Sketchbooks

Every artist needs a place a cosy place to experiment with their new art supplies, explore new ideas, and practice with no expectations of perfection. Well, it’s no secret that sketchbooks play a considerable role in the development of your unique sketching style. That’s why having the best drawing sketchbook are a boon. However, for that to happen, it’s imperative to find one that you’ll love drawing on and one that works for your specific needs. To help you with your quest of finding the best artist sketchbook, in this guide, we will go through a few things you should consider before making the final choice. So, let’s get started!

Before getting into the types and technical details, let’s see what the purpose of the sketchbooks is. A sketchbook tells a story. The more drawing books you have, the better it is. In fact, it’s a hybrid of portfolio and scrapbook. You can fill in your ideas, annotations, variations, and sketches that demonstrate a range of your skills. Besides, it puts you one step ahead of your competition. Above all, it’s a super comfortable place to express yourself and develop your ideas without any barriers. However, one of the most exciting things about these drawing books is that they come in a variety of types. Let’s check out some of the coolest sketchbooks you can consider investing in, in the next section.

The five coolest sketchbooks to tweak your inner artist

Luckily, sketchbooks are available to you in a variety of shapes, designs, sizes, with different covers. What’s more, you can also find them with different numbers of pages. Apart from that, you’ll also find them with various paper quality. You usually differentiate them based on their weight and tooth. This allows you to use a wide variety of drawing techniques on them. This ranges from simple pencil drawings to watercolours and acrylic paints or pen and ink. Remember, certain paper quality works well for a specific painting or drawing technique. What’s more, you can also find the sketchbook papers in various tones like cream, pure white, and grey. We’ve compiled below a few such popular sketchpads that you can buy for yourself.

The best overall Moleskine art sketchbook

If you’re in search of sketchpads that make up for the best travel sketchbooks, then look no further than these models from Moleskine. They’re an ideal sketchpad for sketching on the move. They’re larger when compared to the other models and give you enough room to channel your ideas on. Even with their large size, they’re much convenient to carry around. What’s more, it comes with an elastic closure that helps you neatly fit them in your bags. Besides, they also come with rounded corners that ensure that it doesn’t bend when you store them. Apart from that, they come with thick, robust papers.

The Strathmore sketchbook for the professional artist

With spiral binding, smooth and creamy paper, and relatively few pages, the sketchbook from Strathmore is a delight to use. The papers in the sketchpads pay careful attention to the colour, absorbency, weight, and texture. In fact, for professional artists, this model is one of the best sketchpads around. They not only feature a fine-tooth that carries graphite well but also makes sure to carry both the paints and pastels well too. Moreover, you can find them in a wide variety of sizes from tiny pads to sizes way up to 18 X 24 inches. You can go for the larger sizes if you need more space to work on.

The XL Canson sketchbook for markers

This model is another excellent wet media sketchpad from Canson. The product comes with 100 pages of thin, slightly translucent paper that’s quite unusual. However, it still works well for both sketching and tracing. The papers in the books are transparent with little in the way of the tooth. Thus, you need not worry about your markers smudging or snagging while drawing. Besides, the ink will not bleed to the other side of the next page when you’re sketching. Translucent paper typically means that you can see your sketches on the reverse side. Therefore, you cannot sketch on the other side of the paper with these books. But, there are enough sheets in the book for this not to be an issue.

The Canson Artist series watercolour sketchbook

How about a perfect sketchbook for watercolour that will not buckle or ripple when you’re drawing on them? Well, that’s exactly what your product offers you. Mixed media pads can be useful. However, they rarely perform as well as pads designed for specific needs. The book features water colouring pads that withstand repeated washes. The thick nature of the papers in the book does not ripple or deform when it dries. Besides, you’ll find no bleeding. Each paper is perforated. However, this model from Canon has factored that into size. That’s why you’ll not lose an inch of paper when you tear them out.

The Pentalic wire-bound small sketchbook

A small but extra tough sketchpad is always a boon to an artist’s arsenal. This sketchpad from Pentalic is everything that you need. Its small structure enables you to toss them in your pocket. Yet, they’re sturdy and tough enough to survive any kind of rough treatment. The model features hardcovers that prevent damage from everyday bumps and knocks. Besides, its double-wired spiral binding resists bending. Also, note this model doesn’t come with perforations for tearing out pages. Hence, this is best for exercises and rough work, rather than pieces you want to keep in a portfolio. Besides, they’re affordable too.