Strathmore 400 Series Sketch Pad, 11x14 inch, 100 Sheets - Artist Sketchbook for Drawing, Illustration, Art Class Students

Excellent paper for drawing with graphite pencils/sticks, pen and ink, wash and have also used these books extensively with acrylic paint using flow medium, colored ink washes and gouache. Over the years, have filled at least 20 of these books in different sizes. One thing - It's not watercolor paper and is a bit thin. I tape wax paper between sheets if doing dip pen, wet acrylic washes, or alcohol markers as this paper will bleed or soak through. Have also put clear coats of acrylic gesso on the paper to allow more layers of acrylic. The paper being lighter weight is a minor inconvenience and not a complaint. Great for drawing, life studies and really recommend this paper. Canson XL multimedia is a bit thicker and also good paper, but this stuff takes almost anything that can be done to it. Wire binding holds up pretty well to a lot of use and sometimes abuse being carried around in bags and luggage, or stacked when not in use. The only 400 products I am not as keen on are the toned grey, good for pencil, ink wash but not color. Took one softcover book on a trip to France and great for pen and ink sketcing and studies using kid's tempera gouache that's sold at the Casino markets. The toned tan is good mostly for pencil/graphite and with a white pencil for highlights. Works well for portraits.

Excellent paper quality for pencil sketches as lines appear clean and details remain crisp complimented by polished shading. The 60 lb paper is smooth and ideal for framing. The Sketchbook is spiral bound which makes it more comfortable when drawing and helps to keep the pages from creasing. It is a nice improvement to the Strathmore 300 series. The sturdy cardboard backing makes portability a breeze. All around great value for the money.

Great, sketchpad, good quality

Excellent quality for my needs. It can be used for many mediums.

Quality Rating: 4/5 Based on price: 5/5 Time with Product: 4 years (purchased in 2017) Review: Don't get me wrong. This product is amazing and it is truly great. It functions as my sketchbook for quick or any art work that would take approx. less than 10 hours to produce. The quality of paper suffices and it does the job. It can hold graphite without noticeable bleeding. However, this does not do very well at traveling due to the composition of the book. The quality of the composition is very bad in comparison to the great quality of the paper itself. Quite disappointing. Anyway, what this does is make it very poor for traveling. You know those paperback books that would get damaged while they were in a backpack due to the quality of the composition and how its overly composed? Exactly. Expect the same thing to happen with this product. Other than that fact, I would highly recommend this product. It is great and works perfectly. Would I use this product for my serious artwork and big project sketches? Definitely not. Nor does this product want me to do that. It is made for those quick and fun sketches. Not anything professional grade. My large project sketches can take up to 100 hours, and each stroke is crafted so carefully that even the gradient of the paper is noticeable on products that claim they have no gradient. I will say this - This product does have a texture to it. If you like really smooth, gradient-free products like me, THIS PRODUCT IS NOT FOR YOU THEN. But, if you like some texture into your sketches and don't mind the interesting gradient, then carry on. This is the best product you will find in terms of value for your money goes. If there are any questions or concerns please contact me, I am happy to help. I hope my review makes sense and helps you decide whether or not you would like to purchase this device. Have fun shopping! :) - Rami Taha

Nice drawing journal.

The Strathmore 400 Series Sketch Pad is exactly what I needed for drawing and illustration. The 11x14 size gives plenty of space to work on larger sketches, and the paper holds up well to pencil, charcoal, and ink without smudging too easily. The sheets are thick enough to handle erasing without tearing, which is a huge plus for art class and practice. I also appreciate the spiral binding—it makes it easy to flip pages and lay the sketchbook flat while working. With 100 sheets, it lasts a long time and is great value for the price. Perfect for both beginners and experienced artists. I’ll definitely be purchasing this again.

I watch “ Sketchbook Sokol” on you tube and it was recommended to by one sketchbook and fill it up before investing in more. This is the one I chose. I like the feel/ texture of the paper. I didn’t know to look for the description of what kind of media was recommended for this particular book, so I only use it for drawing with graphite pencils. That’s ok for me because I’m just starting my learning journey in drawing. I’ve been an artist my entire life with paints being the medium I am accustomed too. I’ve had to put a couple of sheets of paper between the pages as to not make impressions on the page underneath. I don’t know if this is a common problem but it is for me. The size is ok for small drawings with out a lot of detail. Overall I like it for my first sketches.