Artist Portfolio Bag, Standard, Black Cloth, Half Sheet

An art portfolio bag exists to move large sheets without folding them — and a fold in a finished drawing or a sheet of watercolour paper is permanent. A flat carrier is the difference between work that arrives ready to show and work that arrives creased down the middle.

Size it to the largest sheet you actually carry, not the one you carry most often — a portfolio one size too small forces the corner fold you bought it to avoid. Load it flat rather than upright so the sheets rest on the long edge, and slip a sheet of board in with thin paper, since a soft bag protects against creasing but not against a knock. It doubles as flat storage at home, which is where most drawings are damaged rather than in transit.

A half-sheet bag in black cloth, for 50x70 cm work. Half sheet is the everyday student size — big enough for most studies and paintings, small enough to carry on public transport without turning sideways through every doorway.

• Half sheet — for 50x70 cm paper
• Black cloth
• Carries large sheets flat, without folding
• Load flat and slip a board in with thin paper