Working on Blue Textured Paper

Above is a closeup image of what's on my drawing table right now - a 16x12 colored pencil drawing on blue tinted paper. This is my first time working on this type of paper, a fairly textured blue tinted Canson pastel paper. I chose it for two reasons: because the subject is standing in front of a similarly shaded blue wall, and because I wanted to experiment with the paper texture to create the look of different textures in my drawing.

I found myself fighting the texture to create a smooth look for the skin on the face and hands, but it was very helpful in rendering the thermal shirt. I tend to spend the most time on faces and hands anyway, so this wasn't a big deal. To achieve a smooth look, I worked in several layers keeping the pencils very sharp at all times. I used fewer layers of color for the shirt, and worked more quickly so that the pencil didn't cover all of the depressions in the paper, resulting in a textured look.