The 6 Best Watercolor Journal books (2023 reviews)

The tumuarta nice little book is the best feature-rich book on the market today. 8.25 x 8.25” large square watercolor sketchbooks are a good way to organize and store your daily work. It takes so much water and paint, and doesn't get warped. The paper is high quality watercolor, cold pressed paper. It looks and feels like it will be great for carrying around town to do watercolor pencil drawings or watercolors/goauche.

The paper is fantastic for watercolor and pen. It has a hardcover with a ribbon marker and an elastic band to hold it closed. The exterior is a nice linen type fabric and the elastic is secure. This is small and great for travel.

Why We Like This:

Small and easy to carry around
Very nice watercolor book for traveling
Nice fabric on cover, elastic strap is 1 cm wide and sturdy
Has a bit more of a rough texture

Best For sketches: Arteza Watercolor Journal book

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Arteza has been making great book for years, thanks to a combination of clever design and appropriate materials. It’s great for students or beginners to watercolor. It’s great for both fountain pen ink and sakura pixma archival jnk. It’s great for paper and the perfect size for your backpack. It’s for watercolor and ink but sketching too.

These would be great for beginners and students. It’s a nice size for nature journaling, but it’s only 64 pages (each book), so it’s only 32 textured, 32 smooth. They are sturdy and will last.

Why We Like This:

Nice and sturdy sketchbook with thick enough paper for watercolor
Handles watercolor as long as paper isn't soaking wet
Definitely worth it for students and personal practice pieces

Best For daily practice: tumuarta Watercolor Journal book

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If you often find yourself scrambling for appropriate and satisfactory book, tumuarta watercolor journal book should be your first option for buying. Sized to carry with you in the car, on a train, or on a plane, this beautifully-crafted book binds just the right amount of quality watercolor paper in an elegant cover. The Round corner protects you from accidental paper cuts, sturdy and durable heavy board with linen covers support you to paint and draw, and the book lays flat for working two-page spreads. It is great for daily practice.

Sized to carry with you in the car, on a train, or on a plane, this is such a high quality little sketchbook. It will last up to many years under normal use and storage conditions. This is a pocket size notebook with very nice binding and the paper is watercolor cold press. It is easy to carry along. As a beginner watercolorist, you will love this for travel.

Why We Like This:

Perfect size for sketching / watercolor on the go
Capable of washes, erasing, good weight for mixed media and, no ghosting
A great going-away present for someone special
Perfect size for small sketch or just doing swatches to compare colors

Best For urban sketching: Paul Rubens Watercolor Journal book

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The paul rubens watercolor journal book's high-end materials makes sure that it ages well with use. This little book is the prefect size and the paper quality is high enough that there are no need throughs. It is a really nice sketchbook. Each sheet of this watercolor paper features a double sided texture, so it offers you up to 40 pages to use. The sewn binding is also very secure. The classic book cover can protect the works on the inner page. The book has a fake leather. It holds up very well for urban sketching and practice. It is made with sturdy stitching, and opens flat.

Why We Like This:

Nice and thick, double sided, quality 100% cotton paper in a travel sketchbook
Nice paper for light watercolor washes
Works for both watercolor and small airbrush work

Best For mediums: Liphontcta Watercolor Journal book

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The features department is where liphontcta watercolor journal book truly manages to shine. Linden Art watercolor journal is a high quality book for all your art, from painting to sketching to drawing and mixed media. It features a stitched binding and a brown pu leather hard cover, elastic strap, and page marker. It works best with watercolor paint. At 140lb/300gsm weight, the paper in this watercolor book is thicker than many others so you can create with confidence. It warps and curls with very little water. The texture is enough but not too much to make painting or sketching too difficult. It is great for mediums other than watercolor.

Why We Like This:

High quality cold press paper and leather cover, best size for traveling
Made well, and watercolor works well on the paper
Consists of 32 double sided sheets for a total of 64 pages to use

Best For daily Use: Canson Watercolor Journal book

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If you often find yourself scrambling for appropriate and satisfactory book, canson watercolor journal book is your end point. This is an excellent book for watercolor art journaling. It is 20 sheets of 10 x 7 inch acid free 140 pound/300 gram paper. It allows the paper to lay flat. The sizing (coating on back and front) do a good job of allowing controlled penetration of paints so one can use paint lifting techniques.

This paper is cold press meaning it has a moderately textured surface. It is a nice weight for paintings that do not require a great deal of water. It is a very good medium for doing field sketching, especially with the smallish size. It is great for travel or daily use.

Why We Like This:

Perfect size and weight for water coloring
Sturdy wire binding and good heavy paper
Acid free 140 pound/300 gram paper