Art Alternatives Very Big Sketch Book

This sketchbook is great if you want to suffer through the sketchbook Slam challenge, or just want to have a nice hardbound book for a long time. The book is massive (think of your largest textbook). The paper I would say is midweight and honestly not great for marker or any wet media, but will hold up well enough for sketching and fine liners. Please note, if you are using thicker liners, they may bleed through pages. This book is not travel friendly at all due to the size and weight of it, but I have a pocket book I use for ideas on the go right now. The paper is bright white. My only real complaint is the cover quality and binding situation. The cover paper tears very easily and my binding is separating from the book after less than a week of ownership. If you put it in a bag, I recommend putting rubber bands around it or tying something to keep the covers closed so it doesn't slide around and tear during transport. Other than that, the quality for the money can't be beat! Please don't base your opinions of this brand off of this one product. I own another hardbound sketchbook by art alternative in the 11x14" size and that paper works great with my inks and gouache. And that has a much sturdier cover and no binding issues. This a great gift for any artist of enthusiast and will be memorable just from it's size!

I am so happy I got this book when I did in 2021! I only paid about $25-30 for it then and I considered looking into buying a second and the sticker shock is pretty intense. Its a large sized book with smooth paper, 300 pages at 11 x 12.75(?) (not sure how to write 12 and three quarters lol but its almost 13 in at the extreme) Pretty good for what its made for, sketching and such. The paper hasn't discolored in all of this time so far. Hopefully the price will come down to something a touch more affordable. Pros: Great sized book, has a little weight to it but it has 300pgs. Handles dry media more or less as expected from a smooth paper type. The paper hasn't discolored (had mine for 5 years in June but I haven't stored it in direct sunlight either) It hasn't fallen apart on me but I don't have heavy use on it. Cons: the current price as of this review's typing . For the same price, you can purchase 5-7 separate sketch pads of equal or better quality. So Unless you want the hardcover look for aesthetics, I'd wait for it to drop in price or shop elsewhere. It is not bleed proof which, again, for the ytype of paper used, isn't that surprising.

Seriously, buying this sketch book has got to be the best $30.00 I ever spent. The quality is amazing, I am absolutely delighted with it. I started drawing in it about 60 seconds after I got it out of the mailbox and unwrapped. If you like to draw you will LOVE this sketchbook. If you know someone who likes to draw, they will think you are the Funk King/Queen of the Western World if you get them this sketch book. So far I have used pencils, regular old No 2's and nicer Prismacolor sketching pencils, Prismacolor colored pencils, Derwent colored pencils, a few different brands & types of gel pens and some Staedler fine tipped markers to draw/color in this sketchbook and I have had no issues with bleed-through to the next page though some of the gel pens and the fine-tipped markers did show through on the back of the page I was using them on. Had I been using the markers for anything other than lightly outlining/subtle depth, they would probably have bled through to the next page. The paper is not thick but it is not exactly thin either. It's not super smooth, nor is it at all textured or rough. It's GOOD paper, not extremely high quality, but very nice. It seems to take pencil, both graphite and wax-based colored pencils best, and gel pens work well too though I much prefer the way the Prismacolor and Derwent colored pencils blend and look on this paper. If you're gonna use markers, put a couple of sheets of paper between the page you're using them on and the page behind it so it toesn't bleed through. I don't know if pastels would work too good, the paper seems too lightweight and smooth but then again it has been a very long time since I've used pastels so I could be wrong. If you're looking for a high quality oversized sketchbook that'll take awhile for you to fill up, this sketch book is an excellent choice. I can't imagine anyone being anything other than thrilled with this sketchbook. Art Alternatives was also a pleasure to deal with, I actually received my sketch book a couple of days early. My book was appropriately packaged and and brand new, still wrapped in plastic, and in absolutely perfect condition. It was NOT exactly as the seller described. I got the Very Big Sketch Book and I don't care. Yes, the Very Big Sketch Book has, I believe, 48 fewer pages than the Sketches in the Making book. I still don't care. For approximately $30 (which includes shipping and handling) this book is still a great deal. The quality of the book itself and the paper is very, very good, I would expect to pay around $70-$100 for a sketchbook of similar size/quality someplace like Artists Loft or even Michaels, if Michael's carried a product like this (which they do not!) I am very, very happy with my purchase and quibbling over 48 pages when I have 300 oversized ones to work with just seems petty to me. Yeah, it's a bit scammer-like of Art Alternatives to send people a different product that the one pictured/described without telling their customers about the substitution or offering a discount or anything. That really is the classic definition of "bait-and-switch," though a very small-potatoes example of it. Inevitably, they're gonna p*ss some of their customers off and probably lose at least a few with this kind of behavior. And while I would happily buy from them again, I will also be asking them some very specific questions about anything I buy from them before I purchase it and saving those emails and their responses just in case I should find myself going toe-to-toe with them over something that IS a big deal to me. If I don't get a clear response or any response at all to my pre-purchase inquiries, I will probably order from another seller if at all possible. Although I am happy with this purchase, Art Alternatives has let me know that they find nothing wrong with substituting one product for another, very similar, one without telling me of their intention to do so or offering me any sort of discount or incentive for my 48 missing pages. Everything worked out ok for me this time, but it might not next time. They have planted the seed of doubt and that's a shame. If someone at Art Alternatives had taken 90 seconds out of their life to email me and make sure I was gonna be ok with the substitution before just sending it on (and hoping I wouldn't notice, I assume) there would have been no seed of doubt planted and I would not feel the need to use caution if and when I should deal with them in the future. Still, I do love the sketch book, I feel like I got an excellent deal, the fact that there are 48 fewer pages than I thought I was getting is not a big deal at all to me and overall I am thrilled with this purchase. I would also recommend this sketch book to anyone in the market for a sketch book and I would recommend Art Alternatives as a good source to purchase the sketch book from though I might also suggest that the buyer email Art Alternatives for specific information about what product they will actually be receiving, especially if I know the buyer to be a person who is very choosy and/or very detail oriented.

For someone who's been drawing for over 10 years and have drawn right through many dozens of sketch books I love the simplicity, efficiency and size of this book. Let me mention that this sketch book is big... It's as heavy as a college textbook so if you mind carrying a textbook around this is not for you. Other than that I like the construction of the book itself and the quality of the white paper. It also arrived two days after I ordered it and I did not expedite the delivery. So thank you amazon for that!. I know for a fact that the book will become worn out, nothing is meant to last forever but it's definitely something worth the investment. This is a great gift for someone who likes to draw...I mean as soon as you look at it you want to start working on a project. You can also use it for other purposes as some reviews have mentioned. Overall great job! I hope there's more on the market because this is a gift for my boyfriend I would love to purchase one for myself in the very near future.

Le carnet est sans doute de bonne qualité mais est arrivé dans un état déplorable pour quelque chose de "neuf". Les coins et la couverture sont sales et abimés, et une page était même pliée! Le carnet en lui-même est sans doute très bien, mais pour le prix, j'aurais espéré le recevoir en bon état!

This sketchbook is awesome!! Buy it you won't regret it, the paper is of good quality and the book is just huge! I was astounded by the sheer size and weight of it, not something I'd ever carry around but good nonetheless

Cover seems like it could wear or break if not careful but given the price its a good product.

Das Buch ist einfach riesig und man hat viel Platz um alles, was man möchte in das Buch zu packen. Es wurde sogar früher geliefert als erwartet, was mir sehr gut gefallen hat. Allerdings wies das Buch bzw. die Verpackung schon beim Auspacken Schäden auf, die Folie mit der das Buch eingepackt war, war zerrissen und am Buch selber waren die Ecken eingedrückt, auch sind die letzten 5 oder 10 Seiten oben an den Ecken beschädigt. Das macht mir aber nichts aus, ich finde das Buch trotzdem sehr schön und würde es mir immer wieder kaufen, über kleinere Mängel kann man hinweg sehen, allerdings hätte ich mir für 50,00 € auch ein ganzes Buch gewünscht, daher ein Stern Abzug, ansonsten bin ich sehr zufrieden.

Muy bueno y de buena calidad, ¡enorme!