A5 Sketchbook, Lay Flat Softcover Sketch Book for Everyone, Ideal for Ink, Water Color, Pen, Pencils, 160 Tear Resistant Pages, Size: Medium, Leda Art Supply

I love that the pages are thin but still will take a wash of watercolor or acrylic just fineIt does get crinkly but I also love that.I love that the paper is off white and not stark. It has rounded edges and a pocket at the back AND comes in b5 size. I love that it feels nice to work on but not precious.If I could change one thing about this sketchbook.. I would get a bit more texture. Just a little bit more but it does take colored pencils pretty well. Still, 5 stars.Will update with photos

Sketchbook for artists, large softbound cover (7x10), Leda Odyssey's 160 pages of beige-colored, high quality paper is designed for pencil, ink, pen, pastel, charcoal and light water color wash. Ideal sketch pad, travel journal or notebook to express your creative inspirations.I’ve been testing this product out for a while now and I adore its simplicity and functionality. While at first surprised by it’s soft-bound pages, I hadn’t been expecting this type of material, I found this to be a real asset while sketching. The material definitely seems to hold up just as well as, or even better, than soft leather bound books I have had in the past. I tend to like folding back the front cover so the book can be positioned on my knee while I work. It’s been a couple weeks now and it has held up amazingly. The supple cover also aids in the book looking new despite extensive use or wear. It’s been thrown around in my book bag, car, and gone on a cross-country debate trip.Right off the bat I noticed the quality of the pages. I use a variety of black ink pens to sketch most of my work and have had issues with bleeding through the pages in the past. With this product, not only is there no threat of bleeding, the back of my sketches look almost like a clean page. I also really appreciated the inclusion of the pocket on the back page. Super useful for storing finished pieces I intend to hang on the wall or give away. Though I just draw for fun, this book makes me feel like a professional.The size is also perfect for my lifestyle. While smaller than some of the other sketchbooks I have tended to go for, Leda Art Supply’s debut product has proven to be not only easier to manage (I can more easily position it while drawing out and about), but also easy to travel with. This coming December I am traveling to Greece and this book will definitely be going with me (The myth travels home!)!I’m thrilled to have it and will definitely be purchasing another when this one is full. The quality is top notch, as is the vision for the company. I can’t wait to see what else they come up with!

I finally purchased this after being curious about the sketchbook for a while. When it first arrived, my first impression was, "wow, this is bigger than I thought it was going to be," which is definitely a good thing, because I typically like drawing on papers around the B5 to A3 size. Second, the cover. Leda nailed it with the interesting rough leather/vinyl-like material, and it is by far the best softcover material I've ever encountered in a commercially-bound sketchbook.Next, the binding. It seems to hold up well and lays flat on command. One small issue I had was that a tiny bit of the cover near the spine had separated from the end paper during the first time I tried laying it flat (pictured in one of the images). It has not separated any further than that, though, despite me really working the spine when drawing, so I'm not concerned with it at all.Lastly, the paper. It is smooth and cream-colored. I typically draw on bright white vellum paper, but I am pleased to say that I really enjoyed drawing on this paper with graphite as well. It took multiple layers with ease, and only required a quick spritz of fixative to take care of my smudging paranoia. The smoothness of the paper also keeps my softer pencils from smearing everywhere while drawing. It's also immensely satisfying to draw on with fountain pen as well.Watercolor washes also show up nice and bright, on par with what I experience with Canson and Strathmore sketch papers as well. I tend to use a waterbrush on the go, and found that the advertised "light wash" is accurate, as excessive scrubbing with the plastic bristles will cause the paper to pill and paint to bleed faintly. This is fully expected, since the paper is not heavy-duty watercolor paper. However, you can definitely get away with putting multiple layers down if you wait for the paper to dry in between, and it the paper will hold up just fine.Overall, the sketchbook is fantastic quality for the price I paid. I definitely prefer Leda's design over other, over-marketed sketchbook brands like Moleskine. Very happy that there are dedicated companies like Leda raising the bar for sketchbook makers out there! I'm hoping they extend their sketchbook line to include different kinds of heavyweight paper, such as vellum or mixed media.