#1 Smooth Papers:
Often called hot-pressed paper. Great for ink and graphite drawings. Provides good surface for contrasts, light and shade effects. Great paper for drawing portraits.

#2 Fine Grain Paper:
Good paper for graphite, wax and colored pencils. Works well for smoothness of shading and tonal blending.

#3 Medium Grain Paper:
Suitable for pastels, colored chalk, crayon and washes such as watercolor and inks.

#4 Course Grain Paper:
Is pretty much used for watercolor work.

#5 Ingres Paper:
Ingres paper has a ribbed or woven laid finish and has been around for over a 100 years. A medium weight paper, with some tooth, excellent for charcoal, conte and pastels, good for ink and graphite. The texture can create an interesting, consistent effect to your graphite drawings. Heavier weight Ingres was one of Van Gogh's favourite papers for watercolors. Available in many colors and weights, Ingres is made by many manufacturers.

#6 Canson Colored Papers (Mi-Tientes):
A brand-name paper. Mi-Tientes has a 65% rag content, a 98 lb. weight and is gelatine-sized, making it very strong and allowing repeated reworking in a variety of media. The Mi-Teintes sheet has two distinct surface textures, one side smooth and the other grainy, providing a good texture for charcoal, pastels, colored pencil and conte'. Because the color goes all the way through the paper, you don't have to worry about rubbing it off. The color is also lightfast, to ensure the test of time.

#7 Bristol Board:
Multipurpose paper with medium or plate finish.
Plate is great for ink work and will also take wash work. Ideal for fine detail work.
Vellum-finish (medium or kid finish bristol) is smooth enough for ink work but has enough tooth to accept graphite, colored pencil, pastel and charcoal.

#8 Illustration Boards:
Come in both archival and non-archival and also available in smooth (hot-pressed plate) and medium (cold-pressed). Strathmore 500 is more durable than most illustration boards and holds up to excessive erasing.

Examples of Illustration Boards:
Bainbridge: high quality paper, excellent for illustrations
Crescent: available in wide range of styles & surfaces
Strathmore 500 series Bristol: (created in 1893)100% rag paper. Available in lightweight (Series 500 Charcoal paper) and heavyweight; and 'regular' (cold press) and 'plate' (hot-press) finishes.

#9 Arches 140lb hot press paper.
A brand name paper. An all round good paper that has a smooth and rough side. Using the smooth side will give you the ability to create fine detail work as well as holding a moderate amount of graphite to render some darker values. The coarser side is suitable for watercolour, pastel, charcoal and conte. Will accept a wash without excessive buckling.

#10 Strathmore 400 series:
This is a brand name paper. On this non-rag paper, you can use crayon, pencil, pen & ink, charcoal, washes, paints & markers. Its non-reflective & uniform surface is particularly suited to line drawings & technical artwork. This paper has some random tooth to it but will not last the test of time, although it has been recently modified to "acid-free". It is a good paper to do your sketching on.

#11 - Yupo:
This is a brand name paper, not really suitable for 'drawing' per se, but you might hear about it and be curious, as I was. Machine-made in the USA of 100% polypropylene, neutral pH, no deckles, smooth surface. Yupo is waterproof, stain resistant and incredibly strong. Ideal for offset printing, silkscreen and debossing. Watercolor professionals have also found it to be very receptive for various aqueous techniques.

#12 - Stonehenge:
A brand name paper, this machine made, 100% rag, neutral pH paper is ideal for etching, silkscreen and drawing, with graphite to colored pencil. Has a fine, even grain and two deckle edges. Comparable to 140 lb paper.

#13 Common brands of Drawing paper:
Strathmore, Arches, Canson & Montgolfier, Daler, Fabriano, Grumbacher, Guarro, Schoeller Parole and Whatman.