I second the Stillman and Birn sketchbooks. Those and RendR by Crescent are my only sketchbooks now days. RendR can be used for watercolor, but the paper takes on a gray cast while wet, so it somewhat interferes with being able to tell what is going on, also the paper is fairly light for watercolor work, so it needs to get clipped open or flattened later. I love the variety of sizes and bindings for both of these brands.

I really like Strathmore’s Mixed Media pads. They’re 140 pounds paper, take watercolor well as long as you’re not doing heavy washes, and are fine for other mediums, too. But they’re not spiral bound (Visual Journals are better if that’s your preferred style).

I put some drafting tape around the outside edges to keep it from buckling if I’m using water…usually small pieces around the perimeter of the pad every two to three inches or so is enough.

Jan

Tesh:

Thanks for the suggestion; I’ve seen them in a few local stores and walked right by them (the cover kinda shouted “for kids” to me) but after checking out a couple of reviews…I may try one out for doodles and swatches.

Note that the wire-bound Strathmore Mixed Media ‘Visual Journals’ are 90#, while their Mixed Media pads are 140#.

That said, they do take watercolor pencil/crayon and light watercolor very well.

Kos

I’ve ordered from Jackson several times–paint, paper and brushes. Shipping is free if you buy some brushes (brush prices are great) and they convert from £ to $ automatically. Free shipping can take a couple weeks, though. I’ve never been disappointed dealing with them. You may find what you are looking for there.

~ Carol

Kaylen, I don’t think our OP is interested in making his own sketchbooks.

I have filled many books of my own making and love using them. I can insert a variety of papers in them for alternative media, various weights and even lined paper for taking notes.

I did price out spiral binding at Staples. I didn’t recommend it in my Art Journaling thread because it was very expensive. I do, however, have a spiral punch and can buy both plastic and wire bindings in various lengths. The problem I encountered was that my machine could not punch through the very heavy cover boards. Had I chosen a softer, thinner material for the covers, I could have spiral bound them.

Even with the increased prices on paper, I can still make my books for less than $10.

EDIT: One of the issues that people seemed to be experiencing was that Arches 140# cp paper was cracking when they folded it. The cord bound books really didn’t seem to work for them. But, tearing the pages to size and using metal rings after punching holes for them was a really good solution. I actually prefer the rings and often buy bigger and bigger sizes as my books expand.