Features:

  • HARD COVER - Keep your drawings safe with a durable cover made with soft touch, anti slip, PU leather. Vegan friendly
  • PERFECT SQUARE - Square dimensions for easier sharing on social media without the awkward cropping.
  • HEAVYWEIGHT PAPER - 112 pages of 122lb (180 GSM) paper, great for most art mediums. Pencils, pens, inks, pastels and markers and light watercolor washes
  • FAIR PRICE - illo sketchbooks are made with high-quality materials but still easy on your wallet.
I Love This Sketchbook đź’ś

I heard about ILLO Sketchbooks through watching some of my favorite YouTube artists. At first I thought it was gimmicky and a bit expensive. ( I’m use to using canson multimedia sketchbook). However, I was in the market for trying something new that would step up my art game. At the time only the 10 by 10 was available and I scooped it up. This sketchbook have been through some things media wise. I have use markers, graphite, watercolors, acrylic, color pencils, and glue in this book and it’s still holding up well. I really love the fact it lays flat and comes with a folder in the back it makes traveling with references and getting in the corners easier. (Experiences Details) For my marker users : It does ghost on the other side but I have never experienced bleeding on another page though. For my pencil users: Paper is more smooth than textured. It blends good but not the same as it would on textured paper. For my sketchers and liner artist: You will love this book! Pencil glides so smoothly on this paper and so does ink. Watercolor Users: Don’t flood the page with water! It will warp. Glue users: liquid glue will wrinkle the page a bit so be careful. Best Wishes Everyone!

Flawless

I can’t think of a single bad thing to say about this sketchbook. It is, hands down, the best that I’ve ever used. I’ve recently gotten into brush lettering and I’m amazed at how smooth and thick this paper is. With other papers, my brush pens can skip around a bit or make jagged lines from catching on the paper texture, but not in this sketchbook! Smooth like butta. There’s no bleeding or ghosting through the pages, either, which means more space for art! The square shape is perfect for sharing on Instagram, which I appreciate. All in all a fantastic purchase, and I will be buying this sketchbook again and again.

New favorite sketchbook

This is probably the first review I've ever written, but I had to give feedback because this sketchbook is just that GOOD. Currently Ive just been sketching in it, the graphite doesn't smudge by my hand but when i take my blender to it it blends so nicely! It makes it so convenient, i dont have to be worried about my hand touching the sketch. The paper quality is excellent and thick. The size is perfect for me, lots of small sketches can fit onto one page or one for the whole page for a more finished illustration without it feeling overwhelming. I have read copics work with this paper with minimal bleeding so i plan to try that out soon! My only qualm is that there are no toned paper options, I prefer working on toned paper and would love to see that be available because this is now my favorite sketchbook brand hands down.

Amazing Sketchbook

First I’d like to start off and say that the pages in this sketchbook are INCREDIBLY smooth so if that’s not what you’re looking for, this might not be for you. But that’s exactly what I needed and was impressed with how smooth these pages are. I’ve only used graphite and light watercolor washes and it’s held up well to the water so far but I wouldn’t recommend multiple layers despite the paper being a lot thicker than I anticipated. It comes with a handy blue ribbon as a place marker and a pocket in the back to hold stickers or papers etc. The cover seems durable but after about a month of use and leaving it in a book bag with other items, slight indentations from my other spiral bound notebooks are on the cover. But overall, this is a wonderful sketchbook and I would definitely recommend!

Perfect Size and When it Opens It Lays Flat

This has quickly become my favorite sketchbook. I love the size it's not to big or to small plus when it opens it lays flat. It's great for mixed media. The paper is thick and smooth, similar to the rendr sketchbooks if you've ever used those, although in these markers will still bleed through to the other side a bit so it's best to use another sheet of paper to protect the following page. I've done some light watercolors in it and once it dried I had no issue using the reverse side. I ordered one to test it out and two months later with my illo sketchbook almost full, I ended up ordering a 5 pack so that I always have them on hand.

Best Sketchbook Ever!!

I love this book and it comes with all sorts of little features that make it an A+ purchase. My only requirements for my new sketchbook were for it to be hardcover and with quality paper that can handle multiple mediums. I use watercolor, ink, graphite, and acrylic. You’ll never want to get too hardcore with watercolor on anything but actual watercolor paper. However many sketchbooks can handle a light wash. This is one of them. The paper quality is smoooooth af and my micron pens glide across it effortlessly. Same with graphite - smooth as butter. Erasing is also effortless and doesn’t erode the paper quality. As long as you’re not using your pencil like a knife and slicing into the paper, you can erase without a trace. The little features make me so happy! This book comes with a nice opening page, where there’s an option to list your contact info and reward. I appreciate this a lot because I always do this on my sketchbooks anyway: “If found, please return to...yadda yadda.” At the end of the book is also a pocket compartment to hold papers and such. Another appreciated addition because I also always do this in my sketchbooks - tucking away hard stock paper for boundary/straight line tracing, inspiration photos, etc. now they actually have a spot to go! :) Hardcover is smooth and great for personalizing with stickers and whatnot. Overall great quality and features for the price!! I love the square shape too, because they’re right - it makes posting on Instagram/various social media much easier. Especially for someone like me, who can’t center their sketches to save a life..

Sophisticated, Smart Product Offering with a Bright Future

Really cool product. I'll buy again when I fill my most recent illo purchase, for sure! I very carefully and maybe somewhat deceptively give this inspired entry to the world of modern sketchbooks a healthy and well-wishing 5/5 (I love it!) while fairly offering the one notable caveat that bear some mention for current buyers -- its paper isn't acid-free. This ends up being problematic for anyone like me who is looking to recommend this as a material option in classroom situations where adhering to acid-free products and best material practices is an industry-must. Given how thoughtfully and considerately built the rest of this product is, I was fairly surprised by this reveal and had to double-check the item description to make sure I hadn't missed any details. That said, it *is* thoughtfully and considerately built a product with a cool future. The favorable characteristics do outweigh the caveat mentioned above for personal use and serve as an excellent base form for any point down the road that the product finds itself becoming more archival. For example, it's a lay-flat sketchbook, which is great! And this is something that isn't mentioned in the item's description but serves to set this book aside from a great many others in the same price bracket that cut corners while ignoring smarter binding methods. With this feature, you're able to transition from a 1:1 square surface to a 1:2 landscape format (or 2:1 portrait!) with ease, which is just great. Also, the cover is sleek and durable and what you'd expect from books ~$10 more in cost. The book has a nice weight while remaining being clever and compact. It shares many of the features one might be familiar with through competitors like Moleskine, Hand.book, etc. It has elegant papering and a space for contact information on the first insert page. There's a sturdy folder folio in the back. It has a bright electric blue marker ribbon. The presentation is smart and exacting. The branding is clean, clear, and concise. It's all really something. At the very least in my case, the product even shipped with a friendly, handwritten note. It's hard to ignore the charm and care taken, truly. The short of it is that this is a great product from a wonderful startup in Detroit with a caring product team, and I see them and it doing very well over time. I fully intend to dive right in to have some fun committing some 'illos' to the page. If you aren't particularly concerned about the archival quality of your surfaces yourself, you are absolutely good to go here, as there isn't much in this price bracket that competes with how net-complete this product ends up being for the overall cost. If not for its acidic quality, this is solid enough to be a fully greenlit material requirement for my level 200 classes. Even with that part of it being known, it's still great for a wide variety of applications and should be scooped up by anyone even remotely curious about it. This is a company to keep your eye on...

Best Sketchbook I've ever used.

I found out about this sketchbook through popular YouTube artist DrawingWiffWaffles, and I'm glad I invested in it. I took up drawing with alcohol based markers last summer, and I used XpressIt blending card and copic sketchbooks. Let me tell you, I love this paper way better for marker drawings. Yeah, you cant use the other side of the page once you've colored, but the bleeding was super minimal! I didn't need paper underneath the page at all! And the colors were still super vibrant too! The size of this sketchbook is definitely easier to capture on camera, and it fits well when I scan images too. I love how playful it is with the section about writing your contact info in the inside cover. I also love the pocket in the back of it. It's super useful for holding my references and business cards. And the bookmark to keep my page? Love that too! I've wasted much fewer sticky notes this way. The elastic to hold it closed has saved me from damaging it. Usually after a month, my sketchbooks are a broken and scraggly mess, because I throw them in my bag and travel with them. This one has held up so we'll in comparison. The cover is also nice when it comes to adhering stickers to it, so my book is nice and customized to my taste. Overall, I think any artist who wants a decent quality sketchbook would be happy with this. I'd order it again once I'm out of pages.

Quality Sketchbook, Quality Value

As an artist who was looking for a quality, reasonably priced alternative to the Moleskine sketchbook, I was really pleasantly surprised with this sketchbook. The quality on the cover is nice and sturdy, the pages in the book itself are white unlike the traditionally cream color that the Moleskine sketchbooks have, which I'm totally fine with, just throwing that out for anyone who might be curious and reading through reviews. The pages themselves are great for a variety of mediums, including marker, pencil, ink, and in my experience, it's even good for a little watercolor, although I'm careful with not overdoing it too much as to avoid the other pages from getting wet as well. The great thing about this book is that it's so easy to open up and have the pages and book itself lie flat, makes it so easy to work on certain pieces. Another thing I liked about this book, was the fact that the dimensions of the book are in a nice little square shape which makes it all the more easier to upload to the likes of Instagram. No more fussing around with cropping. The book also includes a small pocket in the back, and a strap for keeping the book cover nice and snug. Overall I'd say I'm definitely glad I took a chance in trying something new and I'm happy to see that there are quality products out there for people who might be looking for alternatives to their current sketchbook of choice. I'll definitely be ordering some more in the future after my initial experience.

A great Replacement for Moleskin Sketchbooks - illo provides a better and cheaper alternative.

As someone who sketches and draws quite often, I found this sketchbook to be absolutely perfect in many ways: 1. I do not typically like bound sketchbooks, but this one is the exception. The pages bend on the seam easily, allowing for a nice flat and smooth surface to draw on. 2. The compact size is -perfect- for most any bag, so you can take your ideas on the go. 3. The quality of the paper is perfect for me. I hate sketch paper that is overly rough, and I prefer smooth paper for most of my work. illo provides me with that oh so elusive smooth paper I love. 4. -It is cheaper than moleskin by a long shot, and offers -more pages- than moleskin does. And I've used moleskin quite some time before this came along. TLDR: Get this sketchbook if you like bound, smooth paper, and a quality sketchbook. It's really great stuff, and I'm glad I ordered from them.

Full Reviews