effectively on a very smooth surface.

Experiment and see how a variety of supports work for you. Don't get a whole pad of paper, buy a sheet at a time and play with it. Most of all, have fun!

I noticed the hot pressed type but had no idea what the actual surfaces were like. Thanks for taking the time to explain. I shall start experimenting with them

Not sure if this will get noticed in this thread.. but another paper question!
I went to the "Art Store" not the arts and craft store, and when asked if I needed help, I told the guy I was looking for some high end heavy weight paper to try out with charcoal. He showed me some different samples on his display board and I told him I was using vine and willow charcoal doing b&w photo portraits. So please give me 2 sheets of what you feel would work best for holding medium and achiving the darkest darks.
upon returning home, I Googled what he had sold me and it is printmaker paper. No were does it say anything about dry mediums.. Arches Cover White AF 250g paper. Shall I give it a go or return it? I don't want to get 3 hours into something and find that I have wasted my time.
Thanks!
Doug

Thank you so much for that response, it has helped me a lot.

Have fun experimenting Lance. It really is the only way to find out what you like the most.

Doug, I haven't used Arches Cover White AF 250g paper personally, but I imagine it would work well for charcoal. Most printing papers have a fair bit of 'tooth' so will hold the pigment well. Arches has a fairly rough surface from what I can see, so would take the charcoal likely similar to Mi-Tientes papers.

I use Stonehenge a lot and find that it has a velvety surface that works well with graphite or charcoal. It is also classed as a printer's paper but is lovely for drawing.

If the Arches isn't too expensive, I'd say go have some fun with it!

Glad to help Jimmer.

Thanks Jeanette! I am not worried about the cost $5.25 a sheet, I can get at least 2 portraits out of a sheet. I just don't want to start something and have unnessessary problems. I actually as looking for a paper with a velour or velvet finish but they didn't have anything like that.
I have just about decided on the reference photo so will know soon enough it it will work or not. Now I think about it, the tooth may be to course for a young female face.. maybe I should do Boris Karloff rather than audrey hepburn

Bristol board is a heavier weight paper, and relatively expensive. If you mean to do pencil artwork and just pencil artwork, it's really not necessary - but it does have a superior permanence and presentability. If you are hard on your pencil drawings, do much erasing and aggressive smudging - bristol can take the punishment and hold up very well.

If your pencil drawings are meant to be the basis of a finished drawing in ink - this is where bristol has real utility. It can hold a fair amount of ink without warping, ink does not 'bleed' - and the paper is thick and tough enough to stand up to the abuse a dip pen can inflict on a paper surface.

The 'vellum' has a tooth to it, which is better for finished pencil drawing as it aids in using the graphite for purposes of blending and shading.

The 'smooth' has no tooth, which makes it better for ink techniques - no texture to interfere with the pulling of a smooth ink line.

Hope that helped.

I HAVE JUST BEGUN TO USE STRATHMORE BRISTOL BOARD. IT IS A SMOOTH SURFACED PAPER AND TAKES GRAPHITE VERY WELL. I US DERWENT PENCILS AND THEY HAV A CREAMY TEXTURE ON THE BOARD. THIS PLATFORM IS EXCELLENT FOR BLENDING WITH STUMPS OR WITH A CHAMOIS. I RECOMMEND ITS USE. I USE THE STRATHMORE VELLUM BRISTOL BOARD FROM MR. ART SUPPLIER. IT
COMES IN SMALL 8X10 TO LARGE 18 X24 BLOCKS, ABOUT 10 SHEETS PER BLOCK. HOWEVER, I DO RECOMMEND USING A HIGH GRADE PENCIL, EITHER GRAPHITE OR COLOR.

Doug, yes, you'd be better off with a smoother paper for a female portrait. I haven't used velour paper, as I've never seen it available where I am, but do have some Colorfix which is lovely for pastels and coloured pencils too.

The only way you'll find out what its like is to try it!

Well I am into it for a few hours now, I must say this paper holds the medium real well! Darks are black as black can be, however, you give up the ability to erase back to white.. .. so far so good, no major mistakes as of yet..