Pen and watercolor sketch in the Aimporium sketchbook. It was also a bit of a surprise since feathering isn’t a common problem with smooth paper as the paper fibers are usually ultra compact, which diminishes feathering. But it’s worth noting since feathering can interfere with precise or detailed linework. Given that my use case for the sketchbook was very casual, this didn’t really bother me. The amount of feathering is hard to point out and not visually noticeable in most cases, but you can definitely feel it when inking. In this context, feathering is when the ink of the pen or marker bleeds outwards from where you draw, resulting in thicker lines than expected. I did notice more feathering with this sketchbook’s paper compared to the Punctuate though.
The Aimporium is not a wet media sketchbook, and the smoothness of the paper isn’t very conducive to watercolor, but still - if you’re inclined, the pages do hold up pretty well to water and buckling is actually fairly minimal. Right is three flavours of Kuretake Karappo with fountain pen ink. Left is Tombow Fudenosuke and Pentel pocket brush with fountain pen ink. Drawings on both sides of the same sheet in the Aimporium sketchbook.
The thickness of the paper means that alcohol markers don’t bleed onto the next page, even without a buffer sheet! (Marker will still show on the back of the same page though.) Dye- and water-based inks don’t show through on the back at all though, so it’s easy and practical to use both sides of a sheet. It’s ideal for pen and ink, but it holds onto pencil well too. You can see it’s a teeny bit toothier.Īs promised, the paper sourced for the Aimporium Sketchbook is great! It’s heavier and thicker than the paper in the Punctuate and has nearly the same texture - it’s very smooth, but has the teeniest bit of tooth. Paper in the Punctuate sketchbook (bigger) VS the Aimporium sketchbook (smaller). The sketchbook I have is the larger “medium” size. 110lb (199gsm), FSC certified, smooth paper.Stickers here by Oxygen Impulse, Alekivz, and Roamin Bison. :) Front and back of the Aimporium Sketchbook in medium. She didn’t ask for a review, but I’m writing one anyway. Amy was kind enough to send me one of the sketchbooks for free. The result was the Aimporium Sketchbook, a spiral-bound sketchbook featuring the most important aspect of the Punctuate sketchbook: extremely good paper. While I tested other commercially available options though, Amy decided to just make her own instead! A few months ago, Amy of Parts by NC commented on my review of/eulogy to the Punctuate sketchbook, and we commiserated over the discontinuation of our favourite sketchbook.