Hi Amy. I have taken one of your Udemy classes and have enjoyed following you on Substack. I just became a paid subscriber. I am wondering if there is a type of sketchbook you recommend for daily practice that can be used with a variety of ink and paints?
As for bigger sketchbooks, for a long time my preference was Moleskine watercolor notebooks. Then I switched to Stillman & Birn softcovers. Most people like the Beta paper type, which is watercolor paper with a slight texture but not too much. But I really like the Zeta paper, which is sturdy enough for watercolor but completely smooth, so colored pencil, ink, and marker lay down very nicely. (The Zeta paper is just as heavy as Beta, so you can do watercolor, but you can't do a lot of wet-into-wet techniques. There's just something different about how it absorbs the wet paint.)
I'm always taking requests from subscribers, so I'll do a comparison of different sketchbook papers soon.
Oh, and for practice, I love the Canson watercolor spiral bound sketchbooks. I use those all the time at home.
Thank you!!!
Hi Amy. I have taken one of your Udemy classes and have enjoyed following you on Substack. I just became a paid subscriber. I am wondering if there is a type of sketchbook you recommend for daily practice that can be used with a variety of ink and paints?
Thanks so much! YES, I have so much to say about sketchbooks! First, I reviewed pocket sketchbooks here:
https://amystewart.substack.com/p/art-lesson-9-drawing-tools-for-pocket
As for bigger sketchbooks, for a long time my preference was Moleskine watercolor notebooks. Then I switched to Stillman & Birn softcovers. Most people like the Beta paper type, which is watercolor paper with a slight texture but not too much. But I really like the Zeta paper, which is sturdy enough for watercolor but completely smooth, so colored pencil, ink, and marker lay down very nicely. (The Zeta paper is just as heavy as Beta, so you can do watercolor, but you can't do a lot of wet-into-wet techniques. There's just something different about how it absorbs the wet paint.)
I'm always taking requests from subscribers, so I'll do a comparison of different sketchbook papers soon.
Oh, and for practice, I love the Canson watercolor spiral bound sketchbooks. I use those all the time at home.