Watercolor Notebooks

Okay, I admit it, I've tried a million other notebooks and journals telling myself "why pay more for the name". I guess I have wasted more dollars looking for the right journal and should have paid more attention to the reviews that I thought were based solely on "Moleskine snobbery". The paper is perfect and stands up to washes better than most notebook journal/sketchpad papers. The fact there is 75 wonderful pages is even better! The size is perfect, and the binding is flexible to keep the opposite page from folding over on you while you are working. The book lays flat without sacrificing the binding. I love the perforated sheets, they don't tear when you don't want them to, but if you want to remove a page (maybe a page you really messed up and want removed immediately without messing up your whole book) its a cinch! Of course the bookmark is nifty to get you where you are going fast, and the elastic closure means you can stuff it in your bag without worrying you will end up with dog eared pages or rips, plus it keeps things from falling out. Who can live without the pocket?! Perfect for keeping ticket stubs or "souvenirs" or snapshots to add to your book or refer to while painting or sketching. The paper is smooth enough to keep detail in your work but textured enough to give depth and contrast and stand up to your watercolor! This is "THE ONE" to buy!

I really enjoy this paper for gouache paint! it has a good texture but not too toothy/gritty that i noticed some watercolor pads can be. Perfect medium thickness. It doesnt leak to the other side and the paper stays nice and flat while painting. I recommend usng small binder clips to keep the paper flat during painting so it stays that way as it dries :) And its small enough for a purse if needed.

I am so glad I finally bought this notebook. I do a lot of "Urban Sketching" and have tried many different notebooks. This has all the elements I needed. First and foremost, the quality of the paper is very high. Washes and inks don't bleed through, you can use the next page, and even the back of the used ones! Next it has a nice firm cover, you can sketch, draw, paint, with it in your hand without it bending, yet it is not so thick as to make it bulky. In addition it is an excellent size. It is bound so you can work portrait style on a single page, or flat open for a really wide landscape picture. It is also a sewn binding so it makes a continuous picture that way. The rounded corners save my clothes and bags from the wear and tear of the usual sharp corners. The elastic band is a necessity to keep it closed when being dragged all over creation. The interior pocket has come in very handy too!

So far, I've been pretty happy with this. I use both watercolors and gouache paints in it. I notice that my watercolor paints do not behave the same way, especially for wet on wet techniques as the tutorials that I follow, but I understand that the Moleskine paper is only woodpulp and the artist's I'm copying are using 100% expensive cotton papers. I also noticed that the watercolor paint tends to dry quickly. Since I'm new to watercolor, I didn't want to spend too much on a sketchbook. I don't know what's happening with others, but the pages in mine are plenty thick enough to be used on both sides for either gouache or watercolor paints. I've been using both sides for almost every sheet and have had no problems with bleeding. The pages do buckle but flattens out a lot after the paint is dry and the book has been closed. Some of the pages are starting to separate on one end from the binding, but it's not falling apart and I'm now mid-way through the journal. I anticipate that the book will hold up 'til the end. I like the portable size and have been having fun with it. This is my first watercolor sketchook, however, and when I'm finished with this one, I would like to try a different brand out of curiosity.

Mole skin Journal is very nice

This notebook is perfectly portable. It fits inside most of my bags, not too heavy, stays closed due to the band at the end, and is large enough to feel like I can draw a decently sized sketch. When I use too much water, the paper warps, but this isn't a problem because you close the notebook shut, come back after a few hours, the paper is flat again because the band keeps the notebook very tightly closed. I've been using Derwent's Inktense pencils on this notebook, and the paper allows the pencil colors to really shine. I love how bright the pencils are on this paper. The paper has a bit of teeth but when you add water, the inktense colors smooth out and you can't tell that the paper is not perfectly smooth. Probably the best part about this notebook is that the paper is sturdy and so you can watercolor on both sides with barely any show-through on the other side. So you don't get images on both sides mixing with each other when you look at it on one side. Love love this notebook and will get another one when I finish.

I have almost filled this sketchbook now, and I honestly have to say that it is by far the best sketchbook I have ever used. I am left handed, so the fact that I can open this however I want, and no spiral binding interferes with my process makes me so happy. The pages hold up so nicely for watercolor and gouache paints. I have even used copic markers and gold ink in here. Nothing bleeds through. It is quite expensive, but not many sketchbooks offer this quality of paper. Nothing bleeds through. You get your money's worth. Also, I love the small pocket in the back. It holds many random stickers, business cards, and scraps. The elastic is also nice when I don't want the book to fall open. Prevents pages from being damaged. I recommend this sketchbook to everyone. You really can't beat the quality. It is absolutely worth the investment.

I love these sketchbooks. Yes, calling them "large" is misleading, The moleskine A3 is probably more what people think of when they read the descriptions but the dimensions are listed pretty clearly. I like that when I finish filling one of these sketchbooks, they looks so clean and professional. The cover and bindings are solid. They look very attractive on a shelf or spread out on a table. The paper itself can take a bit of a beating. I like to lay down gesso and paint with oils or more often acrylics (due to the dry time.) The paper can warp a bit if you're doing really heavy handed washes. Once it dries, you can stack some heavy books on top of your sketchbook to try and flatten it out a bit, but the warping doesn't bother me so much. It's a sketchbook, it's never going to be perfect or pristine once you crack it open and start creating. I have from time to time, painted something so awful that I just couldn't bare the thought of it continuing to exist and I was able to wash the watercolor out of the paper, a little color haze would be left behind but that would be covered up soon enough. I'll always buy new sketchbooks that I come across, to see if there's something better out there, but I keep coming back to moleskine.

Great texture and quality of the papers of this book make it really good for an artist doing watercolours. I love the overall look of the book, and easy for me to carry with me on my travels and paint. Paper does not bleed at all and absorbs well and works very well for wet on wet techniques.

Love the binding and cover. Very pretty and sturdy. However, be aware that it is 200gsm only and warps under watercolor application. If you paint on both sides of the paper and use the rubber band to bind the book close when you are not using the book, then the warping isn't too obvious. Otherwise, feels great when using it! My colors come out so pretty on it.

The paper texture is good but the size is larger than I thought for me (I wanted to buy it so I can bring it everywhere) 🙂

O sketchbook é muito bom, bem acabado e resistente. O preço que paguei foi o melhor entre as alternativas de outros. Vá em frente!

娘が産まれたのをきっかけに半年ごと手形と足形をとる為に購入しました。水彩用のノートなのでインクで歪む事なく押せました。