Painting papers
Drawing paper and card are the best for the 1st attempts at rich pastel drawing. The main thing is they have a roughened surface, instead of a smooth surface that won't hold the pigment dust of the pastels. You may even use inexpensive ingrain or wrapping paper. The grit of watercolor or heavy paper holds pastel strokes well and are fantastic for making photos with one or two layers of paint. The watercolor paper may also be coloured with watercolors before painting with pastels.
Each ask why most of teachers use paper mache in classrooms? From start point to end point, it's an extremely cheap and simple medium. There about isn't a bad way to color it. As with many things, there are guidelines to make the method less complicated.