Sketchbook Recommendations - Fountain Pen And Watercolor Friendly?

[msun]

Hi. I'm going on vacation soon, and planning on taking a sketchbook with me to draw in my free time. I was wondering if anyone had good experiences with sketchbooks that are both fountain pen ink and watercolor friendly?

 

Namely I want to be able to ink lines using my fountain pens, and go over with a water brush to do some shading.

I've done some searching on the forums, and I keep seeing rave reviews of the Exacompta Sketchbook, but it seems that they have been discontinued some time ago. Has there been a good replacement that people like? Any recommendations are appreciated, thanks!

[Tas]

Stillman & Birn - I love them !

You may want to contact fellow FPN member napalm, he's been doing some serious testing recently

[napalm]

I bought the Stillman & Birn Zeta based on Tas' recommendation and I am more than pleased

 

Thanks Tas!!!

[Tas]

[msun]

Thanks for the Stillman and Birn recommendation. Will definitely look into that. what is the difference between the Epsilon series and the Zeta series? Both seem to say they are good for ink and pen. Is the Zeta better for water washes?

 

Napalm - I'm curious what kind of testing have you done?

Edited September 9, 2014 by msun

[cpmcnamara]

Thanks for the Stillman and Birn recommendation. Will definitely look into that. what is the difference between the Epsilon series and the Zeta series? Both seem to say they are good for ink and pen. Is the Zeta better for water washes?

 

Napalm - I'm curious what kind of testing have you done?

 

I own them both - yes, the zeta is better for water washes as the paper is quite a bit thicker. The texture of both paper is fairly similar - very smooth - The epison is better for pen only (but could handle a little water). That said, I personally don't use either sketchbook that much. The paper is nice, but I really like using a cold-pressed watercolor paper for sketching with watercolor (and often general sketching, as I like the texture, tint and feel more). The moleskine watercolor paper is pretty nice - it only bleeds with markers, does not feather, is fairly thick, and was designed to be reasonably smooth for pen sketching (provided you aren't pressing really hard with an EF nib). There are some other options for watercolor paper (i.e. making your own sketchbook with fabriano or arches), but I don't really bother. I find myself using a Moleskine watercolor notebook for travel sketching way more than the stillman and birn.

 

Book design wise: the landscape format is a bit weird on the moleskine , but the sketchbook opens flat. The S&B have classical portrait formats (in both wire and bound versions). However, they are very stiff, and even after breaking them in, I prefer the way moleskine sketchbook binding is designed.

 

I'll also add that while moleskines are typically overpriced for the quality they offer, that isn't the case with the watercolor notepada. You can find these pads in A5 size for around $15, which is a good price for 70 sheets of decent watercolor paper.

 

 

To summarize, there isn't really a "best paper" for sketching. You first need to determine what tint/texture you like. If you like a livelier texture, find a cold pressed watercolor paper (like the moleskine watercolor). If you like smooth and consistent, hot pressed options like S&B are good. Also, the S&B papers are bright white. Therefore, if smooth and bright white are your thing, zeta is a great choice.

Edited September 9, 2014 by cpmcnamara

[Lamyrada]

i would go for watercolor pressed papers. They are done for that. ink is ink, but they are made for water.

[napalm]

Thanks for the Stillman and Birn recommendation. Will definitely look into that. what is the difference between the Epsilon series and the Zeta series? Both seem to say they are good for ink and pen. Is the Zeta better for water washes?

 

Napalm - I'm curious what kind of testing have you done?

 

Epsilon is 150gsm and Zeta is thicker at 270gsm. I haven't tried the Epsilon. The Zeta will allow you to rework watercolors over and over without the paper crumbling/disintegrating or buckling in weird forms. If you don't need to mistreat it like that then probably the Epsilon would be more than enough.

[mwpannell]

Just FYI, was looking at dickblick.com and noticed S&B is apparently offering a free sample of their papers. Sounds good.

[bitterwonder]

Stillman and Birne is a terrific sketchbook, i tend to use the heavy weight. I am also fond of Moleskin watercolor notebooks, i have found them to work well with fountain pen.

[msun]

Looks like stillman and birn are the clear favorites. Thanks for posting that free sample info. I requested a sample pack. I'll probably buy one stillman and birn and one moleskine to test out on vacation. Thanks for all the suggestions

[wikeh2004]

Hi. I'm going on vacation soon, and planning on taking a sketchbook with me to draw in my free time. I was wondering if anyone had good experiences with sketchbooks that are both fountain pen ink and watercolor friendly?

 

Namely I want to be able to ink lines using my fountain pens, and go over with a water brush to do some shading.

 

I've done some searching on the forums, and I keep seeing rave reviews of the Exacompta Sketchbook, but it seems that they have been discontinued some time ago. Has there been a good replacement that people like? Any recommendations are appreciated, thanks!

 

You must mean this Exacompta.

http://www.biffybeans.com/2009/02/review-exacompta-livres-dor-basics.html

 

I bought some unlined versions for my niece a while ago, but now found, as you did, that they're no longer listed in the Exacompta catalog. :-( I have lined versions for journaling, but I guess that's not what you want.

 

I bought a Pro Art sketchbook from Amazon recently for a very reasonable price. Maybe that could work for you?

Edited September 10, 2014 by wikeh2004

[Pira]

Looks like stillman and birn are the clear favorites. Thanks for posting that free sample info. I requested a sample pack. I'll probably buy one stillman and birn and one moleskine to test out on vacation. Thanks for all the suggestions

You can email Stillman&Birn and ask for a sample pack of their paper before committing to a sketchbook

[Rita_K]

Another for the Stillman and Birn.

I use the Beta wirebound and LOVE it.

270gms. white cold press paper ... great for

pen and ink and watercolor or ink washes.