Stillman & Birn Nova Series Grey Softcover Sketchbook, 5.5" x 8.5", 150 GSM (Heavyweight), Grey Paper, Medium Grain Surface

The same lovely Stillman and Birn paper good for washes and dry media...but toned. Holy crap it's like a dream come true. I loved Strathmore's toned paper but could never use a lottle guache or watercolor. Now S&B has given me a gift.My only problem now is if I should carry 3 sketchbooks with me instead of just my usual one for daily doodles!Photos show a watercolor test of my current palette and a doodle of a face from pinterest.

This toned paper sketchbook is really nice. Stillman and Birn quality product as expected. It's fun to expand my artistic horizon and experiment with toned paper! Paper takes watercolor well. Haven't really used it for heavy washes. Medium washes buckle a bit but I love the "lived in" look of a sketchbook. I chose the soft cover for less weight in my sketching bag. Will definitely order another one when this one is filled.

I’ve used Stillman and Birn Beta previously and was curious about the tan Nova. I am enjoying the tan toned paper - especially in this small sketch size. Using it for sky and landscape studies right now. The tan background gives a little atmosphere to quick watercolor paintings. The toned grey is nice but I didn’t bond with it. I personally wouldn’t choose the tan Nova for a larger sketch book simply because I work very wet and prefer a heavier 100% rough white cotton, even when I’m using ink. Having said that, this does work very well with ink. It feels very intimate. This is one of three journals I’m taking with me on vacation soon. (The 2 others I’m taking, all purchased on Amazon: 7.5”x7.5” Stillman & Birn Beta [not 100% cotton but nice] and Khadi 13cmx16cm rough white cotton rag).

The Stillman & Birn Nova Series Sketchbook is a great sketchbook. It is described to have medium grain paper, but I would say it is a bit on the smooth side. But with that said it responded to every medium I have used on it thus far. It handles pencils and colored pencils extremely well, and has impressed me thoroughly with how well it responds to the various fountain pens I've used. The ink lines I've laid down with these fountain pens, as well as fine liners and technical pens, show no signs of feathering or bleed through. When using alcohol-based markers, however, there is some slight bleed through initially, which seems to disappear after a few minutes. For a paper that isn't designed specifically to handle such markers, the S&B Sketchbook performs admirably. My only complaint is that I wish the beige tone of the paper were slightly darker so that white colored pencil or white ink pop off the page more. Even still, this is a great product and I highly recommend this to any artist who want to experiment on toned paper--a great way to push and pull tonal value.

This is the first tinted paper I have used and I love it. I had a photo of a cliff face where most of the color was the same light tone broken up with crags, crevices and sparse vegetation, I thought a beige / tan paper would make a great background color, which it did, all I had to do was add the details with a wash for the sky. I am still very new to watercolors, so some areas of the finished painting turned out very nice, while other areas - not so much. My lack of expertise however does not change the fact that I really love this paper, the soft cover is very nice and the book allows the paper to lay flat. I bought the 8X10 which I think is a perfect fit for my paintings, but the size is a personal preference.

I originally bought one from Micheals (I think). I wanted another one because I love the grey paper so much. It isn't made for a lot of liquid. I mainly tape things in and draw in my sketchbooks with pens. If you do use any type of water color or paint, the paper will warp a little bit. Here is a picture of one of the pages in my old sketchbook (scribbles, don't judge me). You can see the slight warp because of the diluted ink I used. Anyways, this one came in a plastic cover and surely will be just as good.

These guys have the best journals and now they have journals with outlying colored paper. Give these guys a try for your journal needs. Be sure and go to their website and read all about the weights and types of paper in them. Some have hot press and some are cold press and the weight of paper...etc. just look them up so you know which series is the right one for you!

This sketchbook is ideal for pen, pencil, and some marker. It makes an excellent multimedia format. It opens flat on the spine and I have had no issues with the spine or cover wearing out yet. The paper is a good weight for using a fountain pen (my preferred instrument) and even holds up to light washes. Some marker will blead through to the other side, but not to the next page.

Stillman products are always gr8

Ich bin einfach begeistert. Habe lange wegen dem Preis gezweifelt, aber nun wurde ich auch nicht enttäuscht. Ich glaube ich brauche noch die kleinen Formate.Leider kommt das Produkt aus den USA, wegen der dort ansässigen Familie, welches diese Bücher herstellt.Deshalb bestelle ich beim nächsten Mal gleich mehr davon.Das Papier ist dicker als jedes getönte was ich bisher in der Hand hielt. Habe mit Bleistift und auch mit den Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen gezeichnet, ohne das es durchdruckt.Klare Kaufempfehlung.

with a surface producing beautiful colored-pencil drawings.

it has beautiful surface.