Comparing Luxury watercolour sketchbooks | ETCHR, Arches, Hahnmuhle, Saunders Waterford, Strathmore

[@cyberwymn]

Indigo! My favorite color too. I have been having fun binge watching your channel...almost caught up. I am new to watercolor, so I don't think I'm worthy of using such nice paper yet. lol After having said that, I am going to pick up a small block of Arches, just to see what all the hoopla is about. For now, I use Baohong/Academy on a block, and a cheap Canson XL sketchbook for brush strokes etc. The Kadhi rag looks interesting to play with. As much as music is the love of my life, I think narrative videos are so much better without it. So many times people have the music too high, I can't concentrate on what is being said. Your doing excellent as you are! Cheers! 😊

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you, I am relishing your comments, and I;m so glad you enjoyed the videos! Do let me know if you enjoy the Arches and see what all the hoopla is about lol - but it is surprising how much the results change with the paper. The Khadi has been a great surprise, and at that price I have no fear of "wasting" it. The music has actually been a question for me, so I'm glad to hear some feedback, thank you! 😀💙🫶

[@SteveF-v7c]

Keep talking! No music. Very informative. You’re a pro already!

[@TheCherrypipangel]

I appreciate that! Thank you and I’m so glad you found it useful 🫶

[@windyhollow22]

Indigo! I always love the conversations ☺️ lots of interesting information. I have tried different sketchbooks too but it’s really nice to hear other perspectives. Thank you for sharing 🎨💕

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you for letting me know, I’m so glad you found it useful 🥰🫶💙

[@lulabelle33]

Indigo. Great comparison

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Glad you think so! 🥰💙🫶

[@artemisceleste]

Indigo. Wonderful video.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you kindly 💙🥰

[@larashort9470]

Indigo. I absolutely love this. I will be getting the Artway sketchbook and Hahnemuhle sketchbook. I really loved the way they looked. Thank you so much. And by the way, I love Indigo too.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Yay, thank you! I’m so glad it was helpful to you and I think you will have a lot of fun with them. Those are the 2 I currently use the most - and I am still so in love with the Khadi paper, it really has opened up a whole new world of soft blends. Let me know how you fare with them! And love meeting another Indigo fan 😉💙🫶

[@ericadrake2366]

I’ve watched Liron Yanconsky’s video: ‘How not to overwork Watercolours’, which I found informative. Love your voice. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Oh thank you! And I also follow Liron, he has some very helpful videos 😉🫶

[@Gypsisoul1111]

I just ordered 4 books because of this video. I too found my art 3 weeks before I retired Match of 2022, and I haven’t stopped since but I like your approach of doing the exercises in classes and books and I am going to do that too. Thank you! I really enjoy your videos. Indigo

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Oh wow, you are going to have a lovely package arriving in the post then! I’m sure you will have a lot of fun with your new sketchbook! 🥳 I love hearing that you also started watercolor at a similar time and that we are on this journey together 🥰🫶💙

[@lucys.artchat]

My understanding is that hot pressed paper is better for fine details, using less water and that's been my experience too. You can't quite do the same techniques because it's so smooth, but when you do use less water and finer brushes, you can get really crisp details and as you say, they stay where you put them. Thanks for the comparison video! I always like watching these kinds of things

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Yes, I think you’re absolutely right, hot press would go well with stricter water control and finer details and I have some artists achieve breathtaking results on this. I did massacre the poor paper for this comparison 😅 Thanks for the feedback though and I will try it in a less brutal manner next time 🫶💙

[@Stacy-rl9mp]

Indigo! Nice video. I liked hearing your thoughts! Please don’t resort to music, you are good at this!

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you so much for your encouragement and support, I appreciate it 🫶💙 I will keep stress talking and sharing my thoughts in my next video 😂

[@Stacy-rl9mp]

@@TheCherrypipangel Good plan! Just be yourself! Your personality seems nice and it will come through!

[@TheCherrypipangel]

@@Stacy-rl9mp🫶

[@Anembracedjourney]

Thank you so much. This was extremely informative and I thoroughly enjoyed not to mention appreciated the process.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

You are so welcome! And thank you for your kind comment and encouragement 🥰🫶

[@chichcowainui708]

Indigo. Love your videos, they're a breath of fresh air. Don't change a thing.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

💙🫶 thank you!

[@Nisie6]

Indigo! Very helpful video!

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you! 💙🫶

[@lisafall3561]

Thank you so much for the look. I am at the very beginning of my watercolor journey and am a little overwhelmed at the possibilities. I love the way you can achieve different effects on different different paper. Indigo is also one of my favorite blues. Don’t worry about the chattiness of your videos, it is quite enjoyable. Thanks again for taking the time to film this.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you for your encouraging comment, and it’s so exciting to hear you’re are starting out on a watercolour journey! I hope this comparison has been helpful 🫶💙

[@joykruczay]

Outstanding photography and explanation of pros and cons of each book. I do not produce content, but many underestimate the time and effort it takes to film, produce and edit something of this quality. Thanks ever so much for sharing your talents with the world.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Much appreciated! Thank you for your encouragement and I am really glad you found it useful 🥰🫶

[@ToniAntonettiToni]

Indigo. Excellent - love the detail and your video is so well done!

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you so much! 💙🫶 I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

[@jenneke2]

Indigo! Have enjoyed your videos ( binge watching 😀🤭),and would encourage you as others have done, not to change the format. I’ve only ever painted in sketch books -made by friends -with arches and Fabriano artistico paper ( and strathmore and canson cellulose). I have some Baohong paper in pads that I have yet to try. I’m intrigued by the Khadi sketch books!

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed the video. And Home made sketchbooks look so good, I need to learn how to make my own soon (it’s on my bucket list lol). But for now khadi paper is proving to be a very interesting and very satisfying new product, it really is completely different from all the other papers I’ve ever used and I love it! 💙🫶

[@loveandlife4222]

Indigo! I definitely like the fabriano artistico cold press, arches, and sanders Waterford. But I must say that they were all beautiful! As for the khadi paper, if you look at them all together it is the only one that turned out flat with no sheen or shine. That is what I dislike about it. Thanks for an informative and fun video!

[@TheCherrypipangel]

💙! Thanks for sharing and yes that is true, the khadi paper is a very different product and gives a very soft and flat effect. I’m having a moment right now where I am loving this, but the other papers definitely give a more “professional” result 😉🫶

[@SD2SF]

Indigo! I really appreciate this video and found it to be so informative! I was looking for some 100% cotton paper, and you compared everything I was interested in and curious about. And now I want to try them all 😂

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you, I’m so glad you found it helpful! These were the papers I wish someone else would have compared 😅 Currently I’m using the Hahnmuhle, Khadi paper and Arches paper sketchbooks the most, if that helps narrow your choice… let me know which ones you end up going with! 💙🥰🫶

[@phillipstroll7385]

Well done

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you! 🫶

[@Noeky1980]

Indigo 😊 Thanks for this informative video very useful. And please continue this way. Without music is perfectly fine 👍🏻

[@TheCherrypipangel]

So nice of you, thank you for your kind feedback! 🫶💙

[@maryhobby1335]

Indigo I really enjoyed learning from you . Please do more vidioes

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you so much, I will! 💙🫶

[@Carolyn-zm8eo]

Please keep talking as you work, it draws me in and I appreciate your full commentary! Also it feels naturally friendly.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Oh thank you! That’s so kind of you! I’m really glad to hear you enjoy it 🥰🫶

[@lynneellis2647]

I enjoyed the sketchbook comparisons. I bought my first sketchbooks in March of 2024. They were very cheap books from Michael's-weight 75lbs and not intended for water media. With water restraint, I have used watercolor and gouache successfully. You've given me a lot to think about for future paper purchases.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you for writing, and it’s so exciting to hear you’ve just recently started the sketchbook life 😉 I hope this video was helpful and can lead you to trying new papers and new ways of painting too 🫶

[@marinaredol1214]

Indigo, I love it too. Thank you for your video ❤

[@TheCherrypipangel]

My pleasure 😊💙

[@annejameson3425]

Indigo! Very helpful, thank you

[@TheCherrypipangel]

You're so welcome! Thank you for your support 🥰🫶

[@dlucas5199]

Indigo! Thank you for sharing your tour of sketchbooks. I have tried several different types and papers. I purchased an Indigo Art Paper sketchbook. 100% cotton, torn edges on 3 sides, is an approx. 6”x 14” ringed book. The sizing can be inconsistent. It doesn’t stand up to washy tape, edges will turn up if lots of water used. There are clear pages between each watercolour page. I have also used an Alpen sketchbook, 60% cotton, very thick pages. Surface is smooth, likely more suited to detail style of painting without lots and lots of water. I recently purchased an Arches travel sketchbook and a Kolo professional watercolour journal that I have yet to try out.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Indigo 💙! Thank you for sharing, and yes you are absolutely right, the khadi paper in the indigo artway sketchbooks is NOT compatible with tape, nor masking fluid, pencil sketches and erasing. But it does give such a soft diffuse result and is a completely different medium from normal watercolor paper, I’m really enjoying it right now. It’s interesting to hear which other sketchbooks you’re trying and what you think of them 😉🫶

[@Noeky1980]

@@TheCherrypipangel Ohhh good to know it's not suitable for pencil because of the erasing i guess? Also not with a kneading gum i guess?

[@TheCherrypipangel]

@@Noeky1980 Exactly, the paper disintegrates when you rub it with any type of eraser, even when rubbing it with a wet paintbrush if you're scrubbing. Also, the paper is really soft, almost like fabric, and the pencil does not "stick" to the paper and barely makes a mark on it.

[@lynneellis2647]

PS I like the real-time chatty videos.

[@Carolyn-zm8eo]

Indigo!

[@TheCherrypipangel]

🫶🥰💙

[@WendiWells]

Great video! Very thorough, and a lot of helpful information. Thank you ❤. Indigo!

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you your feedback! 💙🫶

[@caroles5258]

Have you tried the painters tape, I think it's green in the regular home paint stores? I did my sketchbooks and papers along with you to see what they were like and how I liked them. I agree with the ones you like the most. Meeden which is very inexpensive, in Canada, is comparable to The Perfect Sketchbook and Saunders Waterford. I also tried out the Winsor and Newton and couldn't get the results I wanted. I was most surprised at the Khadi paper. I bought some when I was just discovering watercolour and didn't like them, yet when I tried them a year and a half later, today, I love the results. Found your video to be very informative and great just the way you're doing them.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you, I'm so glad you found it useful! And I agree that the Khadi paper is in a category of it's own and maybe it's easier to appreciate it a bit further down the line. Also very interesting to hear about the other papers, thanks for sharing! 🫶

[@hartinisugianto7906]

Thank you so much for this review, it helps a lot, I am so glad I watch your review. I am a paper hoarder, but often disappointed with what I got. Glad I watch you before I proceed buying more. I can relate to your “feels like emergency” with paint drying fast on paper! Mine is “panic attack” whenever that happens, and I would rushed and mess everything up….. That’s why acrylic is still terrifying for me, even with slo-dry medium, not helping. Oil paint on the other hand, love them, I can fiddle for days….uh wonderful 😊

[@TheCherrypipangel]

I’m so glad you found this video useful 🥰 And yes it’s always a bit of a rush with watercolor. But oil is the real paint of the masters, you are a pro if you’re painting with oil 😉🫶

[@MB-hc9tk]

Indigo ❤

[@TheCherrypipangel]

💙🫶

[@borisgromov659]

The indigo blended so nicely on the khadi paper

[@TheCherrypipangel]

🫶💙

[@SequoiaCSI]

Indigo! Thank you very much for this video, it was wonderfully detailed, and as a beginner watercolourist, I found it quite helpful. Please don't use music, I appreciate the format of your videos,

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank for the kind feedback, I will keep trying to improve my videos so they are as helpful as possible 💙🫶

[@dalekathrynabeling8205]

Indigo

[@TheCherrypipangel]

💙🫶

[@ElBlogDeNathie]

Thanks for this video. it was very informative. Could you share the Amazon link of your Indigo Artway Khadi paper sketchbook? Would be very helpful, thank you.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you for the kind feedback! I’ve added the link to the indigo artway sketchbook on Amazon in the description 😉🫶

[@ElBlogDeNathie]

Thank you!

[@ericakauffman5786]

Indigo.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

💙🫶

[@sailorfan86]

Indigo

[@TheCherrypipangel]

💙🫶

[@cynthiamarvin2823]

Learning how to paint on Hot Press is quite an experience. I use Hot Press for my detailed botanicals (small amount of water using short strokes with a springy brush that doesn't hold much water) and Cold Press for loose landscapes. I recommend trying Legion Stonehenge Aqua paper. It comes in blocks. I think you will enjoy the Cold Press.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you for the advice! Legion Stonehenge has been on my bucket list for months now but I still haven’t found a place selling it that ships to Switzerland! I will definitely pick up a block or 2 when I’m next in the US 👌

[@rashone2879]

All very pricey…I’d need to feel very accomplished to buy most of these.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

I get that imposter syndrome too - but investing in a special supply here and there also motivates me and adds a self care dimension to my practice. It’s not a bad way of spoiling oneself and healthier than cigarettes or beer! 😉

[@KeepBeautyReal1]

INDIGO! 🫶 Thanks for this, I loved hearing your thoughts. I have been looking for better sketchbooks to invest in. I started watercolor on a whim and had no idea what I was doing and got paper and books that weren't 100% cotton at first (such a rookie mistake) and have been so much happier now that I've found decent paper. I tend to use Baohong cold press or Meeden blocks. I was looking for decent sketchbooks but HATED the first ones I got (Windsor and Newton) because they dried instantly and the fibers pilled so easily. I just wanted to say keep up the great work. I'm really enjoying your content and calming relaxed style of presenting.

[@TheCherrypipangel]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this, I’m so happy to hear your thoughts! And I’m really glad you enjoyed the video 🥰🫶💙

[@BriO_1111]

Indigo ❤

[@TheCherrypipangel]

💙🫶