Art AlternativesVery Big Sketch Book

Seriously, buying this sketch book has got to be the best $30.00 I ever spent. The quality is amazing, I am absolutely delighted with it. I started drawing in it about 60 seconds after I got it out of the mailbox and unwrapped. If you like to draw you will LOVE this sketchbook. If you know someone who likes to draw, they will think you are the Funk King/Queen of the Western World if you get them this sketch book.So far I have used pencils, regular old No 2's and nicer Prismacolor sketching pencils, Prismacolor colored pencils, Derwent colored pencils, a few different brands & types of gel pens and some Staedler fine tipped markers to draw/color in this sketchbook and I have had no issues with bleed-through to the next page though some of the gel pens and the fine-tipped markers did show through on the back of the page I was using them on. Had I been using the markers for anything other than lightly outlining/subtle depth, they would probably have bled through to the next page. The paper is not thick but it is not exactly thin either. It's not super smooth, nor is it at all textured or rough. It's GOOD paper, not extremely high quality, but very nice. It seems to take pencil, both graphite and wax-based colored pencils best, and gel pens work well too though I much prefer the way the Prismacolor and Derwent colored pencils blend and look on this paper. If you're gonna use markers, put a couple of sheets of paper between the page you're using them on and the page behind it so it toesn't bleed through. I don't know if pastels would work too good, the paper seems too lightweight and smooth but then again it has been a very long time since I've used pastels so I could be wrong.If you're looking for a high quality oversized sketchbook that'll take awhile for you to fill up, this sketch book is an excellent choice. I can't imagine anyone being anything other than thrilled with this sketchbook.Art Alternatives was also a pleasure to deal with, I actually received my sketch book a couple of days early. My book was appropriately packaged and and brand new, still wrapped in plastic, and in absolutely perfect condition. It was NOT exactly as the seller described. I got the Very Big Sketch Book and I don't care. Yes, the Very Big Sketch Book has, I believe, 48 fewer pages than the Sketches in the Making book. I still don't care. For approximately $30 (which includes shipping and handling) this book is still a great deal. The quality of the book itself and the paper is very, very good, I would expect to pay around $70-$100 for a sketchbook of similar size/quality someplace like Artists Loft or even Michaels, if Michael's carried a product like this (which they do not!) I am very, very happy with my purchase and quibbling over 48 pages when I have 300 oversized ones to work with just seems petty to me. Yeah, it's a bit scammer-like of Art Alternatives to send people a different product that the one pictured/described without telling their customers about the substitution or offering a discount or anything. That really is the classic definition of "bait-and-switch," though a very small-potatoes example of it. Inevitably, they're gonna p*ss some of their customers off and probably lose at least a few with this kind of behavior. And while I would happily buy from them again, I will also be asking them some very specific questions about anything I buy from them before I purchase it and saving those emails and their responses just in case I should find myself going toe-to-toe with them over something that IS a big deal to me. If I don't get a clear response or any response at all to my pre-purchase inquiries, I will probably order from another seller if at all possible. Although I am happy with this purchase, Art Alternatives has let me know that they find nothing wrong with substituting one product for another, very similar, one without telling me of their intention to do so or offering me any sort of discount or incentive for my 48 missing pages. Everything worked out ok for me this time, but it might not next time. They have planted the seed of doubt and that's a shame. If someone at Art Alternatives had taken 90 seconds out of their life to email me and make sure I was gonna be ok with the substitution before just sending it on (and hoping I wouldn't notice, I assume) there would have been no seed of doubt planted and I would not feel the need to use caution if and when I should deal with them in the future.Still, I do love the sketch book, I feel like I got an excellent deal, the fact that there are 48 fewer pages than I thought I was getting is not a big deal at all to me and overall I am thrilled with this purchase. I would also recommend this sketch book to anyone in the market for a sketch book and I would recommend Art Alternatives as a good source to purchase the sketch book from though I might also suggest that the buyer email Art Alternatives for specific information about what product they will actually be receiving, especially if I know the buyer to be a person who is very choosy and/or very detail oriented.

This book is great quality and has so many pages for an artist to draw in

So what am I doing with two coffee-table sized books full of over 300 extra large blank pages?I came across this item while searching for a hard cover book of blank pages that would not only satisfy the unbounded urge of my five year old to draw upon every blank page he sees but contain said treasures in such a way that I did not have to really put a whole lot of effort into it (having two other kids and a plethora of kid drawings everywhere as it is). I hoped as time went on, the volume would likely chronicle an upgrade in drawing skills since he is already showing some intriguing talent...(but you know, I'm his mom so take that with a grain of teary eyed salt :)When it arrived I was amazed I could possibly have purchased this massive wonder for under $30, with free shipping no less; it certainly has some weight to it. Many other books with significantly fewer pages were in the price range of $30 and upward. My child has decimated two reams of office paper drawing sometimes just marks and miscellaneous circles and letters on a page and not wanting to reuse the back since he can see the lines through it. I wanted something with as much paper as possible. Now he has a book where every turn is a new page whether it is the back of another isn't really apparent and so he uses both sides. Not only that but he seems to take more care about filling up the page since it's a book.To my delight, I found I could very easily tape things to the pages inside or even parts of pages he left blank, some of the items I've put in there include drawings from school, little cutout pictures he loves to make and leave around the house and I sometimes even cut small pictures he's made on a blank piece of paper and put them all on one page making a neat kind of collage interspersed with his drawings. He was also delighted by this enough that my six year old became a bit jealous and I had to spring for another one...why not? This is a fantastic way to keep their drawing treasures in one place. I've told them we'll decorate the covers with their names and whatever they want to put on it as soon as I get the other one. I've also noticed that it isn't filling up particularly fast, which to me is a wonderful aspect since it could potentially contain years of memorable child art.In the event they discontinue drawing in it, I can still tape or glue mementos, photos and other various and sundry things to the pages. I know I need to order a third before there aren't any more since my up and coming four year old is going to need one too!In doing all of this, I decided to purchase a smaller hardcover book for myself to contain my own drawings and things I perhaps want to keep. An artist might love to see the evolution of their drawing skills or a master scrap-booker could really find some great things to do with this book. With some imagination this is really a wonderful value and a great product.As to the quality of materials, the black hard cover under the dustcover is a little generic but I love the fact that it is practically a blank canvas upon which my little ones, or anyone for that matter, can create their own unique cover (it is a bit bumpy, not flat). To me, the dust jacket looks like an advertisement for the book, but again, it was just more motivation to remove it and decorate the cover. The paper inside is a nice heavy stock, not particularly bright white so bear that in mind if you are a more discerning artist, however it holds up well, doesn't tear easily and the pages are bound nice and tight in the book. I can't imagine this binding falling apart very easily even after years of use.All in all I think this is an awesome product and would highly recommend it to anyone with some creative ideas and a need for such a volume of blank pages.

I'm in love. The pages are thicker than I imagined so sketching won't be a problem. I bought this at a great price. The cover is very sturdy. The pages lay 95% flat. I personally wouldn't travel with it. Its just too heavy. Thin markers don't bleed through. But thicker markers can be seen through on the back of the page.