Are you looking for the perfect sketchbook to start your sketching journey? If you are confused by the variety of brands and paper quality available, let me try to answer your questions with just two words: “Buy Moleskine.”
When I first began sketching, I, too, was alien to terms like “GSM” and “acid-free.” I used to doodle on anything I could find.
However, I quickly learned that not every paper is suitable for a sketch. Some papers tend to smudge when you use ink. Others may bleed through to the back of the page. If you were somehow able to make a good sketch, the design would start to appear faded in just a couple of months.
I struggled for many months before I talked to a more experienced artist friend of mine. She explained everything very clearly and was the first one to get me hooked on Moleskine products.
This article let me share my experiences and learnings about Moleskine Sketchbook GSM and why it is the perfect paper to make beautiful sketches.
Contents
About the Brand
Moleskine is an Italian brand that excels in the papermaking industry. It makes luxury notebooks, planners, sketchbooks, leather backpacks, holdalls, etc. Today we will just focus on sketchbooks in general.
Moleskine sketchbooks are cardboard bound with a sewn spine. The sewn spine allows every sketchbook to lay flat on any surface, making them easy to use.
They feature fine ivory-colored paper, which provides the perfect background to your sketches. They also have complementary features like an expandable inner pocket in the rear cover.
The paper of this sketchbook comes from sustainable forests. It has certification from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Moleskine also complies with the safe drinking water and toxic enforcement act of 1986.
The paper is acid-free and of a high GSM nature, which we will discuss next. Moleskine promises its customers the best quality of products. Their years of experience in papermaking with their sketchbooks make them trustworthy.
What Is GSM?
I have been talking about Moleskine sketchbooks having high “GSM.” But what is GSM?
GSM is nothing but a unit of measuring how thick a paper is. It stands for “grams per square meter.” To calculate the GSM of a particular paper, you take a sample sheet and cut it into a size of a one-meter square, and then measure the weight of that square in grams.
Below let me describe which GSM quality is good for what kind of use in art:
- 35-55 GSM (25-35lbs): This is very light paper, used in newsprint and tracing.
- 75-90 GSM (50-60lbs): This quality is meant for drawing rough sketches and is best used with dry media (pencils, charcoal, pastel, crayons, etc.). Usually not good enough for ink because the ink will bleed through it.
- 90-100 GSM (60-70lbs): This is the quality used in household printer paper. It is thick enough for use with dry media and ink as well.
- 100-130 GSM (70-80lbs): This is the thickness on which you should produce finished sketches. It is suitable for most media but not for painting and watercolors.
- 180-260 GSM (90-110lbs): This is a thick drawing paper meant for multiple media use. This is the quality used for promotional and movie posters that you can find in many stores.
- Up to 300 GSM (up to 140lbs): This is quite thick. This quality of the paper is usually meant for painting rather than sketches. These go well with watercolors and paints; they don’t let the water seep through other sheets.
Why Do You Need High GSM Paper?
Now we come to the question of why we need a high GSM paper for sketching. There is a straightforward answer to that, “versatility.” Didn’t quite get it? When you are sketching, you need your paper to be compatible.
When you are sketching with wet media, the color should not bleed on the sketch behind that paper. If this happens, you will not only destroy your artwork on the back, but the one you are sketching on also gets destroyed.
We need a high GSM paper so that ink does not bleed through behind the page. No bleed-through also means that your sketch can have a longer life because the ink gets fully absorbed by the paper and does not fade away quickly.
While we are talking about preserving our sketches for a long, let us not ignore one more essential feature. Your paper should also be acid-free. When you use acid-free paper, the vibrance of your sketches does not fade away with time. Every detail remains as good as the day you drew it first.
Paper GSM Offered by Moleskine.
Moleskine offers sketchbooks in various GSM thickness. Below is the set of thickness that Moleskine offers and the suggested usage for each:
For Sketching
The average thickness provided in a standard sketchbook is 80GSM. If you compare it with what you are getting above below, there is no match. Moleskine is hands down the best among all sketchbooks available in the market.
- 100GSM (68lbs): Made from the pigmented pulp, this paper is suitable for sketches made with fountain pens, color pens, and other dry media, including charcoal, pencils, and pastels.
- 120GSM (81lbs): This smooth paper is also made from pigmented pulp. It is suitable for use with Charcoal, Drawing Pencils, markers, and fountain pens.
- 165GSM (111lbs): This is a rich quality card stock designed to endure a lot of erasure and is perfect for all dry media, including Pencils, charcoal, pastels, fountain pens, regular pens, and even markers.
For Painting
Whenever you draw using wet media on thin paper, it lets the color bleed behind the paper if you have any art on that page. It may cause harm to your craft. That is why Moleskine offers its 200GSM quality:
- 200GSM (135lbs): This is a cotton-blend paper meant for watercolor drawings. It has a cold-pressed texture, which can endure heavy erasure and perfectly manages to hold a large amount of water on either side. You would love to make watercolor paintings of this quality.
Apart from this, all Moleskine papers are also acid-free. Acid-free paper preserves the quality of your sketch over time and does not allow the drawing to age.
Whenever you return to your past creations, you don’t feel any change in them as the vibrancy remains as good as new. Acid-free paper can last up to 200 years. So you can preserve it under normal conditions.
Moleskine Sketchbook Sizes
Moleskine produces sketchbooks in different sizes and designs. So you choose what suits you the most. The sketchbook sizes are 5.25*8.25 inches, 8.5*11.75 inches, 5.25*8.25 inches, 7.95*5.67 inches, and papers come in A3, A4, A5, A6 sizes.
While there are many sizes, they all have the trust and experience of a well-known brand. This brand is working in the papermaking industry for more than 20 years.
They all have a high GSM paper, which makes them very versatile, and you can work with any media on them. Let us talk about these products one by one and understand what other differences they have apart from sizes.
Moleskine Art Sketchbook
This sketchbook has a hardcover. The cover holds 104 pages, which are 165GSM (111lbs) thick.
It has various features like elastic closure and bookmark ribbon. Its corners are foldable to give it rough handling capability.
This sketchbook is FSC certified, and the paper is acid-free. It helps to preserve your creations. This sketchbook also has a small pocket on the rear cover, keeping any important piece of paper.
- MOLESKINE ART COLLECTION: From sketchbooks and sketchpads to watercolor notebooks with heavy paper, to music notebooks with plain and pentagram pages, to storyboard layout notebooks, Moleskine's art collection of notebooks offer the quality you need.
- DURABLE COVER & ELASTIC CLOSURE: Hold writing projects & notes in your Moleskine notebook with an elastic closure band & inner storage folders. Leather-like classic Moleskine cover & thick, ivory paper pages are perfect for writing with fountain pens.
- GIFT QUALITY NOTEBOOKS: Moleskine planners, journals and notebooks come in hardcover or softcover and colors like black, red, blue, green and brown. The binding and cover have a durable finish, designed for daily journaling, writing and sketching.
- DELUXE QUALITY PAGES: Moleskine's thick, ivory paper pages in a hardcover Moleskine notebook, softcover Moleskine notebook, cahier or volant journal, or Moleskine planner are perfectly textured for writing with a ballpoint pen, fountain pen, or pencil.
- MOLESKINE QUALITY: We're dedicated to culture, travel, memory, imagination, & personal identity—both physical & digital. We bring this commitment to our notebooks, bags, apps & smart pens & notebooks.
Moleskine A4 Sketchbook
This is another premier A4 size sketchbook. It also has a hardcover. It has 96 pages of 120GSM thickness, which makes it perfect to use with any media.
It has ivory paper, which is acid-free acetate lush of your sketches for longer durations. Also, the texture it provides for sketching is just delightful.
- MOLESKINE ART COLLECTION: From sketchbooks and sketchpads to watercolor notebooks with heavy paper, to music notebooks with plain and pentagram pages, to storyboard layout notebooks, Moleskine's art collection of notebooks offer the quality you need.
- DURABLE COVER & ELASTIC CLOSURE: Hold writing projects & notes in your Moleskine notebook with an elastic closure band & inner storage folders. Leather-like classic Moleskine cover & thick, ivory paper pages are perfect for writing with fountain pens.
- GIFT QUALITY NOTEBOOKS: Moleskine planners, journals and notebooks come in hardcover or softcover and colors like black, red, blue, green and brown. The binding and cover have a durable finish, designed for daily journaling, writing and sketching.
- DELUXE QUALITY PAGES: Moleskine's thick, ivory paper pages in a hardcover Moleskine notebook, softcover Moleskine notebook, cahier or volant journal, or Moleskine planner are perfectly textured for writing with a ballpoint pen, fountain pen, or pencil.
- MOLESKINE QUALITY: We're dedicated to culture, travel, memory, imagination, & personal identity—both physical & digital. We bring this commitment to our notebooks, bags, apps & smart pens & notebooks.
Moleskine Watercolor Album
72-page sketchbook has a thickness of 200GSM/135lb. The paper is cold-pressed and is identical on both sides. The consistency in this sketchbook is remarkable and makes it one of the few all media capable. If you are fond of especially wet media sketching, this sketchbook is just for you.
- MOLESKINE ART COLLECTION: From sketchbooks and sketchpads to watercolor notebooks with heavy paper, to music notebooks with plain and pentagram pages, to storyboard layout notebooks, Moleskine's art collection of notebooks offer the quality you need.
- DURABLE COVER & ELASTIC CLOSURE: Hold writing projects & notes in your Moleskine notebook with an elastic closure band & inner storage folders. Leather-like classic Moleskine cover & thick, ivory paper pages are perfect for writing with fountain pens.
- GIFT QUALITY NOTEBOOKS: Moleskine planners, journals and notebooks come in hardcover or softcover and colors like black, red, blue, green and brown. The binding and cover have a durable finish, designed for daily journaling, writing and sketching.
- DELUXE QUALITY PAGES: Moleskine's thick, ivory paper pages in a hardcover Moleskine notebook, softcover Moleskine notebook, cahier or volant journal, or Moleskine planner are perfectly textured for writing with a ballpoint pen, fountain pen, or pencil.
- MOLESKINE QUALITY: We're dedicated to culture, travel, memory, imagination, & personal identity—both physical & digital. We bring this commitment to our notebooks, bags, apps & smart pens & notebooks.
Moleskine Square Sketchbook
This sketchbook is 7.5*7.5 size, which has 88 pages of thickness 120GSM/81lb. If you are looking for a wide area sketchbook that can fulfill your sketching needs.
Then you can choose this sketchbook for yourself. The paper available is acid-free like its other counterparts.
- MOLESKINE ART COLLECTION: From sketchbooks and sketchpads to watercolor notebooks with heavy paper, to music notebooks with plain and pentagram pages, to storyboard layout notebooks, Moleskine's art collection of notebooks offer the quality you need.
- DURABLE COVER & ELASTIC CLOSURE: Hold writing projects & notes in your Moleskine notebook with an elastic closure band & inner storage folders. Leather-like classic Moleskine cover & thick, ivory paper pages are perfect for writing with fountain pens.
- GIFT QUALITY NOTEBOOKS: Moleskine planners, journals and notebooks come in softcover and colors like black, red, blue, green and brown. The binding and cover have a durable finish, designed for daily journaling, writing and sketching.
- DELUXE QUALITY PAGES: Moleskine's thick, ivory paper pages in a softcover Moleskine notebook, softcover Moleskine notebook, cahier or volant journal, or Moleskine planner are perfectly textured for writing with a ballpoint pen, fountain pen, or pencil.
- MOLESKINE QUALITY: We're dedicated to culture, travel, memory, imagination, & personal identity—both physical & digital. We bring this commitment to our notebooks, bags, apps & smart pens & notebooks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the features to look for while buying a sketchbook?
When buying a sketchbook, you have to consider certain things. It will help you in choosing the right book. First, you should check the thickness of the paper.
The paper is measured in GSM, then the nature of paper, whether it is acid-free or not. Also, check whether the sketchbook is sewn or glued, as generally, choosing sewn one is the best option.
Why are sketchbooks with high GSM paper recommended to purchase?
If a sketchbook has high GSM paper, that means the thickness is high, making it multiple media-friendly.
You can draw with wet media and dry media on it with ease, and it will not affect the other pages of your sketchbook, and colors get absorbed well to give extra shine.
What is the difference between a hardcover and a softcover?
There is a lot of difference between a hardcover and a softcover sketchbook.
Hardcovers are made up of high-quality cardboard, which does not get twisted or curl easily. It provides a flat base and sturdiness to the sketchbook.
Softcovers are generally made of soft cardboard, making it easy to carry them in your bag or backpack.
Which sketchbook is best to purchase for urban sketching?
There are many sketchbooks available in the market, but I recommend Moleskine sketchbooks because I have mentioned above.
They are very stylish, sturdy, and versatile options to choose from. It has high GSM acid free paper, which is FSC certified.
Wrap Up
We have looked at the variety which Moleskine offers to its customers, and I hope you noticed the GSM of the products that we mentioned.
I hope that by now you might understand why I recommend Moleskine so highly. It has various options that you can choose according to you, and each of them will have extraordinary capabilities.
These sketchbooks are very easy to handle, so you can take your art with you without giving it extra luggage space wherever you are traveling. They are stylish, adding a bit of panache to your drawing portfolio. The papers are of ivory color, which gives an excellent background for your creation.
With high GSM and non-acidic paper, the lush and shine of your sketches are preserved for posterity.
To conclude, if you have a passion for sketching, Moleskine sketchbooks are best to start; there is a saying that “If you start with the best, later you can rest.” Then what are you waiting for?
Related Articles:
If you like Moleskines you might like our review of the Best Watercolor Book