I finished my very first watercolour sketchbook which is the Hand Book Journal Co. Watercolour Journal by Speedball, and I am now posting this review. Read on if you want to know whether this is worth the money!
The Specs
There are different size and press versions of the Speedball Hand Book Co. Watercolour Journals. The one in this review is cold press.
Here are the specifications:
- 300gsm/140lb
- 8.25″x5.5″
- acid free
- Wood pulp paper
- 60 pages (double sided)
- hardcover/linen bound
- clear plastic pocket in the back
Performance
Some good things about this journal:
The paper is heavyweight and withstands a lot of water. It stands up to erasing as well. Furthermore, I painted on both sides of the paper and they did not bleed through, and I had some heavy washes in some of them.
The Not So Good:
I have a lot of conflicting feelings about Speedball Watercolour Journal which I will try to be very honest in this review. Since this is my very first watercolour sketchbook, it will have some special place in my heart and on my bookshelf; however, I did not love it right off the bat. Here is why:
First of all, many pages were stuck together. Once I pulled them apart, it left behind some visible damages to the paper.
While the journal could lie flat (I used binder clips), I don’t think the pages will hold up over time. I finished the journal already and nothing came loose, though. Fingers crossed all the pages will stay intact!
Blooms and Hard Edges
Besides binding issues, the paper is not cotton, which is why I didn’t enjoy it. By comparison, I was using Arches and this was definitely no Arches.
By the way, the price of this is almost the same as what I paid for my Etchr sketchbook, which is 100% cotton paper.
If you love watercolour for the wet on wet effect, wood pulp paper won’t give you that. You have to work quickly or you get the blooms and hard edges. Because I paint to relax, the constant race against time to prevent blooms is not relaxing at all, which defeats the purpose.
As you can see below, even washes are particularly hard to achieve with this paper, since it dried too quickly. Lifting is good, though.
Learning Curve
Since the retail price of this sketchbook is not cheap, I stuck with it till the very end. I had to constantly rewet the paper for decent blending. However, I was still able to do some decent paintings in this journal, even though it is not my favourite paper.
What This Sketchbook Is Good For
Although I was not in love with this sketchbook, it is fine if you do ink and wash like I did with the urban sketching style above. Additionally, gouache will work well with wood pulp paper like this too.
Summary
As I have noted, my feelings about Speedball Hand Book Co. Watercolour Journal are a mixed bag. Despite the cons, it is not completely terrible–you can still do nice paintings, though you have to work fast to get even washes and avoid blooms. For the price I paid for this, I would have been happier to spend it on an Etchr sketchbook, which I will be reviewing shortly.
Lastly, if you haven’t decided whether to use a watercolour sketchbook, check out my post about this topic here.
