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In this blog I share my favorite sketchbooks for watercolor. The sketchbooks I describe are really suitable for watercolor paint, so for when you're using quite a bit of water. Per brand and series I explain why I like them so much and how much water they can handle. Do you often use different materials in your sketchbook ? Maybe you can use the blog about mixed media sketchbooks, in which I also mention the Stillman&Birn sketchbooks. I also made a reel of it, because it was very difficult to show the sketchbooks clearly in photos.   View this post on Instagram A post shared by Splendith (@splendith)   The watercolor sketchbooks I mention in this blog: Hahnemühle watercolor book Hahnemühle 100% cotton Hahnemühle Zigzag Etchr Accordion Etchr hot&cold pressed Etchr 'The perfect sketchbook' Mossery Watercolor & 100% cotton watercolor   All the sketchbooks in this comparison are bound, so you can use them flat. Because of this, the canvas you paint on is suddenly twice as big. Only the Mossery sketchbook has an option for a spiral: this can be useful if you want to fold the sketchbook.   Hahnemühle Watercolor Book The Hahnemühle Watercolor Book is a classic that is loved by many watercolorists for good reason. This sketchbook has 200gsm (cellulose) paper that is perfect for both wet and dry techniques. The paper has a fine grain structure, comparable to cold pressed paper. This paper can handle quite a bit of paint in the form of washes, but because it is 200 grams paper it can bubble a little. For 200 grams paper it feels thicker and can handle a lot of water. Available in both landscape and portrait, A6, A5, A4, 14x14cm and 19.5x19.5cm.   Hahnemühle 100% Cotton Sketchbook For those looking for premium paper, the Hahnemühle 100% Cotton Sketchbook is a great choice. This sketchbook features 250gsm cold pressed bright white paper made from 100% cotton, which ensures that the water absorbs nicely. The colours remain vibrant and bright, and the paper has a nice structure that supports both wet and dry techniques well. Available in both landscape and portrait, A6, A5 and A4 and two square sizes.   Hahnemühle Zigzag The Hahnemuhle Zigzag Book is a special one, the pages of this sketchbook are connected to each other. They actually form one very long page. These books have 300 grams cold pressed paper.   Etchr Hot and Cold Pressed Sketchbooks All Etchr sketchbooks are made with 100% cotton paper, which works great! You can also choose between hot pressed and cold pressed paper. Choose a smooth or a more textured surface, depending on your preference. The hot pressed paper is smooth and ideal for detailed work and illustrations. The paper is a bit thinner, 220 grams, but can still handle quite a lot of water.   This sketchbook is also on the mixed media list. Do you want to work with multiple materials in your sketchbook? In the hot pressed variant you can also work very well with, for example, colored pencils and markers. The cold pressed paper has a fine texture and is perfect for traditional watercolor techniques. This paper is also bright white, and is 230 grams. Both variants are beautifully bound and available in both landscape and portrait in a6, a5, B5 (my favorite size) and A4. Etchr Accordion The Etchr Accordion books have the same paper, but with a different binding.   Etchr Perfect Sketchbook The Etchr Perfect Sketchbook is a favorite among many artists because of the thick watercolor paper and its quality. This sketchbook has 300gsm 100% cotton paper which is fantastic for watercolor. The paper is sturdy and can handle large amounts of water without bubbling or warping. The sketchbook also has a nice look on the outside. It is available in a landscape A5 or A4.   Etchr Signature Sketchbooks For these Etchr Signature sketchbooks you unfortunately have to dig deeper into your pockets, but they are so beautiful! These sketchbooks are filled with the 300 grams Fabriano Artistico paper, and the edges of the pages are so beautifully handmade. With these sketchbooks you can choose between a B5 hot or cold pressed.   Strathmore watercolor book This Stathmore sketchbook only comes in two sizes, but is bound with 300 grams paper. This is made with cellulose paper. Mossery Watercolor Sketchbook The Mossery Watercolor Sketchbooks are not only functional but also stylish. With 300gsm cold pressed they are perfect for watercolor. With a Mossery Sketchbook you can choose 100% cotton paper and for the binding you can choose between having a wirebound or a bound sketchbook. What also makes Mossery really special is the large assortment of beautiful covers to choose from. In terms of size you can only choose an A5 sketchbook.     Conclusion That was my roundup of our favorite watercolor sketchbooks! Each of these sketchbooks has its own unique advantages. I hope this blog helps you find the perfect sketchbook for your watercolor creations! Happy painting! Do you already have a favorite watercolor sketchbook? Share it with me in the comments below! Until next time, Love, Judith

Do you like to use mixed media in a sketchbook? Lovely to work with both watercolor, colored pencils ink and more in the same sketchbooks. In this blog I compare the following mixed media sketchbooks Seawhite sketchbooks Stillman & Birn Beta & Nova Stillman & Birn Zeta Mossery mixed media Etchr Hot pressed Talens Art Creatio  An important sidenote Mixed media is, as the name suggests, suitable for all kinds of materials. I personally only consider a sketchbook mixed media if you can work with both wet and dry materials. With wet materials I think of ink and watercolor paint. With dry materials I think of colored pencils and fineliners. One book is a bit more suitable for colored pencils and the other for wet materials, but these sketchbooks are especially suitable for the combination. The paper is therefore not 100% made for one material, and not 100% for the other. That makes the paper suitable for multiple materials and that makes it 100% suitable for mixed media :). Do you know in advance that you will almost always use one type of material? Then choose a specific sketchbook for that material, you will probably have more painting fun with it. In this blog I share my favorite sketchbooks for watercolor. I will add more sketchbooks for drawing to the shop at the end of the year.  Seawhite sketchbooks These sketchbooks are slightly underrated because they only have 140 grams of paper. However, they are very nice to use. In connection with the weight of the paper, I would say: use these for the drier variant of mixed media. So you mainly work with pencils and sometimes also some wet materials. However, you can certainly still work with wet materials in the Seawhite sketchbooks, without it bubbling enormously. What is also nice about these sketchbooks: they are affordable and have (especially in the square formats) many pages. So do you want an affordable sketchbook, with many pages and where you can also use wet materials? Then I would definitely try this one. View Seawhite sketchbooks. Stillman & Birn Beta & Nova The sketchbooks from Stillman & Birn are very well suited for use with mixed media. The Beta version has 270 grams paper and a cold-pressed surface. You can use wet materials in this sketchbook. You can also use watercolor paint occasionally, but I personally find that the paint is absorbed very quickly into the paper and then dries immediately. Something to keep in mind. For gouache and acrylic paint it is a winner, and because of the small structure it is also very nice for colored pencils. The Nova series has the same paper, but with a beige or gray tint. Ps, the Stillman & Birn series has more types of paper. Only the other series are made with 150 grams paper and I have not tested well enough with wet materials. They are very nice with pencil, and with very light washes. Check them out here.   Stillman & Birn Zeta The Zeta series is also 270 grams paper, but is made of smooth paper. The Beta and Nova series then have a small structure. You can use these well for markers, fineliners and colored pencils, but also with more wet materials. The paper is stiff, and therefore does not bubble easily. What I find an extra nice side effect of these sketchbooks is that you can paint them very well to the edge. Good to know: these are real mixed media sketchbooks. Your paint dries quite quickly on this paper: that makes them less suitable if you only work with watercolor in them. View the Zeta sketchbooks here.   Mossery mixed media A nice mixed media sketchbook if you like to work with a wirebound. The paper is 220 grams, and with a little bit of structure. The nice thing about a wirebound is that you can easily take out another sheet. The sketchbooks of Mossery are available in very nice covers. View Mossery's mixed media sketchbooks here.    Etchr Hot pressed This is my favorite for mixed media! Reason why I like it so much: The sketchbook is made of 100% cotton paper. This ensures that you can work very nicely wet-on-wet. This size is my favorite and I have only been able to find it from Etchr so ​​far, the B5. This is roughly tablet size: big enough to have the space, small enough to take with you. I like to draw with fineliners, and color that with watercolors or do the base layer with watercolors and color that with pencils. This paper is super nice for that! Check out Etchr's hot pressed sketchbooks here.   Talens Art Creation These sketchbooks from Talens are a super budget-friendly option. With 140 gram paper, they can't handle a lot of paint without bubbling. But I don't mind bubbling in this sketchbook: it's a very nice sketchbook to experiment in. The paper can handle a relatively large amount of water, but you can also draw in it with dry materials. There are a lot of pages in this sketchbook. The only limitation of the sketchbook is that it has somewhat thinner paper, but that makes the room for experimenting even greater. View the Talens sketchbooks here.  Conclusion sketchbooks for mixed media In the shop we have a wonderful collection of sketchbooks , take a look. Now the only thing left is: choose the sketchbook that suits you best. Hopefully this blog will help you make a choice. Still can't figure it out? You can always email or call us when making a choice. Still in doubt? Sometimes the only thing you can do is: test! I tested all sketchbooks before they came into the shop, so they are of good quality. Greetings, Judith