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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Stillman&Birn paper.

We, the urban sketchers of Chicago and the world, have received numerous times samples of paper and sketchbooks from one of our generous sponsor Stillman&Birn. I have Alfa, Beta and Zeta Series sketchbooks, all white. Alpha was the one I received last and never used. 

In order to use the sketchbooks better I tasted the paper samples to feel the paper using the media I like: pen and ink, pencil, koh-i-noor magic pencil, watercolor pencil and watercolor paint.

Ink and graphite pencil:
Alpha paper was the best for ink. The pen and pencil just glide on the paper, drawing curves and corners was effortlessly. The ink takes longer to dry than Beta. Still, once dried the waterproof ink doesn't bleed. The Alpha sample shows Vellum surface in this photo but now the paper is advertised as medium grain.

Color Pencil:
Next, I tried my koh-i-noor magic pencil. The best paper out of these 3 sketchbooks I  have is the Zeta series because it has a very smooth surface. Alpha and Beta have a more texture surface which makes the tip produce dust and makes the tip of the pencil to flat faster and I didn't like that.

Watercolor pencils:

The best for this use is the Beta Series since the pencil marks are dissolved almost completely. The Zeta still shows some marks after rubbing a little more intensively with a watercolor brush. The alpha series, the color dots on the top half (since I run out of paper) are right in the middle or performance. 

Watercolor paint:
The best suited for my taste was the Beta. I didn't like the Zeta series watercolor washes, the paint behaves like in hot press paper and the paint is not absorbed fast enough. It's hard to control the washes. The Alpha series was good (lower half), almost as good as the beta.

Now I know how to use best the sketchbooks I have. I'll write the following notes on each sketchbook to remind me of this observations.

The Alpha Series sketchbook is great for ink work and pencil, specially when time is invested in details. It is an absolute joy to draw in ink, but I have to be careful to not smudge the ink with my hand and let the ink dry completely if I don' want the ink run when watercolor washes are added. This paper buckles slightly because it's only 150 gms. 

The Beta Series sketchbook is good for watercolor, both pencil and paint. The paper is thirsty for ink, I don't have to wait too long to apply watercolor. I think is best to keep the line work basic or limited and let the watercolor do the rest.

The Zeta Series is best suitable for my koh-i-noor magic pencil. I like the smooth surface for it.

Happy sketching!


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