ForMatter/Materials/paper/Bristol Board
mat_bristol_board

Bristol Board

paper — high-grammage drawing board · bristol, smooth bristol, vellum bristol, illustration board
mediumlast updated 2026-04-27
metallic 0.00
hue shift +0°

Heavy white drawing paper. Holds ink without bleeding, takes a pencil line cleanly, doesn't curl when you erase hard. Comes in smooth (plate) and textured (vellum) finishes — comic and illustration work prefers smooth, dry-media work prefers vellum. Shows up as the substrate in any drawing class that's gone past the newsprint pad.

Multi-ply pressed paper, typically 150–270 gsm, internally sized to resist water-based media. pH-neutral grades (acid-free) are archival; lignin-bleached cellulose furnish is the commodity stock. Plate finish = calendered smooth, low tooth, ideal for technical pen and brush. Vellum finish = lightly textured, ideal for graphite, charcoal, colored pencil.

physical

  • grammage_gsm220
  • thickness_mm0.3
source: Strathmore / Canson product literature

Sustainability

  • recyclabilityhigh — standard paper stream, except where ink-saturated or sealed
  • biodegradableTrue
  • certificationsFSC, PEFC (regional)
visual
bright white, slightly cool; the texture difference between plate and vellum is unmistakable in raking light
tactile
stiff for paper, smooth or toothy depending on finish, snaps if folded too sharply
weight perception
light
acoustic
a clean sheet rustle; rigid enough that a single sheet held flat won't flop

PBR starter values

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere matte finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material.

# finish:      matte
albedo        #f4ecd8
metallic      0.00
roughness     0.75
ior           1.45
transmission  0.00
clearcoat     0.00
sheen         0.00
anisotropic   0.00
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#f4ecd8",
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.75,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.0,
  "anisotropic": 0.0
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Bristol Board · finish: matte
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_bristol_board")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.9047, 0.8388, 0.6867, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.750
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.000
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Bristol Board · finish: matte
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_bristol_board", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (244, 236, 216))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     0.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.750)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Bristol Board \u00b7 finish: matte",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.9047,
    "g": 0.8388,
    "b": 0.6867
  },
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.75,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.0,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_bristol_board",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.9047,
          0.8388,
          0.6867,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 0.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.75
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Bristol Board · finish: matte
def Material "mat_bristol_board" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_bristol_board/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.9047, 0.8388, 0.6867)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 0.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.750
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material
Substitutes
Kraft Paperboard

Citations