Strathmore Paper (566-5 500 Series Hardbound Mixed Media Art Journal, 5.5"x8.5", 32 Sheets

Love these art journals. They can be a bit pricey especially when you want the big ones but they are worth splurging on. Love everything about them!

This watercolor sketchbook is so perfect I’ve bought multiple repeat copies. The size is perfect for using one page or across the back of one and front of the other or making 2-8 small squares for small project paintings on each page.

Did not realize the cover is brown, thought it was black, but the interior paper is exceptional quality. I will be buying this again in the future and I highly recommend you do too.

I use this sketchbook (Hardbound Mixed Media Art Journal, 8.5" x 11", Toned Tan) mostly for gouache and watercolor studies, and am super impressed with the quality of the paper and binding. The paper is probably the heaviest I've used and holds gouache really well. I haven't had any problems with buckling or tearing, and only a minimum of pilling with a really wet wash, but that can be easily avoided. The paper is quite smooth and great for sketching. I've also used watercolor pencils with it, and again had great results. Will absolutely purchase again and maybe try other sizes as this one is a bit large for travel. 10/10 love this one!

I'm always hesitant about buying watercolor paper or it's equivalent online because I can't quite touch and feel the paper myself, and have consequently ended up with garbage in the past. That being said, this isn't bad at all, especially for the price and size and the fact it's 100% cotton paper. There is an odor when you open it that I can't describe that takes a second to adjust to, but you don't notice it after a few minutes. This is definitely HOT PRESS paper. If you're looking for a cold press sketchbook this isn't for you. But if you're looking for hot press, it does work quite well for fine details that don't bleed and crisp defined lines. The paper will buckle unless you really get it prepped and taped down. But it has yet to disintegrate under heavy amounts of water and tear on me. I'm using it predominantly for watercolors, and like to layer my colors. Not once have I noticed it start to fall into pieces because of too much water. I've had others do that to me, so if a watercolor notebook is your aim, this will definitely hold up. The colors don't bleed through at all, at least not with watercolor and gouache. I couldn't tell you about copic markers. So overall, this is a pretty solid sketchbook. I had been hoping for cold press paper, but outside of that disappointment, it's working great for what I intended to get out of it, a watercolor sketchbook.

I absolutely love this sketchbook! The pages are nice and thick, so bleed-throughs are impossible! Graphite pencils (even very soft ones such as 7B, 8B, etc.) are very easy to erase (unless you press super duper hard). I mainly use Arrtx Acrylic markers on this one, and the colors look absolutely beautiful on the toned paper! Also, I absolutely love the format and stickers stick well on the cover, which is very durable! I would definetely buy again!

I’ve been using Strathmore watercolor sketchbooks for years. Most of the time I use them en plein air. I carry one in my car. I carry one in a shoulder bag. I have one next to my desk. I use both cold press and hot press depending on what media I am using and I have yet to be disappointed with any book I use. The hot press is great for my pencil and my pen and ink works. Once the ink has dried I will occasionally add a watercolor wash. Many books are years old and the watercolors are yet to fade. I like them so much I have been giving them out to my grandkids and the children of my friends.

For Professional Artists who love working with all sorts of mediums: I LOVE this book. I draw with Strathmore graphite pencils, mechanical pencils, watercolor pencils and colored pencils. The pages have great textures for all of them. There’s too different types of teeth, one for each side. They erase very well and don’t smear too much. When using watercolor, try not to overdo the water amount and it won’t get too crinkly. Plus, when one dries, you can try compacting the book on the floor with other books to help flatten the work out. I also recommend a perforating tool (which you can buy on amazon) if you want to have a hardbound where you can safely remove pages. I recommend the Excel perforation tools. Just be sure to bend the page back and forth gently before tearing. This isn’t a “lie-flat” book, but it’ll eventually lay flatter the more you use it. So for me, personally, it handles all my mediums and I can just have fun with it. It’s solid, beautifully made and everything you’d expect from this well-known company. I love the large size I got. I was like a kid in a candy store when I pulled it out of the box and opened its thick white pages.

Great journal for acrylic paint. Pages barely curl, bit of warping when wet but flattens out when dry. Strong binding and cover.

I'm looking forward to using this book for drawings in black heightened with white. The mixed media paper is substantially heavier than that in Strathmores spiral bound Toned Tan and Toned Gray books. My initial tests suggest it works very nicely with ink (yielding lovely crisp lines), simple washes and acrylic pens, as well dry media such as pencils and crayons. Watersoluble colour pencils and crayons, and watersoluble graphite/carbon/charcoals also work nicely. Obviously not great for traditional watercolour because of the strong grey tone and the fact that the paper is very smooth, but it does hold up to wet media quite well. I haven't tested the paper with gouache but I imagine that would work well too. The paper has a kind of fleck to it – it's not absolutely smooth grey. The format and size is useful and the cover is Strathmore's usual hardbound with textured brown finish. This American brand of papers and sketchbooks can be relatively expensive in Australia, and not that many retailers stock them, but they can sometimes be found on Amazon AU at deeply discounted prices.

Excelente

Gostei da qualidade. O papel tem uma textura bastante uniforme. É 100% celulose mas de boa qualidade para aquarela. Serve bem. Por ser de uma marca assim achei meio caro, mas a capa tem uma qualidade superior a Hahnemule e Moleskine.