Strathmore460-19 500 Series Visual Mixed Media Journal, Vellum, 9"x12", White, 34 Sheets

This inexpensive journal contains watercolor paper that is nice and thick; it will handle wet work without any problems. It's also prettier than you'd think, as that printed cover can be torn off, revealing a nice, textured brown cover front and back. I tried it because I was taking an online class that was only 15 sessions, and I didn't want a lot of pages left over. It was perfect. This is a nice, simple product that you'll be pleased with.

This is my go to watercolor journal. It's a great size, very affordable, nice quality. 140 lb. cold pressed watercolor paper. Pages are not perforated so not easily removed - but that doesn't bother me. I like that I can lay the journal open flat. Item arrived quickly and in great shape. I recommend for any hobby painter.

I worked at the art supply store at my art college years ago, in the 90s. My school collaborated with a local paper company to put out a variety of school-brand sketchbooks. One of them was a spiral bound book, 11" x 14", with a heavy cover and back. And the paper was 100% cotton watercolor paper, 140 cold press. There were around 25 pages in them. They were the best sketchbooks, and an incredible buy. (I can't remember what they cost, but if I found them affordable as a student, they were not expensive.) I wish I had somehow been able to stockpile them and store them in an art supply bunker, but those sketchbooks are now a thing of the past.The next best thing to building a time machine, and going back to buy one of my alma mater watercolor sketchbooks, is buying one of these. Strathmore 460-19 500 Series Visual Mixed Media Journal, Vellum, 9"x12", White, 34 Sheets.These are my requirements for a good sketchbook: spiral binding, so I can fold the pages all the way back without them getting weird, and tear the pages out easily if need be. The paper needs to be 100% cotton so it will stand up to multiple eraser scrubbings and multiple water applications without pilling. It needs to be of a decent weight so it doesn’t tear under the erasing and water. It should have a generous amount of pages. It has to tolerate a variety of mixed media. And- it needs to be affordable.I work wet on wet a lot. I use water soluble graphite to draw the basic design, and have to do a lot of erasing because my drafting skills aren't the greatest. Then I go in with water-soluble chalk pastels, gouache, ink, more graphite, and sometimes acrylic paint and water soluble colored pencils. I spray the paper with water for wet on wet, and will spray the work in progress and sometimes rinse off as much of the image as I can, and then go back in and work on it some more. When its finished, I will spray the work with either Workable Fixatif or Crystal Clear to seal in the media. Or I will put on a layer or two of polymer medium. I like to keep the work in the book. I do put glassine between the pages. But the paper gets loaded with media, and layers, and plastic- and with the exception of a little tearing at the top or bottom of the page, the books stay intact.I don't know how the paper is sized, or have any other information on them. I just know they are amazing, and I'm happy they exist.Strathmore, if you are listening: I'd really love an 11" x 14" size of one of these.I highly recommend this sketchbook. Treat yourself to one. Under $20. 100% cotton paper. The paper makes a big difference, and won't quit on you, or pill, or tear. I have tormented the pages of these sketchbooks, and they keep their integrity. I'm really glad I found them.

You really can't go wrong with this sketchbook. It has a lot of great features! The price is fair. The paper is really sturdy and handles watercolor beautifully. The spiral binding is comfortable. The paper itself has a really pleasent cold-pressed texture that looks organic and not too pronounced. Paint flows so smoothly on top of it. It dries decently even. It is, however, prone to create cauliflower effects, which I personally love. It is really easy to lift with this paper, but it is also decent for glazing i've find, which is hard to achieve. Now, some of its cons: the paper is not double-sided. The back of a sheet has a much more mechanic-looking cold-pressed texture that I don't really enjoy. Watercolor lays weirdly on top of it. It dries faster and the texture it produces is not really of my pleasure. I personally use the back of the sheets for drawing or for swatching the colors of my painting (as seen on my picture provided). I wouldn't recommend using the back of the paper for rendered sketches, it is not pleasent to work with. Another con (for me) is that this sketchbook is not too travel-friendly. I love to take my sketchbooks to wherever I go, travel with them, and paint outdoors. However, this sketchbook gets a little beat-up too quickly inside of a backpack. It doesn't have an elastic band to protect it from spreading inside a bag wich can lead to some pages getting messed up. That's about it! I do recommend this sketchbook for more rendered sketches since the paper is thick and can handle them. It doesn't have that many pages, and considering the fact that one side of a page is great and the back is not, I would use it for more refined sketches or even finished pieces that you can easily torn off the book due to its spiral bounding (i do recommend cutting the page with sissors instead of just ripping it, because the paper is sturdy and can mess up the spirals). I recommend it for painting indoors but it's still not bad for outdoors painting, just beware that it is prone to being damaged.

Para quienes estamos empezando con acuarela, lo recomiendo mucho para fechar tus ejercicios y ver tu avance. El material no es tan pesado cómo un Canson, pero ayuda para medir el agua del pincel

Adorei! Porém não permite grandes aguadas.

Even though the paper is only 90 lbs but it is still better than 140 lb paper that is not 100% cotton for watercolour washes. I will buy this again.

This journal is awesome! I was concerned about the cover of the journal. But once I received it I noticed that it is just a paper cover that I removed.

This has a tough strong cover and the paper quality is great. I use this mostly to practice my water color drills and drafts before I go toa higher cotton paper. If you don't have a better paper but have this sketch book you will still love it. The price, paper and strength are a great deal.