Hello,

I'm interested to get a new sketchbook. . . right now I am using real cheap one. I've seen some cool bound ones like Moleskin and Fabriano online. Does anyone use those or some similiar ones? How do you like them? They seem very elegant to me, but don't know if the paper is good as I'm just new.

Thanks so much!

Sketchbooks have the type of paper that is/feels good to sketch on, so there arn't that expensive.

If you look for the kind of paper to draw on, then those might cost a little more.


I use A5 sketchpad. There cheap and there good.

Hi Rainy,

It depends on what medium you want to use in your sketchbook. I have a Winsor & Newton (approx 4" x 6")
sketchbook that I am very happy with & would buy again. I have used pencil, ink, watercolour (mind you not a really wet wash) and graphitint pencils with a water wash on them, all without any problems. Here are some pics so you can see the book & some results for yourself:

this is the sketchbook:
[attachmentid=9167]

This is a watercolour:
[attachmentid=9168]

These are sketch studies (with a light wash to make it more interesting):
[attachmentid=9169]

This is the graphitint pencils washed over with a waterbrush:
[attachmentid=9170]

I have another bound sketch book that does not perform well with anything other than pencil and a careful use of ink (it shows through the page!). Don't use it so often.
I haven't tried the Moleskine but I understand only the one designed for watercolour takes that medium well. Others may have more to say as my comment is based on the experience of other people.

I hope you find this useful.

There are as many sketchbooks as there are colours it seems.

Really it is a matter of experimenting until you find one that suits your needs. They vary in paper quality and medium support and come in small and large sizes,soft covered and hard cover. The list is endless.

Personally, I most often use Canson Universal Recycled sketchpad 9 x 12 or 11 x 14. These sketchbooks are used to develop ideas or master line drawings for larger drawings.

I use Moleskine sketchbooks too as they are portable and unobtrusive. Important when I'm sketching people in public! Moleskines have a creamy coloured paper and very smooth silky surfaces which are heavenly to draw on but don't take water based media well. I have used watercolour in them and it beads and makes an interesting effect. Moleskine makes a watercolour sketchbook as well which uses watercolour paper that is perforated so you can remove the pages. It works very well.

I also use hard cover sketchbooks as I like the solid feel of them and they are less prone to get scuffed up when travelling.

I've attached a sketch done in my Moleskine so you can see the paper colour.

[attachmentid=9181]

Thank you everyone! After seeing the creamy color and the photo. . . I do think I'm going to order a moleskin to see how I like it. I see they have a set of three for a good price online, too. BTW, I saw you post on the colored pencil class. . . . I am going to give that a whirl as soon as I get some colored pencils. I'm still not sure what brand to try and am doing research and comparing prices. I ordered Brenda's book from Amazon and it came yesterday just in time for me to take it with me on my mini-vacation to my daughter's for the next four days.

Thanks!!!!

My all time favorite is Strathmore recycled notebooks. They come in a variety of sizes and are a good quality for an inexpensive price. They have 100 pages and are only 9.99 for a 9x12 and 5.99 for a slightly smaller version. I went to the craftstore today and picked up two new ones ironically. I've been using these since I was like 5-years-old and they have never failed me.