Sketchbooks and Papers: Style and Substance (Patreon)

Sketchbooks vary in style and substance. In style by size, cover and binding. In substance by paper weight, texture, and the material the paper is made out of. 

Style

What I call "Style" choices are actually more practical than aesthetic. 

The size is important because it can determine how portable it is. When I took drawing classes they had us use 18x24 inch pads of drawing paper. 

These large drawing pads are great for doing loose sketches and they help develop good habits by making you draw from your shoulder rather than your wrists and fingers. 

But they aren't very portable. And I think one of the most important things about a sketchbook is being able to bring it anywhere and everywhere.

I like little "pocket" size sketchbooks (3.5x5.5".) 

The problem with this tiny size is you can tunnel vision and develop bad habits like drawing from your fingers and wrist. So the main size I use are 5.5x8.5" and 9x12". They're still very portable but you can sprawl out a little more.

There are other sizes to try out. But those are my preferences. 

The binding is also important. 

I love the clean, classy look of these types of sketchbooks. But they often won't lay flat without the help of clips, which can get in the way. Sometimes the way the pages are bound will make them fall out as well (if the company uses glue rather than stitching for example.)

While spiral binding may look a little tacky or remind you of being in 7th grade, They help the book lay flat and that makes them easier to work in.

I like a hard cover, like the one on the left, because it adds some protection to the pages. 

The cover of the one on the right is flimsy and can easily rip off. However, I think sometimes its good to have sketchbooks that you don't care whether the cover lives or die.

You can also decorate your covers to give it a more personalized journal feel. 

The one on the right has a score card from a game of Yahtzee that I did particularly well in, and a cut out frame from a Broom-Hilda comic strip.

Substance

Probably the most important quality of a sketchbook is the type of paper it contains. This will determine what kind of mediums you can use in it, how long the art will last, and the way the art ends up looking.

Cheap paper is great for starting out. Especially if you are doing exercises, taking notes, or working on anything where the act of drawing is more important that keeping a record of the drawing. 

This was a geometric form exercise done on printer paper. Cheap paper like this has psychological as well as economic advantages. Because working on a cheap piece of paper makes it easier to tell yourself that it doesn't have to be a masterpiece. 

Whereas, If you're working on higher end drawing paper, which can get pricy, you can start telling yourself "don't mess this up."

A step up from printer paper is sketch paper. 

The one on the left is sketch paper from the brand Canson, the one on the right is a generic sketchpad from the store Daiso. 

I've found that there isn't too much difference between brand name sketch paper and generic sketch paper. 

With the brand paper you can usually add more layers and get the darks darker. 

From sketch paper paper branches off into a ton of different directions. There's Sketch, Drawing, Mixed Media, Toned, Toned Mixed Media, Pastel, Colored Pencil, Marker, Illustration, Charcoal, Canvas Paper, Watercolor Paper, Transparent papers like Tracing and Vellum. 

The main differences between all these papers comes down to Texture, Weight, and the Materials the paper is made out of.

Texture

The choice of which texture to use is the most dependent on personal taste of all these variables. 

Some artists love texture, some artists want no texture at all, some artists want something in the middle, and there's paper for all of them. 

Texture can add a grittiness and character to the art work. It gives it a rougher look.

It can break up line quality. It can be distracting. 

You just have to get a feel for it yourself to see if you like it. Literally. Touch the paper and see if you like it. 

Weight

Paper weight is measured in GSM, grams per square meter. 

If you live in the U.S like me, there is also a weight that is listed in pounds, but that number is less reliable. It's not the same weight being measured and then converted to pounds.  

Grams per square meter is just how many grams a square meter of of a sheet of the paper weighs. It's simple and universal.

Tracing paper is one of the thinest paper I use and it's about 50 GSM. Sketchpaper is usually about 70-80 GSM. Good Drawing Paper will be about 130 GSM. 

If you are using wet media like watercolor or ink, you don't want to use anything less than 130 gsm. Usually. I'll get to the exception.

For straight up watercolor paintings, 300 gsm is where you want to be. 

Basically the wetter you're going to get the paper, the thicker you want it.

Materials

So there is drawing paper that is 130 gsm and then mixed media paper that is 130 gsm. Which one do you use? The materials you are using will determine that.

If you're using dry mediums (pencil, charcoal, pastel) you go with drawing paper.

If you're adding wet mediums (watercolor, ink, acrylic) you go with the mixed media paper. 

This has to do with the materials that go into the paper. 

Most sketchbook paper is made out of tree fiber. Higher end paper and watercolor paper are made out of cotton.

Cotton is more absorbent and more archival. 

But most of the sketchbooks I use for drawing are made out of tree fiber. And they are also archival. 

There is also a sizing process that goes into watercolor paper and mixed media paper. From Strathmore's website

"Sizing in the papermaking process refers to additives that make the sheets less porous. Without sizing, paper would react to moisture like a blotter or a paper towel. Type and amount of sizing applied to different papers varies based on the desired working properties. Mixed Media and Watercolor papers can use the same type of sizing; however, there will be some variation in the amounts used for both internal and external sizing based upon the weight and surface finish of the paper. The desired working properties for wet media sheets are uniform washes, clean lifts, no buckling, and enhanced surface strength to prevent pilling."

Break the Rules

This is a sketch I did using soy sauce and Crayola magic markers with water. The paper is generic sketch paper from Daiso, around 70 GSM. 

If you know you aren't going to sell the work, remember that it's just paper. Do what you want with it. 

I don't think I'd get the same effect of this sketch if I had done this on a piece of heavy, pure cotton watercolor paper. Because the paper is designed to hold this kind of wetness. 

Whereas this cheaper sketchbook isn't. So the water ad soy sauce bled into the paper in an interesting way.

Happy February 9th Everybody

Last night I ate a Cheesy Gordita Crunch from Taco Bell. 

I would order that for my death row meal.

I fell in love with Taco Bell when I was in the 6th grade. I think it was around that time that they first introduced the Cheesy Gordita Crunch.

I think it was a limited time thing back then. But I'm not all up to date on Taco Bell's menu history. Please forgive me.

I played football. I was in the heavy/lighter category which meant that I had to keep my weight under a certain weight to be able to play. We weighed in once a week. So all week we'd eat chicken breast and drink water. And after weigh ins we could eat whatever we wanted.

I ate Taco Bell every week.

That period of my life was the only time when I cried because I wanted a cheeseburger so bad. 

There was this stuff called the Hollywood diet back then. We'd drink that the day before weigh ins and it would give you diarrhea and then you'd weigh less.

Then we'd drink pedialyte before the game to rehydrate.

Last night there was a guy in a wheel chair by himself next to the door screaming at people to "go F**k themselves" as they walked into the Taco Bell. Like a greeter. He smelled like cigarettes.

I enjoy the smell of cigarettes. 

Have fun

Goodnight Sweeties