Which sketchbook do I choose? Part 1: paper.

Hello Pen Powells,

I’m often asked art-related questions, such as: which ink do you use? How do you keep your sanity when choosing a brand of pencil?

Then there are the ones I’ve spent years figuring out myself: I think I’m a perfectionist, paralysed by the fear of making a mistake — what do I do? I keep comparing my art to other people’s, how do I stop? How do I film my art so it doesn’t look like I’m drunk?

Answering these questions alone is expensive in time, money and energy. So welcome to my Agony ART Column, where I answer your art-related woes.

Today we begin with: the dreaded sketchbook.

As an illustrator (or artisté, if that’s how you like to arrogantly label yourself) you will likely find that, at some point on your journey, you will have the unfortunate urge to start a sketchbook practice. I say unfortunate because, whilst a worthy artistic practice and one which I wholeheartedly condone, it opens up a gigantic sinkhole which you will fall into almost immediately because there are approximately 9,257,876 sketchbooks to choose from.

The main problem you will face is that sketchbooks are like sirens. Their blank pages sing softly and sweetly, calling you to them with promises to make you the artisté you long to be: famous, revered, adored.

If you aren’t vigilant you will soon become sketchbook spellbound. Your eyes will glaze over and, rather than thinking practically about the task at hand, you will start to daydream of the wealth and fame this sketchbook is going to bring you.

You must resist this lunacy.

Dunk your head in a bowl of ice-cold water. You cannot make good decisions from under a sketchbook’s spell.

Once you have regained your senses, we are going to FIRST consider the following:

• What paper thickness will meet your needs?

This is the biggie. If you buy a sketchbook with paper as thin as a budget airline blanket and try to paint watercolour frescos in it, you are going to be sorely disappointed with the result.

Paper thickness matters.

Here is a handy guide to gsm, (grams per square metre) which is a fancy way of explaining how thick it is. In case you are starting out, I’ve listed some of the popular brands in each category. I’ve tried all of these over the years. They they also offer a range in price: