A4 Hardbound Sketchbooks again

On May 6^th  I posted about different hardback A4 sketchbooks that I’ve used. I’ve had good things to say about Mont Marte, Seawhite and Winsor and Newton, with a marginal preference for the Winsor and Newton. 

Top left - Daler Rowney Ebony - Top right - Winsor and Newton - Bottom left - Mont Marte

 - Bottom right - Seawhite of Brighton

I enjoyed using all of them but just preferred Winsor and Newton. The 170gsm paper of this book takes fineliner better than the other two. Using a 0.05mm fineliner produced noticeably finer lines in this sketchbook than in the other two. This makes the marks just a little bit sharper. I wouldn’t say that there’s a huge amount in it, but it’s there. Also, in the first sketch in the book there isn’t even a hint of showthrough – but then this was also true of some of the pages in both of the others, so I’ll keep an eye on how consistent this is. To my eye the same watercolour set is brighter and more vibrant on this paper, and there’s noticeably less buckling. You could comfortably sketch on the other side of the paper, and I shouldn’t be surprised if you could paint on it as well. One feature I’ve noticed is that the pages are perforated so you have the option of removing them more easily from the book, should you choose to do so.

Okay. Now, or my 60^th birthday back in mid-June I was given lots of lovely drawing stuff, including this – A Daler Rowney Ebony Special Edition Sketchbook. I believe that the special thing about this is the Union flag cover. Nothing against that either. I’ve been a while getting on to using it because I preferred to use a landscape format book for my bridges and tunnels challenge. But when I made my sketch of the Woolwich Ferry on Saturday that finished off my second Mont Marte sketchbook, and so it made sense to do the Thames Barrier sketch in the Daler Rowney.

Okay, so I’ve only made this one drawing in it but my first impressions are very positive. The paper is smoother than the Seawhite book, and much smoother than the Mont Marte, and comparable to the Winsor and Newton. It’s a pleasurable surface to draw on, although I do know some sketchers prefer just a little more tooth.

The weight of the paper is 150 gsm, the same as the Mont Marte and slightly heavier than the Seawhite. The Winsor and Newton is 170gsm. I haven’t applied watercolour to the new book yet, so I don’t know how well the Daler-Rowney copes. But I can say that as a general sketchbook for drawing, this is a nice product I’m happy to use, albeit I still have a slight preference for the Winsor and Newton.

Using today’s prices on Amazon the Seawhite is £8.95, the Winsor and Newton £10.64, the Daler Rowney £12.29. I can’t find the Mont Marte on Amazon. But in all honesty you can find great deals on all of these if you’re prepared to shop around a bit which means that you don’t need to let the price dictate which you go for.