The Best Sketchbooks

Strathmore 400 Series Sketch Pad

Wire You Waiting?

This wire-bound sketchbook offers a great combination of cost value and performance that makes it worth it for most.

Best Overall

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Whether you’re a professional artist or a self-declared professional doodler, the Strathmore 400 Series offers phenomenal value. Thanks to its smooth but thick paper, it’s great for charcoal, graphite, colored pencils, oil pastels, and more. The binding helps ensure that the book opens smoothly, and it also lets you fold the pad in half so you don’t have to keep your hand on the darn thing to keep it from shutting on its own. Considering the price, this one is a steal.

Pros

• Paper is good for those who tend to erase a lot
• Made in the USA

Cons

• Some people find wire-bound books to be annoying, so consider that before buying

Mellisa & Doug Sketch Pad

Art Knows No Age

This one comes from a company that produces high-quality products of all stripes for kids.

Best for Kids

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Sure, some of us are born with more innate talent than others, but we reject the idea that talent is purely born to chance. It’s pretty simple: if you spend time with something, you’ll improve at it. Whether or not your kids display a Van Gogh-esque ability during their early years or not doesn’t really matter. If you want them to enjoy the act of creating, get them a good sketchbook when they’re young and let their imagination frolic. Over time, their skills may develop. After all, many adults who could’ve been fantastic artists never developed that ability because they were never given the chance to try. With this 2-pack of spiral-bound sketchpads, you won’t have to worry about shortchanging your kid. Regardless of whether or not they display artistic aptitude, you know that they’ll have a lot of fun in the process.

Pros

• Just because the pads are for children doesn’t mean the quality is sub-par; the paper here is portfolio-quality
• Offers kids a stimulating alternative to screentime
• Includes drawing instructions for basic shapes like a horse and a face

Cons

• The spiral binding may rip pages, causing them to fall out over time

Bachmore Top Spiral-Bound Sketch Book

Rip with Precision

Why spend precious time creating a masterpiece only to clumsily rip it out out of your sketchbook?

Best with Perforated Pages

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So you’ve finally done it. You’ve managed to put onto what paper what had prior only existed in your imagination. Bravo to you. But what’s next? Rather than condemning your masterpiece to the pages of a sketchbook you’ll probably lose someday, it’d be a sage decision to remove that masterpiece from the book and add it to your portfolio, where it’ll be carefully protected and organized with the rest of your work. Only problem is, not all sketchbooks offer perforated pages. If you’ve ever tried to oh-so-carefully tear a non-perforated page out of a book, you know it’s not a recipe for success. This sketchbook offers the quality that’s associated with the Bachmore name, and, of course, its pages are perforated. Oh, and thanks to its wire-binding being on the top of the pad rather than the side, both lefties and righties can use it unimpeded.

Pros

• 68-pound acid-free paper is quite thick
• Hardcovers are handmade

Cons

• Despite the paper’s thickness, it’s still not the most durable

Conda Hardcover Spiral Sketch Pad

To Draw a Conclusion

You'll love drawing on these pages, and the thick cover will help protect your artwork.

Most Durable

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The pages inside this sketchbook are perfect for creating. They’re thick, 90gsm 60lb fine-textured pages that are smudge-resistant. The edges are perforated, so you can easily remove them from the rest of the book. The acid-free paper will help preserve your artwork. Each book contains 80 sheets for you to fill with whatever your imagination can create. The cover is thick and durable. The specific spiral bound that it features makes it easy for you to open your book flat for easier drawing. The cover is waterproof, to help protect your art.

Pros

• Paper is an unbleached white
• Opens flat
• Smudge-resistant
• Truly durable, so you can stand up to a bit of wear and tear

Cons

• Best for dry mediums; markers and other wet mediums may bleed through

Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Smooth Pad

No Holds Barred

Eschewing the wire bindings of other sketchbooks, this marvel boasts thick, high-quality paper that's great for almost any medium.

Best Tape-Bound

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Looking for silky-smooth paper housed in a sketchpad without a wire binding? Here’s your pick. Touting ultra-thick, 100-pound paper that’s acid-free, this pad’s great for serious illustrators. Looking to use Sharpies? No problem. How about a pen? A-okay? Even watercolors should likely be fine. To put it simply, this is the perfect pad for just about anyone who wants an alternative to wire-bound sketchbooks.

Pros

• Excellent cost value
• Works great with colored pencils
• Paper works with a wide range of mediums, so you’re not limited in the way you are with other sketchpads

Cons

• The book itself isn’t the most durable, so you’ll have to be gentle if you want it to last

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “paper weight” refer to in the description of a sketchbook’s specs?

If you see a weight listed for paper in the manufacturer’s description of a sketchbook, it can be confusing at first. You know that paper doesn’t weigh 60 or 75 pounds, so what does that number actually mean? Well, it’s referring to how much that particular type of paper would weigh if you weighed 500 sheets — or one “ream” — of it. If the ream of paper weighs 60 pounds, the paper weight will be listed as 60lb. The most common paper today is 20 lb per ream, but that paper is very thin. It does not hold up well to drawing with ink or even charcoal. When you’re creating art, you want thicker paper.

Can I use my paints or markers in a sketchbook?

If you’re hoping to create with paints or markers without having your colors bleed through to the next page, a sketchbook may not be the best option. Instead, you may prefer a watercolor notebook. The thicker pages hold up well to wet mediums. Sketchbooks are typically designed for use with dry mediums like charcoal, colored pencils, graphite pencils, and crayons. Alternatively, you can use junk paper in between the pages as an extra layer of protection. Your markers will still show through onto the back of the page, but they will bleed onto the junk paper and not the next page in the book.

What size sketchbook should I get?

If you want one that you can easily toss into your purse to pull out whenever you have a few minutes, invest in a smaller one. Otherwise, you may struggle to get a larger sketchbook into and out of your bag. But if you always draw or sketch at home, a larger size might be a better fit. Think about when and where you’ll be using your sketchbook. Then, you can select the best one for your needs.