One of our favourite small pleasures in life is choosing a brand new sketchbook and opening those crisp, clean pages for the first time. The smell, the look, the newness. Selecting the right one, however, can be a bit of a challenge. It’s not as though you’re limited with options so how do you make sure you choose wisely? We’ve plotted out a guide below to help make the right decision for your next few months of sketches.
Size:
It’s common for budding artists to start small, as big pages can feel a little daunting. A5 is a good starting point for a sketchbook. A4 is double the size of A5 and A3 is double the size of A4. An important point to remember is you can always open your sketchbook out to double the size of the page. Whilst these are the most common sizes, you could also purchase a little notepad sized sketchbook to carry around with you everywhere for those times inspiration takes hold of your inner artist.
Paper Weight:
This refers to the GSM of the paper in your sketchbook. In layman’s terms, how thick the paper is. Your use will determine the level of GSM you require. For example, 100gsm is good for dry media - pencil, ballpoint pens, thin felt tips. For wet media - paint, watercolours, acrylic, thick felt tips - you’ll want at least 200gsm. Thicker paper means less puddling and less chance of your ink or paint bleeding through.
Binding:
Binding is one of the most contentious points in the ‘what’s hot and what’s not’ of sketchbooks. The most common are perfect binds, similar to novels, and wire binds, which have a wire coil holding the singular pages in place. The biggest advantage of the latter is the ability to open the sketchbook completely flat. Some perfect binds offer that too, but not all of them. Some need to be held open and these make sketching near the gutter difficult.
Paperback or Hardback:
This is a pretty simple one. Hardbacks are a better option but they are more expensive. Paperbacks, whilst good, are less robust and protective than hardbacks. Hardbacks can take a little more wear and tear than their lighter counterparts and deal with spills better.
Now you know what to look for in a sketchbook, you can start your search! These little paper chambers are the breeding ground of millions of creative inceptions around the world. So take a look now and choose your next one.