Pentalic Nature Sketch Pad, 11-Inch by 8-1/2-Inch

I use this as my primary sketchbook for my Intermediate Drawing course at college. I purchased this book because it has a ton of pages and allows me to use wet media. The paper is a medium tooth. It's soft and absorbent, and takes many mediums well. Its quality is good enough that I feel confident making serious artwork on it if needed. It's economical enough that I use it to experiment and practice different mediums and techniques.It takes graphite wonderfully, and watercolor and gouache very well. My micron ink pens work great as well, as does my Pentalic brush pen. It takes Chalk pastel WONDERFULLY, and charcoal is so/so -- I like to create fine details, and the paper is a bit more toothy and textured, so it takes some work to make charcoal lay down and come up nicely.CONS: The pages will start to buckle if you use heavy washes - but it's great otherwise. I usually clamp a page down if I'm going wild with washes. Also, if the paper is very wet, or you are very aggressive with your erasing, the top layer of paper may rip. It's a very sturdy paper, but it's not indestructible.I use another size for my visual journal. All in all, it's a great mixed media book. They come in great sizes, so they are easy to travel with. The spiral binding allows you to lay them flat. I'd recommend this for anyone who wants to start practicing watercolor or mixed media at an affordable price, art journalers, and people who enjoy doing a diverse array of artwork on the go.I've been a practicing artist for about 10 years now, and I'm returning to school for a degree in Art Education. I have a lot of experience with drawing and painting -- and this year, I have begun experimenting with watercolor and mixed media. From my perspective, this is a well made, versatile sketch book - one of the best out there, considering the quality and number of pages you get.

I remember being about 12 years old and finding this paper at some Fred Meyers, it was $10 and the paper felt nice. I have now used this paper for a decade. I ran out of it for a year, and now I have a job and money and can afford to buy the nice, fancy, excessively expensive cotton paper, the kind that runs you $5 for a single sheet. Honestly? I still prefer this. The cotton blend allows sturdiness that puts up with my abuse of it, the way it absorbs watercolors can be delightful (after many tries, I have discovered it puts up with up to 3 layers of paint!) and it’s tough enough to put up with erasing in a way fancy paper couldn’t dream of.Nowadays this stuff has gotten to be kinda spendy on its own, but $20 really isn’t too bad for the quality.Maybe the nice stuff just challenges my perfectionism to the point I am unable to really even use it. Maybe it’s my familiarity with this paper. But to me, it is perfection.However I will note that my most recent purchase arrived somewhat dirty on the cover. It looks kinda like cat paw prints but my cats hadn’t even a chance to touch this yet lol. I’m sure my own grubby, graphite covered hands will leave their own marks on the covers though, and the pages are fine!!

Hands down best multi sketchbook there is, beats Canson XL mixed media as this one handles better in quality. Same near price to Canson XL mixed media but I love this one more. This sketchbook paper is 130lb/212 gsm watercolor papers being 140lb-300/300gsm+ this is pretty great for on the go watercolor sketches, added to your sketching focus studies etc. If using soft pastel use scentless Hair extra hold spray (cheap workable fixative!). I buy paper size and carry on of 7 x 5 perfect for travel for each.Remember its for sketching and not full heavy work, its quick practice for watercolor. It can handle heavy watercolor work but it'll buckle.But perfect for graphite, inks, marker light Watercolor, with watercolor practice.Markers still bleed through that's expected but just place extra thick paper under page you're working on and problem solved.This is a top notch sketchbook only 2nd to the bleed proof sketchbook of Crescent.If you need higher heavy to paper for serious work try Bee Watercolor paper rag or 100% cotton

Found this pad in Berkeley California and fell in Love. Since i have ordered from Amazon. The pages are thick and have great grit for everything from pencil to watercolor. It's easy to just hold in your lap due to the sturdiness. At the same time I find them a little too cumbersome for a travel pad. As seen in the pic. It barely bleeds through after about four to five layers of alcohol markers. Love this product! ❤

I've used this paper for years for smaller watercolors and love it. I just bought this in the 18" x 24" size to try out. For larger work, its a bit less successful because I'm extremely demanding of the paper. I'm working wet on wet with a lot of bleeding, but I have gotten some good work from it even though its not quite as tough as 140lb cold press that I usually use for larger work. I love that the surface is a bit smoother than cold press paper, but not as smooth as hot press and so the bleeding and washes give me some lovely, subtle details. Great paper and a good price, especially if you aren't quite as tough on paper as I am.

One of my favorite sketchbook brands. The size is great for travel, the paper is beautiful, thick durable cover and spiral binding makes it great for transport.

As a multi medium artist, this product in every size is outstanding. Never found anything that compares to quality. Paper is heavy enough for watercolor and textured enough for pastel, charcoal and pencil. Use small size tablet for pen and ink mandalas!

I love these! The heavyweight paper is wonderful and acid-free.In completing my first filled art journal using this product, I changed out the wire binding for binder clips. That's because the art work ended up expended the pages and the finished book required more space to breathe and to flip through easily.These sketch books are impressive and simply divine to work with!

Excellent--weight and texture of paper is very versatile, will accept both wet and dry, and enough tooth for charcoal/pastel.

El papel es muy bueno, ya que yo aplique gouache por ambos lado de la hoja y se pandeo un minimo, practicamente nada, la relación precio/calidad es excelente.

El tamaño es súper práctico y el papel de muy buena calidad, estoy muy contenta con mi compra

Best sketch book ever according to my daughter

Excelente calidad del producto puedo usar mis acuarelas, la hoja es gruesa.