Review on 🎨 Strathmore 400 Series Colored Pencil Pad, 11"x14" Wire Bound, 30 Sheets - High-quality Sketchbook for Colored Pencil Artwork by Sasha Hsiao

The rougher side of this paper works well with most brands of colored pencils I have: Polychromos, Pablo, Holbein, Luminance, Prismacolor Premier (and old Berols) and Derwent Coloursoft. Derwent Procolour and Artists have issues, but they don't perform well on most papers (especially lighter colors) as the core is hard and reluctant to release pigment, and work better on Pastelmat or similar papers. The other, smoother side of the paper worked best with Pablos and Prismacolor Premiers. Holbein and Berol were doing well, but the others weren't layering well. The paper grain (the rougher side) is fairly even and non-directional, which I find a boon for dense, realistic animal portraits. a texture that can add unintended accents to your work. This paper gives you a nice traditional "crayon" look. The white color I ordered was not very white, more of a pale gray so there may be reproduction issues with the illustration, but overall I was happy with the paper and would buy again.