New Sketch - ETCHED Sketchbook Test

So a little while back, the company ETCHED got in touch and offered to send me one of their sketchbooks. 

If you're not familiar with Etched, they are a company whose main USP (Unique Selling Point) is that their paper is made of stone!
That means that it is very smooth, not absorbant (so no bleed-through), and tear-resistant. It is also allegedly more eco-friendly as it uses less water in the manufacturing process, but I am always sceptical of such claims by companies, so I'd need to research that more to have an opinion.

I'd seen their products in other artists' videos before, and was intrigued, but not enough that I would have purchased their items, so I was excited to be able to try them out without having to spend money I don't really have on a product I'm not sure about. 

My pre-conceptions were that this would not be an ideal product for me, as I enjoy some tooth to my paper when sketching in pencil, plus, since their paper isn't absorbant, using paints like acrylic, water, or gouache (paints that need to be absorbed into the paper somewhat) isn't an option, which limits the use of the paper even more for me.

I did think it might be perfect for ink work though, specifically pens. I do enjoy as smooth a paper as possible when I use pens, as it really helps with cross-hatching and fine detail, so I had hopes it would be fun for that.

My first impression upon receiving the product was very positive ;

Etched sent to the trouble of personalising the sketchbook, and included a genuinely nice note that I could tell they put some effort into making personal.

I don't see that often from brands, so that was a very good start.

The first thing I did was try out different mediums :

And much to my dismay, pens simply aren't a good option with this paper, at least in my opinion.

As you can see above, I did various smudge tests, leaving some time for the ink to dry, and the results were not very positive. 

The paper is definitely not absorbant AT ALL, which leads to the ink not drying for too long a time to be comfortable to draw in.
The paper is also almost TOO dry? Pens don't glide as smoothly as I was expecting, and it almost feels like it takes more ink to draw with them because the paper needs more ink in one spot to fill out. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but basically, the ink beeds on the surface slightly, because none of it is absorbed, so in order for the mark you leave to be sully saturated, you need to work against the beeding by applying more fluid. Does that make sense?

It's marginal enough as to not be too much of a problem with pens, but it makes it completely unworkable when using water-based paints. I'm not upset at this as ETCHED makes no secret of their paper being waterproof, but I was hoping maybe that wouldn't affect pens as much as it did.

I wasn't too excited by that point, but not because the product is bad, just because the hopes I had for its use for me weren't panning out.

If anything, the product delivers everything is says it will.
Sadly, that does mean I was seeing less and less of a use for it for me.

But then...

I tried coloured pencils. 

And that was FUN. 

See, I thought I preferred for my paper to have some tooth. Some texture. 

But it turns out that using an uber smooth paper, specifically with creamy pencils like Polychromos, is HEAVENLY.

The smoothness of the paper means the pencil glides perfectly. You can use very little pressure to achieve a light colouring but it also fills out beautifully when you apply pressure.

I find erasing a little frustrating, as you need a good eraser or the pigment sort of just smudges, but that is mostly me nitpicking.

[Pose reference by AdorkaStock/Senshistock]

Suffice to say, I had a FAB time sketching this!

The colours are so vibrant, the feel of the paper so buttery, it was a discovery to me!

Isn't it nice to be proven wrong for the better, haha?

I'm so glad I found a use I enjoy for this paper! 

An added bonus is that such a smooth paper scans very well. :)

I probably still won't use this sketchbook as much as my regular ones, as I can't use pens or paint in it, but I can actually see myself using it more often than I foresaw before getting to test it out. 

I will be making a short video sharing my experience on social media soon, but I thought I would share this with you all first. 

Thank you for reading this,

Have a wonderful day,
All my love,
Myriam