I know JD (JDHillberry.com) tends to look at his intended drawing, decides which is the predominant texture, and chooses his paper accordingly. He also deliberately flattens the tooth in areas where the surface texture might be a distraction. He does that by lightly rubbing it with the rounded top of a pencil.Boblines wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:44 am I prefer the texture of cartridge paper notwithstanding its deficiencies and am uncomfortable with ultra smooth surfaces. Have you had experience with Arches hot pressed papers (I haven't) and if so would you recommend them? Hilberry in the USA speaks of them on his YouTube channel.
I've always taken the other path. I prefer a paper as devoid of texture as possible, so any textures you see are those I created. That I found my "ideal" paper early is both a blessing and a curse. I was mightily pleased to find it, but now I know very little about other papers.
I did once work on Strathmore 300 smooth. It felt smooth. It looked smooth. But it still left my shiny leaves looking like velvet, due to its visible tooth.
Many years ago I used to draw on cartridge paper, and all of my time at art college. That's partly because I'm old enough that there weren't suitable alternatives available - at least, not to impoverished students
I can only advise you to keep trying a variety of different papers until you find one (or more) that suit the way you like to draw.