Review: Kunst & Papier Watercolour Sketchbook (160gsm)

[@KittehNow]

I'm very interested in this sketchbook...great video. I LOVE your work and your videos. I've been following your channel for several years. You do a superior job. THANK FOR EVERYTHING

[@z.z.1205]

Just in case someone wants to buy it. At jackson art they sell it rebranded under their own name. They are 100% the same and in the books is the original kunst and papier label.

[@teohyc]

Thanks, I didn't know that.

[@TanteDorle]

that's quite interesting. How did you got this info?

[@z.z.1205]

I have ordered two books. I became aware because the books a quite special in size, grams, pages and look. So i gave them a try.

[@TanteDorle]

@@z.z.1205 thanks for letting me know :)

[@YvonneFrindle]

In the past few months I've begun two of these Kunst & Papier watercolour sketchbooks: a 96-page 170x156mm book (a squarish landscape orientation, basically a smaller version of what you have in your video) and a portrait format 128-page 170x240mm (basically B5 - really useful size halfway between A5 and A4). I'm using the smaller one for an online course that I'm working through, and the second one I'm using for sketching excursions. I'm glad to see that the binding and covers hold up so well, especially given the high number of pages! So far, there's nothing I dislike about these books: the milky white colour of the paper is perfect (not as stark white as Stillman & Birn, but not as creamy as, say, Moleskine) and it shows colour really well. Like you, I'm enjoying the vibrancy and clarity that I'm getting. And very good for ink as well, including if I want to write. The two "square/wide" books have excellent proportions: unlike a shallower landscape book (e.g. A5 landscape or 90x140mm landscape) the individual pages are satisfying to work on without rotating the book and the full spreads give an excellent height to width ratio. (I'm not into extreme panoramas, so I like a bit of height even when working wide.) And of course they are excellent value. I'm buying these from a local retailer in Australia (Newtown Art Supplies/Kadmium) and the price-per-page is better than pretty much any other watercolour sketchbook of similar quality, or even lesser quality, that I can buy here, even Moleskine and Hahnemühle, both of which have a reasonable price-per-page.

[@elsagrace3893]

Nice price for good quality. Thanks for waiting and thoroughly using before reviewing. Your reviews are quality and have great value and integrity for me.

[@doowopdinosaur8632]

Watched this because I was curious how you would pronounce kunst en papier. You absolutely nailed it!

[@falaise17]

This is what I want AGAIN! thanks Teoh for your info.

[@krystal2202]

great sketchbook and i love your paintings !

[@TanteDorle]

I so appreciate this review. After sketching on this & that & here & there I know how much I love it & will stay tune with drawing & finally wanna have a sketchbook in which I can put all my artwork. I would like to have one for all- one book for all my attempts & sketches, so I need something that will hold watercolour quite well. I were without i-net for a while & someone recommended me a book that my friend ordered for me. Literally a few hours after I finally received the package, the artist called me & said, that she mixed things up & told me about the wrong book. Yeah, but sh* happened . I already opened it & still found out that it is far away from what I'm longing for. I were SO disappointed. Now I watched this video as well as others & the one for Hahnemühle also. I know that the little colour-store around the corner has Hahnemühle on stock. They're on vacation right now but as soon as they're back I'll rush in & get me a Hahnemühle book. Thank you very much Teoh for all the work & knowledge you put into your videos!!!

[@deejcarter2003]

Thanks for this review. I finished up this sketchbook and I love how bright the colors appear on this paper and also the texture is just right for many different art materials. The paper does bow but it’s really not bad and I plan on rebuying this book.

[@ladeiroses7526]

I am using the Strathmore 400 series sketch book right now. I do not as a general rule like Strathmore, but I do like this particular sketch book. I hope it doesn't do what yours did.

[@jdub3853]

Thanks for the review Teoh! Yeah, I'm with you. I don't think I'll ever buy a sketchbook again that has more than 60 pages. I'm still plugging my way through a Stillman and Birn 10" x 7" Alpha series and I'm ready to go back to something smaller. I've also decide to use only one or two at a time. It's so tempting to try all these different books and paper types!

[@SpookieVonDookie]

I have that same Strathmore sketchbook and its just as beat up. They hooked me with that nice, soft cover, but looking at it now makes it seem like its been through a war zone! I'm gonna have to check this Kunst & Papier out once I fill the one I'm powering through. Great review as always, Teoh!

[@teohyc]

Thanks 😁

[@YvonneFrindle]

A word of warning! I really like the K&P watercolour sketchbooks a lot, and on the strength of that, I thought I would try one of their regular dry media sketchbooks: Skizzenbuch /Sketchbook, 160pp, 100gsm, described as "suitable for all dry techniques, high pigment bonding". A nice, beautifully bound sketchbook, but a big disappointment for me. Fine if you work almost exclusively in graphite and coloured pencil and other truly _dry_ media (in which category I would also include ballpoint pen). But hopeless with ink. There is enough feathering to prevent a really sharp, clear effect, and pretty much all inks will ghost and most will bleed. Also, even very light, discreet washes (which I tried simply out of curiosity) will bleed. So do not buy the 100gsm K&P Sketchbook if you're planning to draw with ink. Strictly a pencil-only sketchbook.

[@EstrafaDC]

FYI, these are hard to find in the United States as the distributor is unreliable. But I discovered last year that Jackson's store brand watercolor pads are actually Kunst and Papier. Not sure why they don't admit it straight out but I left them a comment and they admitted it. I ordered one and when it arrived it was a K&P with the original labels and everything.

[@teohyc]

They want to market it as their own brand. Some art stores do that. Ask manufacturers to make and sell as the art store brand.

[@EstrafaDC]

@@teohyc the thing that's interesting is in this case they're not manufacturing a special pad for Jackson's. Its *exact* same as the book you're reviewing here, with the same K&P labeling and everything. Heck, I would have ordered one of their pads a long time ago if I'd known it was a K & P.

[@brendac3999]

Great review Tring loved your colorful sketches. I will consider Kunst and Papier sketch book when I finish my current drawing book.Brenda

[@teohyc]

Thanks :-)

[@Jeea84]

Is this also good enough for small or draft acrylic or oil painting??

[@snowball_from_earth]

By the way: "Kunst & Papier" is German for "art & paper".

[@teohyc]

Thanks for the info :-D

[@angelservina1959]

It is also Dutch...

[@annepercival7814]

I don’t know what happened to your Strathmore soft cover....I have two of these...and at least two,years old.....and the covers are as new! Yours looks as if it’s been in contact with direct heat or something chemical

[@teohyc]

Not sure why. Maybe it's the high humidity here in Singapore.

[@cindyhorton6980]

What brands of sketchbooks are your favorite to use?

[@vanxssa.0270]

Uhh a german brand :D Cheers from Bavaria!

[@beaast4249]

I have this one, too. Mine is not able to show the colors accurately. The colors are very dull. I cannot use it for paintings. I do the swatches inside this sketchbook. I have to layer down two washes and even then it‘s not completely right. I‘m surprised yours is so different.

[@teohyc]

Mine's alright but not the best I've used. It's not good for glazing or heavy washes. The paper doesn't like too much paint.

[@kathyhackney7950]

I have a question, Teoh. So these books are supposedly the same as Jackson's own but Jackson's own has different cotton ratios (25 on some and 35 on others) any idea what that's about?

[@teohyc]

Not sure about that as I’ve not tried Jackson’s

[@zimrianispresent8123]

👌👽👌

[@myowin4944]

that sketchbook is too big and too thick for me to fill it up i usually use A5 sketchbook .So i can do many sketches and when i look them back that is really good

[@teohyc]

Yeah, it took me such a long time to fill up. Halfway through I lost to motivation to continue. lol