Which Sketchbook to get? The sketchbooks I'm in love with.

Which sketchbook should I get? What kind of paper should I draw on? Should I use pencils, pens, water color, grass...I HAVE NO IDEA!

These seem to be the plaguing questions of many budding artists. Likely, they're the questions of many artists yearning to make a change or step out of their comfort zone.

Today, I really want to help you make a decision about where to start. More than that, I want to share with you 'HOW' to make a decision on the tools you'll be using to express yourself, your imagination and the world around you. 

Let's get started!

"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a  life time"

  The principle here is going to be 'do what is best for you'. I can tell you exactly what to buy and how to use it, but then we loose so much of what make you so WONDERFUL! I know at this stage, some of you will scratch your head and say 'But I have no idea what is best for me.' Well my friends, this is where the tough love kicks in and we start to critically think.

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SKETCHBOOKS 101

There are about 9 zillion types of sketchbooks out there, and that doesn't make the search easy. I've compiled a list of some of my own personal favorites. I've been around the block with sketchbooks of all sorts, and these are what have fit me, my goals and personality, but I haven't tried everything and I certainly don't know everything. So this is my humble opinion. :D

Your perfect fit may very well be different and you should consider what makes you unique when deciding. Remember, IT'S JUST A SKETCHBOOK!...you can go buy another one.

       Some notes on sketchbook lingo that you'll hear below:

• paper weight/# - how much a ream of 500 would weigh (ie; 65#= 500 sheets of paper would weight 65lbs.)
• tooth- the papers texture. More tooth=More texture
• acid-free- Acid free paper is more 'archival'. Essentially your paper will not crack and turn yellow as easily 900 years from now when you're showing your doodles from your younger years to your grand kids.

1.) Canson 9 x 12 Universal spiral bound Sketchbook 

The Canson 9x12 has been my go to sketchbook for years. It's particularly great for pencil and charcoal drawings. If you're going to carry something around though, you may want something in a more manageable size and a hard cover.

Pros:

• 100 pages of 65# paper is good all around quality.
• I like the tooth and it stands up to erasing well.
• Recycled paper (for those environmentalists out there)
• 9x12" paper real estate provides plenty of room for your doodles
• Spiral binding allows for this book to opened 360 degrees for easier scanning
• Perforated sheets for easy removal.
• Affordable. At around 10-12 bucks, you'll get a good sketchbook.

Cons:

• The cover is ugly and flimsy, so that leaves something to be desired.
• Spiral bindings are not reliable if you carry this with you, but they're also fixed easily.

2.) Canson 9 x 12 Field Sketchbook 

The Canson 9x12  hard cover is great to lug around with you outdoors, on your commute or if you might need a shield of some sort during your work day from the dragon lady in the next office. The cover is really great, though the corners will probably barely last you the life of the sketchbook.
Pros:

• Ditto to everything about the soft cover version.
• It goes without saying, this is great for those of you who treat your sketchbook like a farm dog.
• You can usually find these on amazon for around the same price.
• The cover is a nice plain black.

Cons:

• A little heavier to lug around.
• Again, spiral bindings are just kind of annoying.
• Only 80 sheets of paper in this one.
• No perforated sheets

3.) Moleskine Art Plus Sketchbook 5x8.25

The Moleskin Art plus series is great for a lot of reasons that I'll list below. I am particularly fond of the 5x8.25 version due to it's packable size for on the go drawing. it's another all around goodie with a convenient elastic strap to hold it together. It's also super thin.
Pros:

• Hard cover with round edges will allow this to last you.
• Elastic strap seems like it would be annoying...on the contrary, you'll love it!
• Open flat binding. Though there aren't perforated pages, you'll be able to scan your drawings that overlap that pesky partition with ease.
• Nice little hidden pocket in the back to hide all your naughty pictures or stamps or whatever you want to put in there.
• The paper handles ink, graphite, and even light water colors pretty well, though markers are another story.

Cons:

• Price. These will likely run you around $18 for this size. (but you can get lucky online)
• Not the biggest fan of the paper. Minimal tooth, a little slippery and thinner than I'd like.
• No perforated sheets

4.) Global Art Materials 5.25x8.25 Lrg watercolor book

Global Art Materials has a great selection of sketchbooks. If you're looking to get into water colors, this is a great place to start I spent a lot of time in my handbook journal with watercolor pencils, ink and loved ever minute of it. They're worth checking out even if you don't do water color. They've got lots of other sketchbooks, and I am particularly in love with the paper dimensions they use.
Pros:

• Hard cover with round edges and a nice texture to make you feel fancy!
• Paper absorbs well and keeps colors vibrant.
• Elastic strap...again, great to have!
• Great binding that opens nearly flat that includes a bookmark like the moleskine.
• Landscape layout allows for a much more dynamic exploration of good compositions.

Cons:

• Price. Usually found for around $15-18.
• Only 60 sheets of acid free, 95#, cold press paper (but that's good stuff right there)

5.) Canson Basic Sketchbook 8.5x11

If you can't tell by now, I'm in bed with Canson. The Canson Basic sketchbook is great for budding artists and the on the go type. Though, i'm not a huge fan of hard bindings at this size, it's worth the mention. The biggest reasons I mention this for beginners are these; The hard binding will prevent pages from moving around while it's closed and smearing your work. The price is low, so you don't need to be worrying about messing up page after page with crappy sketches...fill that sucker up! The hard binding will allow you to take this anywhere.
Pros:

• Great cover that'll last you.
• Paper is a great balance between price economy, quality, weight and tooth.
• Price. You just can't beat 100+ pages in a hard binding for $10 bucks.

Cons:

• Binding. This book won't lay flat, so scanning will always be a turd.
• Heavy. I personally think this sketchbook is heavy..maybe I should work out more.

 Of course these are MY choices. What has worked for those of you that have been at this a while? Leave your comments so we can discuss the pros and cons of the endless supply of sketchbooks out there.

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DECIDING 

Consider:

• Paper quality- weight of the paper, tooth, acid free
• Dimensions- are you going to be carrying this around? backpack, pocket, hand?
• Cover- how durable do you need this to be?
• Weight- are you a sissy like me or do you work out?
• Binding- Do you need it to open 180 or 360 deg? Scanning?
• Price- Have money burning a hole in your pocket or are you conservative?
• What do you want to experiment with? What direction do you want to go?

Now it's time to critically think. Ultimately a sketchbook is a place you need to feel comfortable and free to express and experiment. However, being too comfortable may prove to be bit of hazard to your art health. Staying too comfortable limits your growth and ultimately your skill level and work.

My advice is to choose something that will allow you the freedom to do what you're comfortable with, but also will push you to experiment with more. For example, If I were a pencil artist, It would be wise for me to buy, perhaps a watercolor book that would allow me to sketch in pencil but also would beckon me to whip out those fun pencils or paints, thus pushing me to new horizons, learning opportunities and discoveries.

Still can't decide, then go with your gut instinct. After all it is 'JUST A SKETCHBOOK'. Follow the advice from Nike and 'Just Do It' 

Next time, we'll be discussing the tools of the trade and talk about pencils, pens, paints, markers and how to make heads and tales of what to use.

Stay tuned and keep those sketches coming!
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