Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Trimming Your Own ACEO/ATC Paper

Quality paper is an important key to painting in watercolor. Trim your favorite watercolor paper down to ACEO/ATC size. A 22x30 inch sheet of watercolor paper can be trimmed into 72 cards with only about an inch of scrap along one edge. A quarter sheet of watercolor paper will yield 18 cards. I love painting on Saunders Waterford 140 lb. 100% cotton rag acid free watercolor paper. If trimmed wisely, you can even trim off all or at least most of the watermarks.

Measure your watercolor paper. Because of the paper making process, not all sheets are exactly 22x30 inches. Most of the time, they're slightly larger. The brand of paper I use the 30 inch length has pretty much always been 30 inches and the 22 inch length has been slightly longer.

You will need to use a ruler, a pencil for making tiny measured tick marks, an exacto knife for slicing the paper and a cutting mat to cut on. Or you can use a mat cutter for trimming down the paper. Use the straight edge cutter blade. Either method, I suggest cutting with the backside of the paper up. This way if you make any marks, finger prints or scuffs with the ruler, they'll be on the back of your paper.

For Trimming a Full 22 x 30 inch Sheet of Watercolor paper:

The 30 inch length can be trimmed down to create 12 - 2 1/2 inch strips.

The 22 inch length can be trimmed down to create 6 - 3 1/2 inch cards,

with approximately one inch of scrap leftover.

For Trimming a Quarter 11x15 inch Sheet of Watercolor Paper:

The 15 inch length can be trimmed down to create 6 - 2 1/2 inch strips.

The 11 inch length can be trimmed down to create 3 - 3 1/2 inch cards,

with approximately one inch of scrap leftover.

Save the scraps for test strips!

One full sheet of watercolor paper yields 72 cards at 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches.

One quarter sheet of watercolor paper yields 18 cards at 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches.