You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie Preferences, as described in the Cookie Notice. Click ‘Customise Cookies’ to decline these cookies, make more detailed choices, or learn more. Third parties use cookies for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalised ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. This includes using first- and third-party cookies, which store or access standard device information such as a unique identifier. If you agree, we’ll also use cookies to complement your shopping experience across the Amazon stores as described in our Cookie Notice. We also use these cookies to understand how customers use our services (for example, by measuring site visits) so we can make improvements. In fact, I've used artist-grade watercolor papers that are more finicky than this sketchbook's paper.We use cookies and similar tools that are necessary to enable you to make purchases, to enhance your shopping experiences and to provide our services, as detailed in our Cookie Notice. See directly above the left side of the big one's cap.) However, I've never met a paper that enjoyed this tactic.

(I found that out while sketching these mushrooms. I mentioned the slight fading issue earlier, and though the Hahnemühle Watercolour Book's paper will take some scrubbing, it won't take erasing on damp paper. (That botchy area right in the middle of the clouds is where I was forced to stop.) That's some serious stamina for sketchbook paper! For example, in the clouds above, I was able to complete at least four levels of glazing, reworking, lifting, blotting and scrubbing before the paper began to fail. With the Hahnemühle Watercolour Book, it took some work. After all, I need to find this out before I'm standing ankle-deep in mud, in the rain, trying to sketch a salamander. I do this with nearly every art tool that I use and review, so why stop now? My goal is to see what it takes to elicit failure in a product. I enjoy Hahnemühle's increased workability, but I also enjoy the Pentalic. As always, pick the best sketchbook for you!īut still, before I wrote this review, I set out to push the Hahnemühle Watercolour Book to its limits. In a nutshell, Hahnemühle paints more like a hot-pressed paper, while Pentalic is closer to cold-pressed or rough. As you can see in the photo (above left), the texture of Hahnemühle’s paper is unobtrusive. Hahnemühle's paper has a slow drying time, and pigments lift so easily that I have to be more patient with this paper. There is a bit of fading in the Hahnemühle (you can see this in the video), but pigments stay fairly true. But Pentalic's paper isn't as slippery as Hahnemühle's, and I can get softer edges in the Pentalic. Also, Pentalic's basket-weave patterned surface (above right) can be distracting and a bit of a nuisance when using heavy washes or granulating pigments.

The Pentalic has more absorbent paper so pigments fade more and won't lift as easily. I think both sketchbooks are equally great but paint differently, so it depends upon your needs. I still highly recommend the Pentalic Aqua Journal and enjoy using it. I also highly recommend the Hahnemühle Watercolour Book. So far, my favorite watercolor sketchbook has been the Pentalic Aqua Journal that I reviewed here. In fact, I was pleasantly shocked at how well it handled multiple layers of watercolor without buckling or curling. Watercolor: Though 200 gsm feels thin to the touch (similar to 90# watercolor paper) this paper has performed like a much heavier gsm paper, even under heavy water application.

I give it an A+ for all types of pen and ink-fountain, fineliners, and even dip nibs. Pen/Pencil: The paper's surface takes pencil and pen very well, and graphite erased easily. The paper has just enough tooth to keep pigments firmly in place and allow excellent control, but it's soft enough to fade into the background and permit watercolor to take center stage. At first, I thought the paper was too smooth for my taste, but then I painted on it. Paper Surface: The paper has a light surface pattern that isn’t distracting at all. So far, the sketchbook has proven to be extremely sturdy and, even after heavy use, the hardbound cover and binding appear brand new. Specs: Hahnemühle currently offers their Watercolour Book in 5 sizes, and each sketchbook contains 30 sheets, or 60 usable surface pages, of paper.Ĭonstruction: The sketchbook’s sewn binding allows it to open completely flat, and I have no problems painting across both pages of a spread.

Pentalic sketchbook