Hey, I am trying to find a good hardbound sketchbook. 50-200 pages or so. One that is good for pencil and pen, and is durable to erasing. Anyone know of a sketchbook like that? I am left-handed, so spiral-bound notebooks don't work so well for me...

Thank you!

-Luna :kitty:

I am left handed too, however, I just use spiral notebooks backwards. However, if the pages have any sort of difference between the backs and fronts of them that won't work.

My best suggestion is to look around in a local art or office (limited, but they have some) store, for something you find suitable. Personally I find the pages is most sketchbooks too heavy for my taste, and I stick to normal copy paper for my sketches, though its not as safe for them.

Good luck finding your sketch book.

well, I had this really nice hardbound sketchbook. It was made by C&D Visionary Inc. (It was a Bleach anime Sketchbook) But they do not make it anymore. It had 100 pages on Bright White Paper. It was amazing for both pencil and pen, and very durable eraser wise. The paper was really nice and smooth too. Sharpie didn't even bleed through it! I've been searching for another book like that one. :P

Oh, wow, that does sound nice. Unfortunately I have no idea where to find something like that. I'd suggest searching online, but then you can't check the paper quality before buying it... however it is an option. Perhaps something else from the company your old one is from will be similar? They may have used similar paper and style with a different design since the old one they aren't making anymore.

I checked the main site *sigh* It was the only sketchbook they ever made.

Awww...

Well, hopefully someone else on here has a more precise idea of a good one and can give you a name or something more concrete to go on in finding a new one then.

Ok, hopefully! thanks for trying to help tho~! I really appreciate it!

The only other suggestion I can make is to get a stock of 40-60 pound cardstock extra smooth and get it bound for you for about 1-2$. Ask to see if the office store, or art store has any extra backing or illustration board for the back cover. Ask them to bind the top and not the side.

Hope this helps

hey...that's a good idea. I didn't know they could do that!

And if you don't do that, you could always check the materials offered at Hobby Lobby.

I'm also left handed so I had the same problem for a while.
My solution was to buy the normal, cheap spiral bound sketchbooks and then turn them over or upside-down so that the spirals are on the right and flip the pages backwards. I've been doing it for like eight years and it has yet to fail me.
The only down real downsides are that it momentarily confuses people when they look at it and sometimes they ask if I'm trying to be Japanese.

well, I've tried that...But my pencil drawing always get smudged! DX Do you have any suggestions on paper type for the sketchbooks?

I actually don't have that much trouble with smudging. I guess I've learned to draw around it?
I generally look at three things when buying paper: tooth, weight, and acid-freeness.
Tooth is the texture of the paper, and what you want kind of depends on what medium you're using. Most sketchbooks say on the cover what they're designed for, some have tooth labeled. I kinda like a medium to smooth tooth for pencil work personally.
Weight is how heavy a press they used to make the paper. Generally higher weight = better quality but it also costs more. I think 50 to 100 lbs is fine for a sketchbook. My mother once bought me some that were 25 lbs, and while they weren't awful some of the pages had obvious bits of wood embedded in them.
Finally, acidic paper tends to yellow with age so I always try to make sure everything I buy is acid free. If the paper isn't labeled it probably isn't acid free.

You ought to be able to find something decent for about $5 or $6 at any art supply store. I used to buy a lot of sketchbooks at Wal-Mart but recently I haven't been able to find the kind I like there anymore.

If you're still having trouble with smudging I've heard several people say they've had good results by just placing a notecard or other small piece of paper under their hands when drawing. I kinda thought it got in the way personally, but it might be something to try out.

My favorite brand of sketchbook, Canson, has the spiral binding at the top rather than the side. I mainly like them because they're acid-free, decently sized, have a slight tooth to the paper and cheap (about $2.50.) Maybe that could be what you're looking for?

It does kind of depend on what you want to draw on it and what you're drawing with.

You probably don't want a paper with much tooth, if any. Graphite will get in the low areas and be harder to erase. When you erase you destroy some of the tooth, changing the look of the paper.

How hard do you erase, and what do you erase with? If you draw hard (like I do, I can't seem to help it) you're never going to be able to erase everything, and you want strong, smooth paper. Some erasers work better than others too.

A lot of paper is made to work with certain materials. Some pencils (I can't remember if it's soft or hard pencils) are going to smudge no matter what, it's what they do. If you just use a normal mechanical pencil it shouldn't smudge unless you're actually rubbing on the paper a lot for some reason (like drawing on pages above or putting your hand on it).

A good test is probably plain old printer paper. Can you sketch satisfactorily on it, does it pass the smudge test, etc? There are plenty of sketchbooks out there made with the equivalent of printer paper, or you could do the copy-store-binding thing. If you don't like how smooth it is, look for a rougher one... again though, if you expect to erase much, lighter, softer or more toothed paper will fray or be damaged. Go into a stationary or art store and have a look at what they've got with the paper you think you want. :) Make sure to get a sketchbook you feel like you can use, I've bought some before that seemed like the right choice but never used, and ended up just using printer paper.

I like my sketchbook to have perforation, that makes it easier to take the pages out to put on the lightbox for inking. :)

About 10 years ago, I started taking an interest in preserving my sketches and being able to present them on a shelf without it looking messy. I started buying hardcover sketchbooks and have really enjoyed their durability. They're kind of like this:
http://www.dickblick.com/zz103/02/

You might want to give them a try. I usually go through a sketchbook a year.

-Dave

uwa~! So many suggestions!

@Skoolmunkee: I do ok with computer paper, but I usually like having something a little heavier...I draw light to medium pressure, so I can usually erase ok. I use a white plastic art eraser (it is a really good eraser!) but, sometimes I do erase a lot and I like it when the paper doesn't get ripped up.. I use a .5 Mechanical Pencil for practically everything...On good paper, I generally don't smuge..but I have had some sketchbooks that would smudge if I even touched them!

@RogueHull: That sorta looks like my older one...How smooth is the paper with that type?

@Kytri: Huh, I didn't know what tooth was! Thanks! That is good info!

Here's a simple way to avoid smudging:

Put a clean piece of scrap paper under the part of your hand that touches the page when you draw. That should help a lot!