If you’re interested in drawing more, but don’t know where to start, I recommend keeping a small sketchbook close to you! When I’m at my day job and away from my drawing desk, having a small sketchbook helps me jot down ideas I get.

A while ago, I dropped a short blog post about ways you can get in drawing practice. In it, I discus sketchbooks that I’ve used before, so I’m elaborating more on cool sketchbooks to draw in.

Why small?

A smaller sketchbook is easier for me to have in my pocket when I’m out and about. Drawing on such a small book is also a nice way to encourage drawing simple and smaller. With less paper and space to work with, you’re forced to simplify to key details! The papers are small enough that you don’t have to worry about ruining a big new sketchbook!

To fit my small sketchbooks in one spot in my pocket, I use a SketchWallet. But, you don’t need one to hold these small sketchbooks.

Criteria

As of this writing, I’ve spent around $80 USD to review as many small sketchbooks as I can find over the past year. Most of them are from Blick Art Supply. Others are from stores like JetPens and Amazon. My personal criteria for sketchbook are as followed:

• 3.5×5.5 inches because I want them to fit in my Sketch Wallet
• Blank and Unlined, as I don’t want the trouble of digitally editing out ruling lines or grids out of my scans.
• White paper, as the toned paper makes it tough to digitally edit scans that I might later use for larger illustrations or artbooks.
• Book bound because again, I want to fit it in my Sketch Wallet and at the time of my writing, they haven’t made a Steno pad style wallet.

The Sketchbooks

SketchWallet Refill Sketchbook

Up first is the default SketchWallet sketchbook, for the convenience of having a wallet and a sketchbook in one pocket!

On the first purchase of this wallet, you get one sketchbook to start with. After you fill out that one, you have the option of purchasing refills in a 3 pack of White, Toned (Tan and Grey) or Ruled papers. All the sketchbooks are that are great for with dry media like pencils and charcoal sketching. The paper is smooth yet rough enough for for clean lines and good blending.

Moleskine Cahier Kraft Journals

I prefer these over SketchWallet’s refill sketchbooks.They feel the same, but are cheaper, have 4 extra pages to Sketchwallet’s 60, and are easier to find at regular art supply stores.

These are my workhorse sketchbooks for the 2024 year as they’re easy to impulse buy during my trips to Blick compared to ordering online and waiting for the shipment.

Field Notes Memo Books

I bought a three pack of three Field Notes sketchbooks. They can come in black, lined and gridded pages. If you’re on a tighter budget, these packs are much cheaper.

Personally, pages feel thinner to me, with only 48 pages and 60 lb paper weight. You are down to dry media like the others, but I don’t feel the tooth to feel good sketching in it.

Stillman & Birn Softcover Sketchbooks

A top notch sketchbook for all around drawing, whether it’s sketching, pen and ink, marker, or painting!

There are other cheaper options in the Stillman & Brin series that specify for certain mediums such as the Alpha sketchbooks better for dry media like graphite and colored pencils. For my Ink and Marker needs, I rock with the Zeta series with it’s dense 180lb pages!

One personal problem is that some inks can lift from a page and stick to the opposite pages even when dried. It’s fine if you draw on one side of the paper for each page but if you draw on both sides of the paper as I do, it might be a problem with splats and splotches on your art. Bleeding is also an issue if you frequently use Markers and heavier ink.

Talens Art Creation Sketchbooks

These are my favorite sketchbooks of the bunch, holding a chonky 80 pages at less than $10! The paper tooth has enough grain to feel good to sketch with my pencil, while smooth enough for drawing with Fountain and Tech pens to have a clean line. But 90 lb pages means there’ll be problems with heavier inks and layered colors.

Another drawback is that many of them have the hardcover binding makes it difficult to fit in the Sketch Wallet, so if you want to use this and only this sketchbook, you don’t need the Sketch Wallet.

But for anyone seeking a great multi-media sketchbook, the Talens Sketchbooks is the best possible bang for your buck!

Honerable Mention: Crescent RendR Softcover Sketchbook

This sketchbook is my personal favorite sketchbook of all of these. The big thing of this sketchbook is that it’s paper doesn’t bleed with markers and inks.

It’s the closest I feel to having mini Bristol board in my pocket next to Artist Trading Cards. While the paper is set up for markers not to bleed, it doesn’t blend marker ink as well as Bristol Board or Marker Paper. The paper is also toothy enough that precise line from tech pens or fountain pens will still look feathered and fuzzy.

Unfortunately, it seems these sketchbooks are discontinued. I tried looking for places that sell online but many are out of stock or unlisted including the larger books. It’s a bummer to not have a smaller place to experiment with markers on the go.

Conclusion

I’m sure there’s other pocket-sized sketchbooks out there that might be better for portable drawing but this is my personal review of ones I’ve tried out. They’re the main way I’ve been able to keep up my art practice over the years between larger illustrations and animations. I also recommend my post about Pens I’ve used with these and browse through my other Supply List for other supplies I’ve used in the past.

Making time for art is hard, even at my busy schedule, I still feel that I have it easy compared to other people who have real obligations like jobs or children to take care of. With this, I do my best to answer common questions I get to help out or nudge folks in the right direction.

I’m all over the web showing my daily drawings and practice sketches! If you have any questions, comments, or just wanna to say hi, I’m on Blue Sky, Instagram, and Twitch!