Review: Watercolor Book Hahnemuhle (ENG)

Here's the sketchbook that's been my daily companion for a while now, the fantastic Watercolour Book by German paper manufacturers Hahnemuhle. It features natural white Akademie Hahnemuhle 200gsm, acid-free paper slightly grained on both sides. I'm reviewing the A5 landscape format, perfect for my passion for panoramic sketches. It contains 60 pages / 30 sheets, a fantastic well-crafted cover with the traditional rubber band to hold it together. 

This is my sketching kit I carry all the time: The Watercolour Book; Lamy-Joy EF nib; Lamy ALstar F nib; 0,7mm White Posca; Rembrandt Watercolours by Royal Talens + 4 brushes. I use Platinum Carbon Black Ink in both of my Lamy's (The ALstar is deluded with water) because of it's waterproof capabilities and fast drying time, perfect for 15-30 minute sketches. I'm an experienced sketcher but an amateur when it comes to watercoloring, so I tend to use lots (AND LOTS) of water throughout the coloring process and the sketchbook handles it quite well. I can easily use up to 4 layers of watercolour in one sketch and repeat the process on the next page with a new sketch. 

   One less positive aspect of this sketchbook: the paper buckles a bit when I use heavy washes on it but that's easily solved with a couple of paper clips on each side or, by stretching the paper by washing it first and then let it dry closed. 

Aside from that, it's a joyous experience to sketch on one of these. Colours blend in perfectly and the way the watercolour lays on the paper is wonderful with some nice granulation effects due to it's texture. With the natural white paper I can get fresh and saturated colours that I wont get with a cream coloured one. Since the paper can take the punch, I tend to mix more paint than normal, and in time, this sketchbook became my laboratory, slowly evolving from a typical urban sketcher book to an artist's book where I study different ways to mix and apply colours.

  As I mentioned before,  I prefer to use pen and ink and I've tried a wide range of pens on it and honestly, it's all the same for me. I choose the pen that I feel more comfortable with, regarding of the paper type I'm using. The textured surface of this sketchbook might affect your lines and make them look rough like pencil but I kinda like expressive linework instead of dull, accurate lines with the same width from point A to point B, so for me this is a huge plus.


Last but not least, the key feature that make me fell in love with it: It's a proper A5 landscape sketchbook instead of the Moleskine that feels much more wider. The extra 2cm on width can make a huge difference in your sketches, believe me. The Hahnemuhle book doesn't feature that expandable inner pocket like the Moleskine one but, who cares?

All in all, it's a fantastic and affordable sketchbook that I'll keep using for the time being, or until my skills require a more exquisite paper. But even so, I think I'll always have one of these on my shelf, just in case...

Final score: 4,5 / 5

Check product page here