Sketchbook

Beautiful Renaissance type color. Gives a good contrast when using white charcoal pen.

Not enough brands offer this shade. The size is just right and the tone is good. Would buy again.

This review is for the three colors of the 5.5" x 8.5" 400 series Strathmore sketchbooks because although they are marketed to be identical with only a color variation, they are completely different. Gray, Strathmore Spiral Toned Sketch Book 5.5"X8.5"-Gray 50 Sheets Tan, Strathmore Spiral Toned Sketch Book 5.5"X8.5"-Tan 50 Sheets White/Off-White, Strathmore Sketch Spiral Paper Pad 5.5"X8.5"-100 Sheets Gray: 1. 50 sheets, yes 2. NOT perforated like the other colors 3. NOT 80 lb weight although it claims to be, much thinner 4. Darker than quality gray art paper in the larger sizes--markers and pencil don't show well Tan, hands down my favorite: 1. 50 sheets, yes 2. Perforated sheets tear out easily 3. 80 lb heavyweight paper, ink and marker do not show through to the other side 4. Perfect darkness for ink and marker to show up well and bright 5. Perfect amount of "tooth" to sketch with pencil or marker White: 1. 100 sheets because it's only slightly thicker than plain printer paper (20 lb) 2. Perforated sheets but they tear the entire sheet because the paper is so thin 3. NOT 80 lb paper, supposedly 60 lb but it's so thin it's more like 26 lb weight 4. Pencil, ink, and marker show right through this thin paper 5. Unusual color with little to no tooth I would NOT recommend the gray or white, although larger sizes might be fine (the larger gray in particular is better quality than this size). The tan is heavenly. I love it.

I absolutely love these toned paper books. The quality is very good and the price point is excellent. I also love that they use 30% post-consumer fibers and are, therefore, more environmentally friendly than virgin sketchbooks. I have the toned tan and toned gray books in multiple sizes. I use them mostly for sketching in the field with graphite, colored pencil, oil pastels and micron pens, dip pens or fast drying markers. I use the tone of the paper for my mid tone values, then build form with added lights and darks. Even quick gesture sketches have more innate character than those drawn on plain white paper. They offer a nice change of pace from my usual white watercolor sketchbooks. The paper in these books is 80 lb (118 gsm) weight, so it is ideal for dry media. The pages can be lightly sanded to add tooth for soft pastels/pencils, though I think oil pastels or artist crayons work better, since they tend to stay in place. The pages will also accept very light watercolor, gouache or acrylic painting techniques, such as dry brushing in small areas, but are guaranteed to buckle if the paper gets too wet. So, if you use any wet media beyond alcohol-based inks, exercise some caution. In addition to these books, I also have the Strathmore 400 Series Artagain black paper pads, which contain a even higher percentage of recycled fiber (50%) and I enjoy those, as well, for working from dark to light. In those I tend to work with oil pastels, colored pencils, artist crayons, acrylic inks and/or some gouache. If these books were offered in other neutral tones, I'm sure I'd buy them, as well.

Strathmore 400 series is solid all around for sketching. The paper takes abuse and there's almost no obvious tooth to the paper. We use this sketchbook as a requirement for my head drawing and anatomy drawing classes at school. The paper weight is thick enough to use wet medium such as markers or ink. No obvious bleeding. I haven't used it with watercolor though. The 9x12 size is perfect for taking out on the field as well and not just in a studio or class environment. The only reason I didn't give the full 5 stars mark is the price. I know this is a good quality sketchbook but most of us students can afford it when it goes on sale. Other than that, nothing to not like about this sketchbook.

Love this paper! Has a nice tooth to it and lays down pencil and charcoal very nicely. I was afraid that the tone would be too dark, but that’s not the case for my needs. Will be my go to paper.

This is high quality paper for sketching.The sheets are big enough to cut in half for your sketching.

This book is AMAZING! I found out about it after being recommended by Youtube Artist, DramaticParrot, who uses it to create some amazing pieces of art. As an aspiring artist and fan, I had to take her word. This is my first non-white sketchbook and I noticed the change in quality as soon as I opened it. The pages were so smooth and so good for sketching, something I had never experienced before. I tried drawing a black and white realistic figure skater and full-colored BB-8, and either way, those 2 have been the best drawings I have ever created. I recommend you add a white gelly roll outline to some of your images, and BAM! it looks incredible. You don't need expensive materials (such as really good colored pencils) to work with it. I used 50 Set of Crayola pencils and it turned out great, IMO. If you want to give your art work a different take and want to try out high-end paper without the high cost that comes with it, try this! The 50 pages should last you quite a while, and really, for a book this quality, the price of it is cheap and something I'll be sure to re-order once I run out. If you're an artist, you should really try using this tan book, you may never look at your art the same way again! :)

L album era proprio quello di cui avevo bisogno Sono pienamente soddisfatto e lo consiglio a chiunque cerchi un album abbastanza liscio e che permetta di ottenere degli ottimi contrasti di luce ✅ PRO: Liscio, i colori scorrono bene sulla carta. Fogli di alta qualità, si possono fare tantissime sovrapposizioni di colori, per chi è abituato a lavorare a strati 🔴 CONTRO: Forse un po sottili, ma tutto viene compensato dalla qualità dei fogli e dei risultati. Se siete dei disegnatori professionisti e cercate una soluzione professionale per fare ritratti o paesaggi, questo é quello che fa per voi 🔥🔥🔥

Ótimo. Estou amando desenhar e colorir nesse papel

I love it thank you so much just started drawing and it was perfect and the white was visible and it’s not too small nor big it’s good for a sketch book and the price is goood.

Papel excelente para técnica de grafite/carvão

Ich bin von den toned tan Blöcken begeistert. Ich hab sie in allen Größen und hab bislang für ölbasierte Buntstifte nichts besseres gefunden. Das Papier ist schön dick, stabil und hat genügend Struktur, dass es für Zeichentechnicken mit Polychromos und Caran d‘ache bestens geeignet ist. Selbst nach 5-6 Farbschichten greift das Papier immer noch. Würde ich jederzeit wieder kaufen.