Illustrations by Andrew Tan
Illustrations by Andrew Tan
I used to carry around thick sketchbooks whenever I want to sketch outdoors. Then I began wondering, why am I carrying around so many sheets of paper when I usually end up only using 1-3 sheets in a day? It makes my bag heavy and strains my shoulders!
So I visited paper suppliers in Singapore, leafed through their catalogs, and tested their papers. I wanted to find paper suitable for sketchbooks. I'd bring my watercolours with me and try them on paper samples. I'd observe how fountain pen ink and watercolour would dry on each paper. Eventually, I did find a handful of that could handle light watercolour washes, fountain pen ink and felt good when I drew on it with a pencil. Sure, they will not be as amazing as 100% cotton watercolour paper, but they work well for casual everyday sketching and experiments. I bought these paper in bulk and stored them in a dry cabinet at home. Will a guillotine, I'd produce a sketchboook by hand whenever I needed one. And that's how this lightweight sketchbook was born. Whenever I go out, one of these sketchbooks always comes along in my bag and they don't strain my shoulders. On the left are some drawings I've done on this yellow paper. (No, the drawings do not come with this sketchbook. You will have to draw your own:D)
This sketchbook comes with brown craft paper for the cover, which you will be able to draw on and personalise. The inside papers are 200gsm, yellow smooth drawing paper. I like this paper the most because it is versatile. It can handle wet media like light watercolour washes as well as acrylic and gouache. And because this paper is smooth, not bumpy, drawing with a pencil or colouring with a colour pencil is a joy ride.
This sketchbook is sold as a set of 3 for SGD$14. And this includes FREE shipping within Singapore! This will be sold to SINGAPORE ADDRESSES ONLY (for now). Simply use the paypal button below to order these sketchbooks and I'll mail them over to you!
Blank lightweight sketchbook A5 (It's actually a few millimeters smaller than A5 because I trim the sides), Craft paper cover, Inside paper 32pages, 200gsm smooth yellow paper.