Pentalic 8.5" x 11" Aqua Journal, Watercolor, 48 Pages, Blue

I have a number of journals, from different companies, and most of them are very nice. This journal, however, is the only one I've seen that comes in a nice set, that with a little water, will allow you to do anything you would do with regular watercolor paper.Others have reviewed the actual journal. I haven't had the problems, some have mentioned, but I only do sketches so my binding hasn't been a problem. That may change in time, but I'm not too worried about it as the elastic band will keep the pages together when the book is closed.What blew me away, with this set, was the really nice travel brush and watercolor pencils that came with the set. I normally buy a basic set of 12 pencils, before I buy a larger set, to make sure I like the pencils before investing hundreds of dollars in a complete set. I believe this is the first set that has included all the colors I need for sketching.It only takes a light coat of the pencil to give you enough color for a basic wash. From there you can add more layers until you get the look you want. The colors will lift, if you use too much water, when applying more coats, so you do need to be careful of that.The sketch, I've included, has multiple coats of different colors. I used only the pencils provided and the paint brush. All worked exceedingly well for journal work.I liked the journal set so much that I immediately ordered a second one to keep in my purse. I do a lot of sketching, in bed, and the size of this set is very handy without taking up a lot of room on my nightstand or in my purse.The traveling paint brush holds a lot of water and keeps its shape. It is the right size to both bold and fine work. The paper is nice and heavy and works well with watercolors without wrinkling or staining the other side of the sheet. It is easy to open the book to scan your drawings.Overall, I think this set is a real bargain. It was well thought out and all the provided materials work very well together. I am sure I will be ordering more of these journal sets for Christmas presents plus more for me to fill and finish.

Very pleased with this journal. Purchased to experiment with Gouache. Held up beautifully. Have sense purchased another one which may dedicate to simple watercolour exercises. Highly recommend.

Excellent product and excellent service

I like to have an art journal with me at all times. This size transports easily, even in a smaller bag or purse (although I wish I could have a 2nd bigger landscape journal from them for bigger onsite sketching and painting). I primarily like to use fountain pens and watercolors... and I have tried a lot of journals. For the quality and thickness of paper, how it handles those mediums and the amazing price. This is my go-to travel journal now. I highly recommend it.Update: I have now finished this journal. I love the paper. I love the elastic that holds the book together. I love the pocket in the back. I love the cover. the pen loop. I HATE THE BINDING. I kept hearing about people having problems with the binding... well - it happened to me too. as I got to about the 3/4 point in using my journal - I started having pages falling out from the beginning of the journal. Pretty much every time I open it now - I lose a page. I have been tacking them back in with washi tape - and thank heavens for the elastic. I know how to treat a binding and journal. This journal would be perfect - If they would stitch the binding. It is annoying to have to cover up parts or the center of pictures with washi tape and worse - washi isn't permanent - so they could all start falling out again. Pentel - make this perfect - give us a stitched binding so all of our hard work dosen't just fall out.

First time I used it, the cover separated from the pages. I don’t k ow if binding was broken before or if merely opening it flat broke the strings, but frustrating regardless.The paper has a light to medium texture on front side. Very nice to paint on- doesn’t warp easily, absorbs water evenly and colors stay true.

I filled up my previous Pentalic 5" x 8" aqua journal. This one is to carry on with my painting. So perfect in every way. I love the landscape shape with generous pages widths. It handles watercolor paint, pen and ink without buckling. It has an elastic clasp but I found that stretched out after many uses. The paper is sturdy and takes the watercolor paint well. No discoloring or fading. Can't wait to fill it up so I can get another one. Would make a great gift for the artist or naturalist in your life.

This is my first watercolor journal, I've mostly used loose sheets of Arches cold press 300gsm/140lb paper. I was looking for something that would have a thicker weight paper, and this was one of the few that had a weight of 300gsm/140lb. So far it is a beautiful book and it works really well, I'm excited to fill all the pages!The cover is a nice, smooth, leather-like material, and it nice a stiff to give a good surface to work on if you're travelling and don't have a table at hand. The elastic loop for a travel brush is kinda useless to me, as none of my water brushes fit in it. Guess I can throw a pen in it? The little folder in the back is cute, just not sure what to put in it right now.The texture of the paper is rough but not as rough as Arches cold press. Tried working with a good amount of water for the first painting and it has buckled but not terribly so. No issues with the binding and it IS sewn; you can see the stitching in the crease of the pages. Paints used in the picture are Arteza tube watercolors and Chromatek watercolor pens, and white Sakura Gelly Roll pen.

Love this little book. The paper is nice. It takes water color washes nicely. However, one of the descriptions says cotton, but the packaging does not claim this. Amazon needs to do a better job with their details.

Came all the way from Buffalo NY to the Bonnie Hills of Scotland, on time, safe and sound. Would highly recommend.

Just for a bit of context, I usually use this to do plein air painting, which demands a lot from the spine of the book since it is often opened very wide, and clamp down to keep it that way from hours. This also makes it easy to do a 5x16 inch painting. To my surprise, the book was able to close well without slightly opening due to having kept open for a long time. The leather exterior is satisfying to touch, and it makes gripping the book very easy. The paper is 140 pound, 100% rag. It makes it easier to do wet-on-wet painting, for those who enjoy making soft shapes and washes. I also find the book to be very sturdy. I haven't gon through the full book just yet, so I can't make an accurate testimony of the book, but it seems to be doing well as I'm close to painting nearly half of the book.

Ich kann nur sagen dass dieses Sketchbook toll ist. Erfüllt alle Erwartungen und ist preislich ok.

Aunque tardó un poco más de lo programado la espera valió completamente la pena. El aqua diary de Pentalic es una pieza excelente. Las dimensiones son las indicadas, poco más de 12x20cm lo que lo hace sumamente portable. Cuenta con 24 hojas (o sea 48 páginas) de papel de 300 gramos libres de ácido, y aunque la descripción del producto dice que son hojas 100% de fibra de algodón esto no lo menciona en el sitio web de pentalic, por lo que no estoy seguro de si sea cierto. No obstante. la calidad es muy buena. Pasta dura en un muy bonito azul. listón a manera de separador, compartimento de cartón en la parte trasera de la pasta, cinta elástica para mantener el diario cerrado y un útil sujetador elástico para el lápiz o pincel.El formato es horizontal encuadernado de tal forma que permite que las hojas se mantengan planas sin importar que sean hojas del principio, de en medio o del final del diario, lo cual es muy útil si quieres hacer uso de dos para trabajos que requieran más espacio. Estoy muy satisfecho con el producto, excelente calidad y tamaño perfecto. Quizás el único pero es el hecho de no saber si las hojas son 100% algodón, pero salvo esto es un diario de bolsillo sumamente recomendable.

A ver, el cuaderno esta xulo, buen papel, me encanta que lo puedas poner plano para hacer un apaisado, lleva un bolsillito al final, un sitio para colocar un lapiz o pincel y el exterior es bonito, pero llegó todo manchado de pintura, en unas rallad muy feas, intentare sacarlas pero básicamente en eso consiste mi mala calificación, ya que lo vendían podían haberlo limpiado antes. Por lo demas el papel bueno etc, aunque aun no he pintado en él, ya ire actualizando.Actualización:Trabaje un par de horas con el y todo bien, emecé la siguiente pagina y luego de cerrarlo se solto esa misma pagina😱. Para ser un bloc tan bueno que se soltase una pagina me decepcionó muchisimo.