Walk into any art shop and ask for watercolour paper, and you will be asked almost immediately: cold press or hot press? If nobody has explained the difference, it is an unexpectedly tricky question. The terms refer to the manufacturing process — specifically whether the paper is pressed through cold felt-covered rollers (which leaves a textured surface) or hot metal rollers (which smooths it almost flat) — but what matters to a painter is how each surface behaves. Cold press absorbs water readily, softens brushwork, and creates the natural granulation most people associate with watercolour. Hot press is smooth, vivid, and precise — better for detail and illustration, but less forgiving of imperfect technique. In this guide we explain both surfaces in detail, plus rough press, the overlooked third option for expressive textured work. We also cover cotton vs wood pulp, paper weights, whether you need to stretch paper, and how the papers we stock at Craft and Canvas — Fabriano Classico 5, Saunders Waterford, and Bockingford — compare to each other. Read on, then find the full range in store or at craftandcanvas.co.uk.

Acrylic paint is one of the best mediums a beginner can start with. It is water-based and easy to clean up, dries quickly so you can layer without long waits, works on canvas, paper, wood, fabric, and card, and forgives mistakes in a way that oils and watercolour simply do not. What it does require, though, is a basic understanding of how the medium behaves — because beginners who dive in without that knowledge often hit the same walls: paint drying too fast to blend, colours going muddy, or results that look flat and lifeless.

This guide covers five core acrylic techniques that will immediately improve your painting: layering (the foundation of almost everything), dry brushing for texture and depth, wet-on-wet blending, impasto for expressive thick paint, and glazing — the most powerful and most overlooked technique in the acrylic painter's toolkit. We have also included a full FAQ covering the questions beginners ask most, from paint consistency and drying times to surface preparation and brush care. Read on, then come and find the full range of acrylic paints and mediums in store or at craftandcanvas.co.uk.

Watercolour is one of the most rewarding painting mediums you can learn — and also one of the most confusing to shop for. Walk into an art shop (or...