Here at the old art blog, I like Sketchbooks a lot. And I like testing Sketchbooks that are sometimes promoted as Moleskine alternatives. Over the years, I've met and drawn in quite a few Moleskine alternatives and their quality can vary wildly. So, in the spirit of the holiday season, here are the four most recent Sketchbooks, reviewed:
I talked a bit about the ZenArt Supplies B6 Sketchbook before and much of my opinion still stands. I did learn that this Sketchbook takes art markers very well (with insane bleed-through) as seen above, which helps alleviate some of my criticisms.
This awesomeness is the Illo Sketchbook and it is so good. The pages are nice and thick, and I think I could've easily got away with drawing on both sides, which is a very unique feature among the books I'm reviewing today. It loves watercolor, pencils, inks, markers and more. This is, after all, the Sketchbook that saw me through this year's MerMay. The Illo is my favorite Sketchbook out of the lot and I've already got another one waiting in the wings.
Unfortunately, this means our next two Sketchbooks aren't so great. This is the Leda Art Supplies Sketchbook. If you bought a Sketchbook from Amazon recently, you've almost certainly seen it advertised. I really didn't like the thinness of the paper and that floppy flexible cover is a killer. And speaking of covers...
So there you have it, four different Moleskine-alikes reviewed. My verdict is get yourself an Illo, then maybe get another for your Secret Santa. Have a great holiday season everyone!
