illo Sketchbook 8’’ x 8’’ Square Hardcover Sketch Book, (112lb/180gsm) Heavyweight Paper, Ribbon Marker, Back Pocket, Lays Flat, Minimal Bleed, Vegan, for Artists & Beginners

my favorite sketchbook, i cant find a sketchbook that tops this one in terms of quality. Im not sure what the outside material is but its so smooth and nice, the paper is just immaculate omg. The paper a little thick but not thick as in like watercolor paper thick but thick enough for alcohol markers. So many pages too, its got a mini folder in the back, comes with a 5$ coupon with the dual side being a mini ruler. The pages actually lay flat when you turn the page omg thats my biggest pet peeve with sketchbooks but i love this. The only art material ill ever glaze happily 😫

I really like this sketchbook. I love to use Gouache paint. It’s great to use for watercolor paints, acrylic, and oil based. Very portable and the colors don’t bleed through. Great paper quality and has a smooth texture.

Hi this will be an IN DEPTH review :D The sketchbook shown in photos is the 10x10 illo, its been worked in since september 2022, and finished since march of 2024. It was my 17th sketchbook, im currently on 24, im an artist of 10+ years, so id say im experienced. illo is BY FAR the best brand i’ve tried, and ive tried strathmore, moleskin, leuchtturm1917 and other off brands. now onto the medium reviewsWATERCOLOR AND GOUACHE - there’s minimal warping which i love, you can also tape off sections for borders and peel off fine, colors do NOT soak into the paper because the paper is hard press, so you really need to let them dry; i havent tried REALLY thick gouache, so be cautious with thick paints.ALCOHOL AND WATER BASED MARKERS - yes, alcohol markers bleed (water based do not) but out of all the sketchbooks ive used, illo bleeds the least. markers do not smear.BALL POINT PEN - this was my least favorite medium for this sketchbook. in the photo, it looks like i colored in the shirt, i did not. that color is from the pen bleeding over time. i did put clear tape over it, so im not sure if that makes a difference , but i didnt want to get ink on other drawings.PENCIL AND INKS - all pencils b-h work well, they do get smudgy when you go further up the b pencils (probably b6), other than that, theres minimal smudging unless purposely done. very minimal or no graphite residue transfers onto other pages. FOR INKS, i mainly use microns, zebra pens, and sometimes dip pens with ink: i have also used other brands with no smearing, but always check before working on something final; theres no smearing AS LONG AS THERES TIME TO DRY, dont put ink down and immediately do a smear test.COLOR PENCIL - i dont use this medium often, but from what i have done, it works fine. theres not a lot of texture, again because of hard press paper, but thats okay for me.WARPING - very minimal, ive done moderate taping , and little glueing/pasting, BUT i think if it was done more frequently it would be okayOVERALL: literally the best sketchbook ive ever used, the only thing that gets me is sometimes i get tired of the smooth hard press paper, and depending on the size you get, it can be hard to travel with. they mainly advertise square sketchbooks, but if you go to their website, you could find other sizes and orientations as well as types of paper (water color, cold press, etc)yea i love illo🫶

Love the feel of the book and the weight of the pages. Would highly recommend.

One of my favorite sketchbooks and my go too. I wont use anything else after trying these. The paper texture is amazing, and it does bleed with markers but thats entirely expected. I highly recommend

I like this sketch book, the paper is really weird, and the cover is a weird texture that i dont like, i would like to try this again sometime later

My girlfriend loves the size of this sketchbook, alcohol markers bleed through a little bit but not too bad.

My daughter loved it