Review by Tina Koyama Opaque white pens: The bane of my sketching existence. Intermittently during my 13 years of sketching, I’ve tried various white gel pens for those infrequent occasions when I want to make white lettering on a sketch or draw thin highlights. Though not without its faults, the Sakura Gelly Roll has long…
Showing all posts tagged sketching
Sketchbook Review: Field Notes Streetscapes Edition
Review by Tina Koyama Maker of the popular pocket-size notebook in a wide variety of designs, Field Notes Brand has given an occasional nod to sketchers and visual thinkers over the years. Although the original Kraft notebook comes with an unruled option, the first product that attempted to look like a sketchbook came out in…
Sketchbook Review: BUKE A5 Size Hardcover Sketchbook Journal – 180Gsm Ultra Bamboo Paper
The BUKE A5 Size Hardcover Sketchbook Journal (currently selling for $13.34) is kind of an amazing little sketchbook. First, the price! I think when I ordered it, it was about $15.50 which is still incredibly inexpensive. The sketchbook came in a matte, white box with an iridescent foil feather on the box. Inside, the sketchbook…
Pen Review: Pilot Shunpitsu Pocket Brush Pen – Soft
Review by Tina Koyama I have a few brush pens. (To understand what I mean by “a few,” see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of my review series. And those are only the ones I’ve reviewed.) I tend to divide all brush pens into two categories – the ones with hair-like…
Notebook Review: Sketchnote Ideabook
I’ve been a huge fan of Mike Rohde‘s Sketchnote project and his Sketchnote Handbook and Sketchnote Workshops. In general, he’s an all-around great guy and when I heard he’d created a Sketchnote Ideabook to meet his exacting standards for sketchnoting, I was all-in. Partnering with Airship notebooks, the Sketchnote Ideabook is a soft-touch, hardcover A5 notebook…
Pencil Review: Cretacolor Graphite Aquarell
Review by Tina Koyama In July, I attended the 10th annual International Urban Sketchers Symposium in Amsterdam. Aside from barely surviving a record-breaking heatwave of temps up to 107 F, I had a wonderful time with my tribe of 1,500 sketchers from around the globe. It was my sixth symposium since 2013. One of the…
Notebook Review: Leuchtturm 1917 Academy Pad
Review by Tina Koyama An unusual notebook came my way in the Urban Sketchers Symposium swag bag: a Leuchtturm 1917 Academy Pad. From the outside, the A5-size notebook looks identical to other Leuchtturm notebooks (the traditional notebook is one of my favorites; I’ve used many as my journals and DIY planners), with a standard elastic…