Hello Everybody! How are you all doing today?

Welcome to my new post! There are so many sketchbook that I am using this year. They are all great in its own way. So I wanted to talk a little bit about them and why do I like them so much. I have a lot of sketchbooks, some of them are new brands I want to try. Others are same old same old. I have experience with them and I love how they work with my unique art style. Before, I used to draw every idea in the same sketchbook. Nowadays I have a journal for different themes or art mediums. 

So out of all the art journals I currently own, I am using only seven of them. I know that is a lot. But I wanted create a Chibi Cute Collection Art, Holiday art, and Art Journaling. They all belong in their respective journals. But the majority of my drawings this year came from the Canson XL Watercolor Journal. I wasn’t even planning to use it as my Sketchbook Art. That is why I have the Moleskine and Stillman and Birn. Well, some of the drawings in the Moleskine failed on me. So I had the Stillman and Birn as a back-up. 

Leda Art Supply: I love this sketchbook. The pages are so smooth. I wouldn’t mind buying another one to draw all over it. I bought a set of two journals. I’ve already filled up one with my art practice. The second one is being used for my Chibi Cute Character Art. Over the years I’ve gotten bored of coloring with colored pencils. But I’ll make the exception for this specific journal. The smoothness of the page makes coloring with my Prismacolor much easier. This motivated me to draw more. The pencils and erasers glided on their surface and made the process quicker and cleaner. When you erase it doesn’t leave any trace behind.

Strathmore Mixed Media 500 Series: Like this sketchbook. I’ve been using this one for more than a year now. This is where I draw my Holiday Artwork. It cost me a pretty penny to get it. I wasn’t planning to color in it until I realized what a waste it would be if I didn’t. But at least it was worth it. Its quality doesn’t disappoint me. The part that I like the most is that it has 100% cotton paper. I was not expecting that from a mixed media or a 400 Series journal. The most charming part of this journal is the soft cover. I wasn’t used to it before. But I like how it feels on my hands. The paper is a little on the rough side

Stillman & Birn Zeta: I’ve had this journal since 2019. I like how smooth it is. But there are different types of journals. And the Zeta series was the one that fitted the best with my preference. The reason I like this journal is that it has smooth white pages. The pages are thick with 270 gsm or 100 lbs. I know that isn’t much, but if it can do the job right I don’t care about it. It can handle dry, wet mediums, watercolor, and inks. In other words, it is the right journal for me. I wish it came with more sheets but I am fine with 26 Stitched or 25 for the spiral journal. In the drawing department, the journal is amazing. And there are no issues when applying ink. I’ve only colored once. But it did surpass my expectation. It works better than Moleskine. I want to buy another one as soon I am done with the one I am using.

Canson XL Watercolor: I don’t remember when exactly did I buy this sketchbook. All I know is that I had it. And I found an excuse on how to use it. My plan was to learn how to use my Winsor and Newton Cotman Watercolors on it. It started fine, and I kind of forgot. Then later on I used it as a test sketchbook. I would draw things there to see how much I liked the design. And now you have seen 15 artworks from it already.

I do like this journal a lot. That is why I bought another one, but smaller. I got it from Blick.com. I used it for artwork. And I’ve already published a bunch of art from here already. Most of them are from my V-tuber model. But I like these art journals a lot. There are very affordable. If this were the only watercolor journal in the world, I would be fine with it. For me, it works better than you think.

Moleskine Watercolor Journal: Not going to lie, this was an impulse buy. At the time I didn’t need it. But the fact that the paper was 30% cotton was the thing that got me. I have drawings in the journal, but they are all incomplete. I have two artworks done already, and there are some I can’t even color because of the ink I used. So the journal is a bit useless right now. For the amount I paid, I am disappointed that it only has 30% of cotton paper. Moleskine is quite pricy. I don’t want to talk bad about the paper, I haven’t used it that much yet so I’ll wait until later to review it better. You know what? I will work on it more. I want to change my opinion about it. 

Dylusion Creative Journal: This is not a sketchbook. This is more like a journal with very thick pages. I got it for a reason and I have plans for it. I want to do creative journaling on it. I did a two-page spread but I don’t have the time to be working on them. One project uses a lot of supplies and I hate the mess it creates. Soon I’ll be thinking about dedicating a whole month to it. We’ll see what happens. I have four Dylussion journals, now you know how much I like them. If art journaling weren’t so messy, I would do it more often.

Canson Xl Mix Media: I like this sketchbook. After the blue sketchbook, I got this one. It is funny I still haven’t completed it yet. But if things work out well, I will do it next year. I like that the pages are thick and they can handle both wet and dry mediums. So far I have five of them with me. Three of them are new and two of them are incomplete. I included this sketchbook on the list because I am drawing next year’s drawings right now. And I will be using another one in September for my anatomy drawing practice. I can’t say more about how well the sketchbook works because I haven’t used it that much. After I do, I will write a review about it. Canson XL is a beginner-grade brand. It is affordable and works great for people who are learning how to draw or color. I wish I had discovered this when I was a child. But that is fine. I spent weeks redrawing my old art into one of these sketchbooks. It would look a lot different but at least I get the chance to complete them in a good quality journal.

I do miss not having to think about where each drawing needs to go. But at the same time I love to keep each idea and art technique organized in their own journal. This is one of the reasons why it get harder and harder to complete a journal. No matter how many artworks I make through a year, it is more challenging to complete a whole sketchbook. And I want to make that possible next year. 

There you have it, a new post! There are a bunch of drawings to finish and I am falling behind. It will be a challenge to complete a 58 page sketchbook in one year. I have more drawings than weeks. But I know I can make it possible. At least it is only one journal that I have to worry about for one year. I know that things won’t go as planned but at least I am ahead of what I am supposed to do. 

So please wish me good luck and I hope you have a nice day!

Do not forget to give me a visit at The Senspirational ArtRoom. All I need is your support and you can do so by going to my Patreon page. Or go to see my older drawings at DeviantArt. There are also many other sites that I am currently active in. Never forget to add me on Facebook, Twitch, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest. Well, I’ll leave now. Be nice to others and have a nice day!

See you all later and take care,

from Ijiserure.