Three Sketchbooks... Tour and review

Finding a good sketchbook is hard. They aren't cheap. They all feel, act and even open a little differently.

So which one should you get?

In this blog and accompanying YouTube video I'm reviewing the following (Please note, some of these links in this post are affiliate links, I will earn a small commission if you choose to pay for them which helps support my website):

• Hobbycraft own brand sketchbook

• Canson Artbook

• Stillman and Birn Zeta series

• And I'll mention the Delta series too

NB - the Canson Artbook states it has 28 sheets, but all of mine have 19, I'm not sure if this is a recent change or a typo

Why sketchbook at all?

Sketchbooks are fantastic for playing with ideas. Though they aren't cheap, they are often cheaper than equivalent paper. And they are easy to carry around.

For me, I love taking a sketchbook on holiday. I don't want to be carrying lots of loose sheets of paper in a rucksack all week!

They also create a bundle of memories - flicking through a sketchbook can take you back to places, people and events. All in chronological order.

So... these sketchbooks...

Hobbycraft - Own brand! (Find it on the Hobbycraft website)

This is a cheap and cheerful sketchbook.

It is 160gsm, slightly textured and slightly off-white cartridge paper (sketching paper).

There are 60 pages, and it opens easily with the large ring binder mechanism.

It costs... a whopping £4!

I initially bought it for 'class planning' - but it has swiftly moved on to be a sketchbook full of everything from ink doodles.

To alcohol marker sketches.

And even en plein mixed media with watercolours, or posca, or gouache and more...

In the video above, you can see examples of the watercolour art. It holds water OK... but not better than that. Of course, what can you expect from a £4 sketchbook?

What it does offer, is freedom of expression with a range of media.

And an unexpected bonus... the pages are easy to rip out if you feel something 'tarnishes' the memories. This is great, if you can resist doing it too often. For me, it adds an extra freedom to revel in.

Canson - Artbook - Find it at Jackson's

This is a more premium feeling sketchbook. The website states it has 28 pages... but all of mine definitely have fewer than that.

The paper is thick, essentially card-like, and cotton blend.

It has a rough tooth, a well textured cold-pressed surface.

And it costs close to £13 - not super expensive but not cheap.

When I first got this sketchbook I loved it! The paper quality is brilliant. And for many you will continue to love this.

It really is high quality.

For me... there were a couple of minor things that took away some of my love though.

• If I really want proper watercolour paper, then I really want proper watercolour paper. This isn't quite that, not compared to my blocks.

• The landscape orientation and the large ring binder gets in the way when trying to sketch for me.

• The tooth is too big for my favourite pens. Lines become uncertain and discontinuous - more so than I want.

However, with pure watercolours (which I rarely do), it is really very lovely.

Overall, I found an odd tension where I'm doing what I want to do. For example, sketching a bottle of prosecco with alcohol markers. But the paper felt too premium, like I'm wasting the paper making silly sketches. But the paper isn't quite premium enough that I can REALLY do what I want to do.

Stilman and Birn - Zeta - Find it at Jackson's

This sketchbook is a hard worker.

The key numbers are: 270gsm, 28 pages - smooth surface and very white.

It opens completely flat too. With just a couple of clips I can have effectively an A4 painting surface on my board in seconds.

If we really zoom in to the textures of the paint, we can see it doesn't quite act like watercolour paper. Or not high quality paper at least.

Take a look at this close up - the edges are sharp and well defined, and there is a soft granularity to all of the colours. These are the tell tale signs of absorbent paper.

However, if we take a step back it really doesn't effect the overall feel of the painting. We just need to practice and know how to work with this surface:

It's also VERY smooth - this has some disadvantages.

For example, lines are slippery and less easy to control. Your pen and brush get less feedback, and colours can move wildly across the page.

However, it also means fine lines and details are much more possible. IF you make the effort to control the line and don't let it slide around.

This means weird and wonderful doodles like the above and below are possible!

There are other Stilman and Birn's too - I've used the 'Delta' many years ago.

I remember really enjoying this - it has an ivory surface and lightly textured. I believe it's the same price.

I had a lot of fun just painting in this. You can see it still has that slightly absorbent texture. But preparing for that and working with it. Well, I enjoyed myself.

So... which is my favourite?

The Stilman and Birn series really excited me - I'm going to keep using this. Including taking in to Japan on Tash and I's honeymoon.

It's solid, opens flat, there are a variety of textured papers to try in the different options. And it stands up well to colour.

I've enjoyed using it the most by far.

The Canson sketchbook is the best, certainly, for watercolourists who are purists at heart.

And I'd recommend the own brand Hobbycraft to anyone who wants a place to play, explore and have fun. Without breaking the bank.