Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board

Comments about Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board:

I love this board, smooth paper on both sides, fantastic for nibs or even watercolor!

Comments about Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board:

Easy to cut down to smaller sizes and surface is perfect for pastels.

Comments about Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board:

I use it for different types of mediums

Comments about Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board:

I use this board for my collage work. It takes watercolor, ink, pencil and pastel well.
Holds up to many layers of paper being glued to it as well.
Very sturdy.

Comments about Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board:

Heavyweight and 20-ply

Comments about Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board:

I use this board for creating collages and it works great, it also takes wet media well and does't bow. The same with collage, most papers will start to curl when you use too much adhesive. Plus if you mess up one side the other side is always just as good.

Comments about Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board:

Used for gouache washes, lots of water which does warp the board somewhat over drying. The tooth is relatively fine, quite close to a hot pressed paper with very little grab for dry media. Overall a nice surface to work with and the 30x40 boards are a fantastic size.

Comments about Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board:

I haven't actually tried it yet but the delivery to NZ was fast and efficient which is important when you live so far away

Comments about Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board:

I was using the product as part of a college level illustration course that required me to paint with oils on the illustration board. The Strathmore 500 series is some of the best and the price that DickBlick offers truly made this purchase a "no-brainer".

Comments about Strathmore 500 Series Illustration Board:

Strathmore's 500 series is excellent. I love having a board that holds up to layers of water media. I always found paper annoying - you have to measure, cut, stretch, dry, tape, and then for me it would still always warp pretty intensely. Admittedly this board still warps, but if that were a deal breaker I would buy something thicker than the 10-ply, and probably use less intensive washes. Board is so much easier to get back into shape as well. I also love the lack of tooth that the board has. I like to layer colored pencil work and I love how smooth it goes on.

One of the only real issues I've had is a strange texture here and there where my paint and water get soaked up and you can see the canvas-like weave of the fibers. I can't alter it or cover it with water media. At this point though I am chocking it up to either poor storage or hard water. I've not experienced the issue again since recently switching to distilled water versus tap water. If anyone else has had this experience I'd like to hear from them.

Overall I find this to be a fantastic product and have been buying SPECIFICALLY this board by this supplier religiously for several years now.