Review on 📚 Pro Art Hard Bound Sketch Book 5.5"x8", 110 Sheets - Perfect for Artists and Sketching by Dawn Fischer

I'm a design student and I flip through one of these big albums about every four months. When I have time, I like to run to a craft store to pick them out to make sure they: - Have sewn binding - Have a smooth finish (to get cheap ink) I used to get bitten when I accidentally got rougher versions in white ordered paper, but it's not as bad as a sketchbook with pages that fall out as soon as you turn them over. The Pro Art Book I received was bound which was a great relief as the book had been stuck together and falling apart for the past four months. This book does not lie flat, but opens very well. As for media, I mainly use ballpoint pens in my sketchbooks, so personally I like a nice smooth surface. I also use sharpie markers frequently and while they don't mark the bottom side, they bleed through to the other side of the paper. The surface also absorbs the pencil, of course, but if you close a book or use both sides of the paper, the graphite will smear over the other sheets. If you're looking for a book to do heavy graphite sketching I'd suggest something with a little more teeth. I do not recommend using chalk, pastels, or wet materials in these books. I've used light water color and Prisma/Copic markers to add shadows or highlights, but a decent amount of water can cause pages to warp and fold and this isn't an easy fix. I've attached a few images to show the size, paper quality, and binding.