The Best Papers for Photocollage: A Guide to Working with Translucent and Lightweight Papers by Claire Hankey

One of the questions I am asked most often, whether by students on my courses or by people simply curious about my process, is what papers I actually use in my photocollage and image transfer work. The honest answer is that paper choice is everything. The weight, the translucency, the way a paper takes ink or paint, the way it behaves when it is layered and built up, all of it shapes the final piece as much as the image itself.

Here is an honest look at the papers I return to again and again, and why.

Wet Strength Tissue Paper

This is one of my absolute favourites, and one I use constantly in my own studio practice. Wet strength tissue is exactly what it sounds like, a delicate, almost weightless tissue paper that holds together even when it becomes saturated with glue or medium. That strength when wet is what makes it so valuable for collage work. You can layer it, manipulate it, scrunch and smooth it, and it will not tear or disintegrate the way ordinary tissue paper does.

I source mine from Carnival Papers, and I am pleased to say that everyone who joins my online photographic collage course receives a discount code to use with them. It makes building up a proper stock of this paper much more affordable, and once you start working with it, you will want plenty on hand.

Japanese Papers

Japanese papers are some of the most beautiful materials available to a collage artist, but they need to be chosen carefully. My rule of thumb is simple: the thinner, the better. The most delicate Japanese papers allow light and image to pass through them in the most extraordinary way, creating a softness and translucency that is very difficult to achieve with any other material.

One thing worth knowing before you begin is that certain Japanese papers will allow ink or photographic toner to bleed through slightly when used in image transfer. This is not a flaw. In fact, it is often exactly what you want if you are after a ghost like, half remembered quality in the finished image, which is very much the kind of effect I am drawn to in my own work.

There are a great many varieties of Japanese paper available, and they do not all behave in the same way. In my online course, I guide students through the specific papers I have found work best for this kind of layered, photographic collage, along with exactly how to adhere them so that they sit smoothly without bubbling, tearing or losing their translucency.

Dressmaking Patterns

This might be the most unexpected paper on this list, but it has become central to my practice. Dressmaking pattern paper is thin, almost tissue like, and that thinness is precisely why it works so well for photocollage. In fact, weight is the real prerequisite for my particular technique. The paper needs to be light enough to take on the translucency and softness that the work depends on.

In theory, you could use almost any weight of paper for collage. But for the layered, veiled effect that I am always reaching for, lightweight paper is essential. Dressmaking patterns also bring something else to the work entirely: history. They carry old printed markings, numbers, fold lines and the faint trace of having once been useful for something else. That sense of a paper having already lived a life before it reaches my studio is something I find endlessly compelling.

Choosing the Right Paper for Your Work

If you are starting out with photocollage, my advice is to gather a small selection of papers across these categories and experiment freely. Notice how each one takes ink, how it behaves when wet, how much light passes through it, how it feels once it has dried into a finished piece. Paper is not just a support for the image. It becomes part of the image itself.

Learn More in My Online Courses

If you would like to go deeper into this process, I cover paper selection, adhesion techniques and the full photocollage and image transfer process in detail across my online courses.

Creating Veiled Images takes you through the complete process of using photography, collage and image transfer to build layered, atmospheric artwork. This includes detailed guidance on Japanese papers, how to adhere them correctly, and how to build the kind of translucent, ghost like surfaces I am known for.

Creative Image Transfer is a shorter course focused specifically on transferring photographic images onto wood, canvas and paper using InkAid products.

Both courses are entirely self paced, with lifetime access and downloadable lessons.

Explore the courses at clairehankeyartist.com