How to choose the best drawing paper for pencil portraits

The best Bristol drawing paper I've found is Strathmore 500 Series Bristol Board... Strathmore 400 is also good...both of these in Smooth. Strathmore 300 is more of a "student grade" paper. The term "student grade" is not meant as an insult to students. It is a less expensive option that students often need, because they are using more supplies. However, I think that the difference in price between student grade and better quality papers is small in comparison with the difference in quality. You might become a famous artist one day! Why not give your artwork the benefit of better paper?

Once you have your paper, examine both sides of it and decide which side is the smoothest or most suitable for your drawing. Both sides are not the same - usually one side will be smoother than the other.

Whenever you see the term "vellum" it means it has a bit of texture to it. If you want to get ultra smooth blending, then you want to avoid vellum. Also avoid any Canson paper for smooth blended portraits and drawings...even if it says "smooth" it's texture is more like a vellum. It's a good paper for many things, but not so much for smooth blending.

Give Tombow Mono Homograph pencils a try. You will need to order them online...you will become a huge fan of them like I am. They have more graphite in them than most pencils, and they have a wonderful, buttery feel to them and blend fantastically!