There is a reason the old masters drew on warm, tinted paper. The Art Spectrum Toned Paper Pad A4 in Sand gives you a warm mid tone that does half the work: you add the darks, you add the lights, and the paper becomes every tone in between.

Forty sheets of 250gsm paper in A4 (210 x 297mm), made for pencil, charcoal, chalk and pastel. Sand flatters skin, wood, stone and anything with warmth in it.

Why Sand Works

Working on a mid tone changes how you think. On white paper you can only add darkness, so highlights must be saved. On Sand, highlights are something you put in with white chalk, which is faster, more intuitive and wonderfully dramatic. A few strokes of white on a cheekbone or a glint in an eye and the drawing jumps off the page.

The warm cast also unifies a drawing. Skin tones look alive rather than grey, and earth colours glow. Pair it with a few soft pastels in warm browns, ochres and white.

Why Portrait Artists Choose Sand

• Lights and darks together. White chalk and dark charcoal both read clearly.
• Warmth built in. Skin, fur and wood look natural straight away.
• Faster drawings. The paper supplies the mid tone, so you work in fewer steps.
• Made in Melbourne. An Australian made pad from Art Spectrum.

How to Draw on a Warm Mid Tone

Lightly map the shapes, then decide where the paper itself will be your mid tone. Add shadows next, keeping them simple. Save white for the very end and use it sparingly. Too much white flattens a drawing, while a little looks like light.

Charcoal and chalk can smudge, so work from top left to bottom right if you are right handed, and fix the drawing when it is finished.

Questions About the Art Spectrum A4 Sand Toned Pad