Board

Using board for portraits

Board is a term used in art for a drawing or painting substrate that is thicker than standard paper. It can be made of card or wood, or any other flat material that is rigid and will support the drawing or painting. Board can be the support on to which paper or canvas is glued to. This will help to strengthen the drawing or painting surface material and create a strong support. Canvas board is one such product that is readily available for artists.

Illustration or watercolour boards are also products widely available. These boards consist of the backing material that is made from pulped paper known as pulp board and can be up to a few millimetres thick. A good quality drawing or watercolour paper is then glued to the surface of the pulp board.

Bristol board consists of a very smooth paper mounted on to a backing board. The paper surface has a coating of china clay and is good for ink work and even some scraping. Very fine detail drawings can be achieved on Bristol board.

Some watercolour and drawing papers are thick enough to be classed as thin boards but do not have a backing board. These papers are still flexible but stiffer than standard papers.
Handmade papers tend to be thicker than the machine made papers and some have very interesting surface textures.

There are many advantages to using board instead of thin paper or canvas on its own. There is less danger of damage to the drawing or painting, such as creasing and the surface can withstand more rigorous use because of the non-flexibility of the board.