The best sketchbooks for artists vary depending on your style of art and personal preferences. Our own reviewers – artists themselves – have tried out a wide range in order to compile this pick of our favourites, including the best sketchbooks for beginners.
Our reviewers have tested the sketchbooks in the list below to find the best choices for different mediums, from pencils to markers and watercolours. We've also evaluated them for quality, binding and their practicality in terms of size.
See the section at the bottom for pointers if you're not sure how to choose. For more tools for your art, see our pick of the best art supplies and the best pencils. In the meantime, these are the best sketchbooks we can recommend.
The best sketchbooks for artists available now
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Size: 5 x 8.25 inches
Layout: Hard-bound, side, portrait
Pages / paper weight: 240 / 121lb
The Moleskine Art Collection Sketchbook gets our vote as the best sketchbook overall. This is the larger of the two sizes available, and it provides us with plenty of room to work. However, it's still great for sketching on the go thanks to its elastic closure, which keeps it neatly closed in a bag, and its rounded corners that won't get bent. The ivory-coloured paper is quite smooth, but with enough tooth for most dry media. With 240 pages, you won't need to worry about filling it up too quickly, but the price is so reasonable that it wouldn't matter if you did. It looks great and feels great to use.
Size: 7x10 inches
Layout: Hard-bound, portrait
Pages / paper weight: 160 / 81lb
If you're new to sketching, we think this superb all-rounder is one of the best sketchbooks for beginners to practise with as they learn and progress. The Leda Art Supply Premium Sketchbook is a little smaller than A4 size, enabling it to fit neatly into most folders and bags and it's inexpensive enough to use for everyday practice, wherever you are. Its cover is waterproof, protecting your work on the move, though it is also flexible, so you'll need a hard surface to support it. Despite being thread-bound, the sketchbook lies just as flat as a spiral-bound notebook, and its cream-coloured pages have micro-perforations for easy removal.
Size: 9 x 12 inches
Layout: Spiral-bound, portrait
Pages / paper weight: 50 / 60lb
Strathmore's specialist papers are made with specific purposes in mind, paying careful attention to colour, absorbency, weight and texture. For professional artists, the Strathmore 400 Series Sketch Pad is one of the best sketchbooks around, with a fine-tooth that carries graphite, coloured pencils and pastels well. This is the smallest pad in a series that comes in a wide range of sizes (all the way up to 18 x 24 inches if you need more space to work with). It's a top-quality pad, ideal for structural sketches. The price per sheet means it's probably a little too expensive for regular practising, but it's a delight to use.
Size: 12 x 1 x 9 inches
Layout: Spiral-bound, portrait
Pages / paper weight: 100 / 1.10lb
The Bellofy Artist Sketchbook boasts super-thick, premium paper that's strong and smooth enough to carry wet media like ink or watercolour and allow dry media like charcoal and pencil to slide over it. The 100-sheet notebook is acid-free, which helps reduce blotches and smudges, and it's made from recycled paper – another big tick. The notebook is spiral bound at the top, meaning it lies flat without the annoyance of the spiral part on either side. This is a particularly welcome bonus for left-handed artists, who can find the spirals an irritation. All in all, it's a pleasure to use.
Size: 5.5 x 8.5 inches
Layout: Spiral-bound, side, portrait
Pages / paper weight: 20 / 140lb
Mixed-media pads can be useful, but they rarely perform as well as pads designed for specific tasks. The Canson Artist Series Watercolor Pad is specially made to withstand repeated washes. Its thick paper ensures that it won't ripple or deform as it dries, and there'll be no bleeding. Each page is perforated, but Canson has factored that into the size, so you won't lose any paper when you tear a page out –something that happens with many similar pads. It works out a little pricey per page, but this sketchbook has been so thoughtfully designed, we think it's well worth the additional cost.
Size: 8.3 x 8.3in / 8.3 x 11.7in
Layout: Hard-bound, side, square and portrait
Pages / paper weight: 78 / 120lb
Ohuhu creates markers so it makes sense that it should offer up a decent sketchbook for use with its, and other, pens. This two pack provides one square hardback book and one A4, made of 120lb (200gsm) paper. We got to try out these sketchpads and found the paper is pleasingly thick and markers glide across it easily. These sketchbooks come with a translucent sheet to stop bleed through when using markers, but note that you will be able to see the markers on the other side of the paper, which means you can only really use half the 78 sheets of each book if you're using markers.
Size: 9 x 12in
Layout: Spiral-bound, portrait
Pages / paper weight: 50 / 80lb
The best toned sketchbooks are ideal for learning to use values since they encourage you to use a whole range, helping you achieve more realistic results. Strathmore also offers a grey-toned pad, but the Strathmore 400 Series Toned Tan Pad is our pick since its warm colour lends life to portrait sketches. The paper's smooth texture works particularly strongly with coloured pencils and graphite, though it carries all dry media well. If you've not used toned paper before then you might prefer a less costly pad at first, but Strathmore's paper is a joy to use once you're confident.
Size: 4 x 6in
Layout: Spiral-bound, side, portrait
Pages / paper weight: 80 / 70lb
The neat little Pentalic Wire-Bound Sketch Book is the best sketchbook that's compact enough to fit in a pocket – and tough enough to survive some rough treatment. Its hard cover prevents damage from everyday knocks and scrapes, while its double wire spiral binding is resistant to bending. There are no perforations for tearing out pages, so this is better for exercises and rough work than pieces that you'll want to place in a portfolio. However, its affordable price means we have no reservations about filling it and it's one of the best sketchbooks available for an artist on the go.
Size: 18 x 24in
Layout: Wire-bound, side, landscape
Pages / paper weight: 35 / 65lb
Many sketchbooks are close to A4-sized, but there's no need to confine your work to such a small space. The Canson Artist Series Universal Sketch Pad comes in a version that's two feet long, giving you space to draw freely. The spiral binding lets the sketchbook lie flat as you work, while the hard cover provides protection and support. Each page is easy to remove for storage in a portfolio. The paper doesn't have a great deal of tooth, so it's best for use with pencils and charcoal. Look out for multipacks of this and other Canson sketchbooks as these are often a good, economical way to stock up.
How do I choose the best sketchbook for me?
The best sketchbook can be different for each artist. Different paper is different for different mediums: you'll need thick, heavy paper for markers and watercolours, and lighter paper for dry media. You'll also need to consider the 'tooth' or 'texture' of the paper. Pencils and inks work best with smooth paper, whereas charcoal and pastels are well suited to paper with more bite, as the pits and grooves hold pigment.
The binding of the sketchbook is also worth considering. A spiral-bound sketchbook will lie flat when you work on it, whereas some hardbound sketchbooks can be more tricky to use. Lastly, there's the question of size. For sketching on the move, a smaller hardcover sketchbook is handy as it fits into a bag or pocket and protects your work. Large-format sketchbooks will offer more space and freedom on the page.
