Paper isn’t it all the same
Paper there are so many how do I chose? We pick it by the material it’s made of, the weight and the drawing surface. How it reacts to the medium is the key.
The drawing surface varies from ultra-smooth to very coarse. The weight is determined by what the paper is used for. Different mediums use a different weight. The materials are wood cellulose, cotton cellulose or a combination of both. Handmade paper has a rough fragile surface, cold pressed is softer with a coarse surface it cannot take a lot of abuse.
The tooth describes the surface depth of the fibers it determines how much of the medium stays in the texture. The finer the tooth the tighter the texture and the smoother the surface.
How to choose
So a cold press options work well with charcoal, soft pencils like HB, B to 8B can be a good choices working on this surfaces. The ultra-smooth surfaces of the hot press paper has no texture and therefor will take more abuse. It stand up to a lot of erasing.
Sketch or news print is the thinnest, lightest paper it isn’t meant be used for a finished drawings. Hot press water color pa or velum acid free is a heavier weight paper with smoother surface and more suited for finished works of art.
The surface or the weight of these paper do not mean that they are a better, because you pick them on the intended purpose.
I love to draw on smooth surfaces 100 lb. Bristol acid free. Acid free means that nothing acidic (and nothing that can become acidic) was introduced to the paper at any point in the paper-making process.
My favorite as you can see on this drawing because it works the best with my strokes. When I want to change an areas my eraser does no damage to the surface. I think as you master the medium you will see that you may prefer to work on different surfaces. Paper without a doubt is the most common and popular surface for artists to work on. You can draw or paint on just about anything so experiment and have fun. The best part about using it is that we can create beautiful works of art on or with it.