Canson XL Mix Media Pad 7X10

I bought this sketchbook a couple months ago, during the lockdown and honestly? I love it. In comparison to other sketchbooks I've tried, this one has been my favourite. The paper is great and works well with most forms of media (using watercolors can be slightly odd with this paper imo, light watercolor works well but I feel the paper still contorts itself and pills.) You can see from the photos I've attached how the paper reacts with alcohol markers and coloured pencils! The alcohol markers are amazing on this paper :) the bleeding is still heavy but to be fair it doesn't go through to the next page if you forget to put a sheet underneath! Which is a LIFE SAVER. They blend well too and layering is easy. The same for coloured pencils. When rubbing out pencil / graphite it's quite good too that there's not any residue or any of those smudge marks stuck on the paper. I would wholeheartedly recommend this mixed media pad if you're looking for a decent one!

I bought this after seeing it on a a blog that I follow. I originally wanted a different size but this was the only one available so I bought it. I am glad I have this size now as it is easy to transport with me and is slightly smaller than a regular A4. The exact size is 17.8cm x 25.4cm and the pages are 160g. There are 60 sheets in total. The pages are perforated and easy to remove from the book. I have mainly used pencil in the book but you can use acrylic, watercolours, pen and pencils. The spiral bound is tough and the book has firm cardboard covers that will protect the pages. Originally I did think it was a bit expensive but it is worth it as I can't compare it to anything else that is similar and a very good quality product. I highly recommend it. I am keeping it as a journal of all the "attempts" I am making at trying to improve my drawing skills. I can see the more I use this book and practice, the better I am becoming. You can also colour in the pages with different pens but alcohol based pens will bleed through this paper.

Love it

As a mixed-media sketchbook, this Canson XL Multi-Media pad is fairly sturdy, wonderfully wide and a trooper with graphite and coloured pencils, ink pens and when using lightly, alcohol- and water-based markers. And here is where my praise ends. I was in a hurry when I saw "mixed media" and "heavyweight" in the title and tossed it in my basket. When it arrived the next day, I was surprised to see how flimsy those sheets were. I checked the cover page for its weight. It's 98lb. There's no way it could cope with watercolours, I thought. Even though the cover page asserts "Acrylic / Watercolour / Pen and Pencil". (For what it's worth, the ideal weight for watercolours is between 140lb and 300lb.) I did a small watercolour illustration - roughly the size of an egg - as a test. The paper area around the illustration warped a little. Did a light wash across half of a sheet. It warped enough to leave the entire sheet a bit wavy when dried. Ah, yeah. I should have gone for the Canson XL Watercolour version. It's still a good sketchbook, though. Great for pencil sketching, inking, ink stamping and the like. Maybe too thin for a work of collage? Maybe it will cope if you use gesso or layers of paper pieces as support. Anyroad, unless you don't mind wavy sheets, avoid using watercolours on this.

As described and reviewed by many - I will buy the paper again - at this point I have only used it for different inks, pencil and various ballpoints and acrylic - but it looks like it will be fine with water colour painting to judge from the wet inks.

Art lovers this is the sketchbook for you. I have tried many sketchbooks but this one definitely stands out to be among the best. The pages are sturdy but not overly thick, which means that it can hold lots of water/marker, and there is only a slight grain so that the texture of the paper is generally smooth, which I personally love as blending with colour pencils becomes much easier and the outcome is great. The spiral binding is so convenient as you can work on one page/piece easily. The pages can be torn off easily, with a smooth line and not that wierd, rough tear that spiral-binding creates. This is because on each page next to the binding there is a pre-cut 'line' (it's not actually visible but you can see the shadow it creates) which you can tear the page off neatly by, which makes this sketchbook great for any pieces you want to frame or put on a wall.

I'd like to start this review by saying that I hate spiral bound sketchbooks. Even so, this is my 100% go to sketchbook. I love it so much and the only other books that come close are expensive watercolour sketchbooks which have a lot less pages for a lot more money. This book is a jack of all trades. You can use basically anything on it and get pleasant results. Yes, you may not be able to layer watercolours 100 times or you may not be able to get the smoothest gradient with markers. I say, 'So what?' It comes pretty damn close to those perfect results. If you're desperate to get perfect watercolour effects, buy a block of watercolour paper. If you want a smooth blend and the most mileage for your markers, buy marker paper. Literally no sketchbook is going to be perfect for all mediums, that what specific paper is for and lots of those can't seem to get it right either. What I'm meaning to say is, no matter what medium you use, pencil, pen, watercolour, acrylic, markers etc you will not be hindered at all by the quality of this paper and you will get a positive result! After all, sketchbooks for for practice, so not everything has to be perfect!

It's just...perfect. It holds so many mediums (acrylic, gouache, watercolour, ink, pencils, graphite, carbon and oil pastels) and if you are an oil painter on a budget just buy liquid gesso and you are set too. Heads up that only Alcohol markers are the only medium that bleeds through the paper, all the other mediums mentioned above have none of it. The paper buckles yes but not at extreme rates, I use lots of water and for being mixed media it holds it really well. The paper texture is a nice inbetween between cold press and hot press paper, smooth with a hint of texture. 100/10, this is my favourite sketchbook brand.