Recommend a sketchbook

February 5, 2018 5:42 AM

I am new to sketching and drawing. I need a sketchbook, and I although I'm willing to buy and try a bunch, I'd like to not be wasteful. Here's what I want: a hardcover book (not spiral bound) that will lay flat that I can draw (mostly ink and pencils) and use watercolors in. At least 90lb paper. Size can vary, but my ideal would be 8x8 inches. I'm in the US. Hit me with your recommendations!
posted by OrangeDisk to Media & Arts (10 answers total)

There's a Sketchbook Recommendations thread on the wetcanvas.com site. (Wetcanvas.com is a site for artists with forums for a variety of medums).

If you fill a page regularly - at least once a day - you'll go through your first sketchbook in a few weeks, so I wouldn't worry too much about finding the *perfect* book. In fact not getting the perfect book is better if it frees you up - the worst thing about having a great book is that you only want to put the best things into it - people get intimidated and freeze up. A merely adequate book will get you moving. If you buy a different book every time you run out of pages you'll quickly find out what gets the best results for you.

All of my favorite books for the kind of work you describe are spiral bound - I haven't had luck with other hardbound books laying flat. However moleskin has some non-spiral hard-bound books with appropriate weight - can't recall if they have the size you want but you can check. They do tend to be pricey and I just haven't enjoyed working with the moleskin hardbound books as much but ...

Part of your practice as an artist is figuring out what you like and what facilitates your work. I'm excited for you - good luck!
posted by bunderful at 6:03 AM on February 5, 2018

Just buy a cheap sketchbook in the right size. If you have a Flying Tiger near you, they are great for that. Cheap sketchbooks aren't perfect for water color, but they are OK, and you could have good watercolor paper on the side for when you have the time for sitting down and working with it.
I teach drawing and watercolor, and I really don't think you should spend too much on this until you have a specific intent. Some great artists are working with ballpoint pens on cheap paper and doing fine.
posted by mumimor at 6:54 AM on February 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

Not to abuse the edit window: I consistently advise students to use ink pens and cheap paper to avoid erasing and layering. Just go!
posted by mumimor at 6:57 AM on February 5, 2018

I have some of the same preferences as you, and I like these HandBook Paper Company watercolor journals, and they have a nearly 8x8 size. They're pricy, but I like them, and they have a useful pocket in the back. Hahnemuhle watercolor journals are harder to find, but also work well.

That being said, after years of preferring hardcover books, I am totally in love with these cheap Pentalic Nature Sketch journals, which break a lot of my aesthetic rules, but the paper is great not only for watercolor, but for pen and marker and colored pencil.
posted by heurtebise at 7:01 AM on February 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

Don't overthink it - aside from paper weight and smoothness, which you'll be able to assess just by feeling the pages, there really isn't much difference between cheap and expensive sketchbooks for basic pencil sketching. I filled up plenty of cheapo walmart sketchbooks and they work just as well as the fancy art store ones if you aren't planning on showcasing your masterpieces for decades.

I do highly recommend doing anything wet like watercolours and liquid ink in a separate watercolour-specific sketchbook (which you can find at any art store) or better, taped-down paper. If you do that in a regular sketchbook it'll warp and ruin the other pages. Watercolour paper isn't ideal for pencil drawings, and it's expensive enough that you won't want to sketch in it nearly as much as you should be doing. Sketching a bunch of different subjects frequently is so important, especially when you're just starting.

Also FWIW, I never bought anything except coiled sketchbooks (with hardcover front/back) because book-spine pages never lay flat, even if the cover does. You really don't want to have the previous page flapping around all the time. Consider thinking about why you don't want coils and whether you can approach the problem in a different way (e.g. if for protection, maybe a hard cover/case that encloses the whole notebook?).
posted by randomnity at 9:06 AM on February 5, 2018

By definition sketching does not produce a perfect product. Maybe keep a couple of cheap scraggy sketchbooks you won't mind defacing on hand as well, just for quick ideas. With both drawing and writing a really nice block of paper can have an inhibiting effect on some people.

those people are perfectionists and they are their own nemesis
posted by glasseyes at 11:55 AM on February 5, 2018 [2 favorites]

I came to recommend the Kunst & Papier binderboard 8"x8", but their website/company seems to be going through some kind of transition so I don't know whether you can order them at the moment. I got mine at a brick-and-mortar stationery shop in Colorado, though, so maybe you can find one at a local art supplies or stationery store.

It has a hard cover, lays flat, is 8x8...ticks all your boxes, except I can't recall whether it's 90lbs. (An Amazon listing for a similar sketchbook says 100g/60lb, but the K&P website mentions watercolor so maybe they have a product line for watercolor.)
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 12:42 PM on February 5, 2018

those people are perfectionists and they are their own nemesis

it me
I've bought way too many nice hardback sketchbooks over the years, and then been terrified to use them. Like you, I don't really care for spiral bindings. Leuchtturm has some nice options. But lately I've taken a liking to Muji sketchbooks and notebooks, because they're nice enough to satisfy my aesthetic side but not so expensive that I'm scared to use them (and thereby mess them up). Not sure those meet the 90lb paper qualifier tho.
posted by halation at 12:43 PM on February 5, 2018

I was gonna come here to offhandedly recommend the Handbooks. I don’t watercolor but I’ve liked them a lot for a purse sized book. They won’t lay completely flat but I find them to generally be very pleasing objects to draw in.
posted by egypturnash at 3:01 PM on February 5, 2018

I get the cheapest materials available and then work my way up as I progress and actually use them up. As a beginner, the goal is to simply become acquainted with the medium and to get into a rhythm of producing sketches.

The only requirement for a sketchbook for me is that it should be bound in such a way that it lies flat. Otherwise, get the cheapest thing possible until you fill a few sketchbooks.
posted by gemutlichkeit at 3:45 PM on February 5, 2018 [1 favorite]