Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Comparing papers for sketching

As I said recently, I've been sketching in a Moleskine watercolour sketchbook for years. And I was always happy with the paper. But I've moved to the portrait format recently, and the paper is completely different. Scratchy. Not great for fountain pen. And also, I find that watercolour looks patchy. Plus it buckles. They've definitely changed the texture of the paper. And it's not working for me.

So I'm testing a few other papers to see what my options are. So far, Stillman & Birn Beta is the winner:

Seawhite of Brighton watercolour paper NOT
Good for line and watercolour. Still scratchy with my Lamy Joy pen. Maybe it's the pen? 


Kunst & Papier Skizzenbuch grey
Much lighter paper. A joy for pen, even my Lamy Joy! But the watercolour soaks right through and buckles.

Stillman & Birn Beta
Good all rounder. Gorgeous for watercolour. Lamy Joy line still scratchy. Definitely maybe the pen!


Moleskine watercolour Portrait format
Watercolour patchier than previous versions of Moleskines
Pen drawing - scratchy. No flow.
Paper buckles

Stillman & Birn Beta (this one is bound rather than ring-bound)
Yummy colours. Strong lines.  And I love the smallish format, smaller than A4, bigger than A5.

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