I am a sketchbook fiend. I like so many brands for so many reasons. I feel like I can never have enough. Some of my favorites are Etchr hot and cold press, Hahnemuhle 100% cotton and Toned series, Stillman and Birn Zeta, Beta and Nova series , and Bee Paper's Be Creative Watercolor Journal. What are some of your favorite watercolor journals?
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I do like using sketchbooks which suit the medium I'm using, especially markers! The better the match to my pens, the more smoothly the lines flow across the paper. The more smoothly they do so, the more at ease I am and the better I feel about the final result.
I’ve been taking a book binding class/workshop for a few years. I like to make my own sketchbooks but there is a certain anxiety in doing this: if I make this size or if I used this paper, what about the other infinite sizes and papers? Also many many years ago (20 or 30 years?) I bought a WHOLE lot of Arches watercolor watercolor paper. It actually is hard to make a sketchbook with this paper because it’s so thick it can crack when you fold it.
I do buy sketchbooks too. There is a wonderful freedom in a big fat crummy Arteza sketchbook.
I haven't used too many watercolor journals, but recently tried the Pentalic Nature Sketch book. It's 25% cotton, 130lb/212gsm. Perfect for mixed media with a watercolor base. Also, quite affordable ~$14/50 sheets/100 pages.
I also recently used a large, single sheet of arches cold press (100% cotton/140lb/300gsm) to make an accordion journal. It has 30 small squares to work on, so a strangely affordable "sketchbook" for Arches.