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Journals are more than a place to keep random musings. They can be keepers of memories, conversations with oneself, and snippets of inspiration. In other words, these are highly personal objects. The best softcover journals are built to last and are suitable for both jotting notes and sketching ideas. While they can be less sturdy than their hardcover companions, they tend to be more lightweight and are easy to slip it into a small space. When choosing your book, it’s important to think about the binding quality, durability, weight of paper, and compatibility with your medium, in addition to general factors like size and appearance. Below, find the right softbound journal for your inspired visions.
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ARTnews RECOMMENDS Rhodia Top Stapled Blank Notepad If you know your notebooks, you know that legacy brand Rhodia’s notebooks have a cult following—and for good reason. They are bound with high-quality, smooth European paper that is ideal for taking fountain pen ink. We’ ve long been fans of the hardcover Rhodia Webnotebooks, but the company offers a plenty of other options, including this notepad, which is filled with the same French-milled, ivory-colored paper as the Webnotebook. The luxurious 90gsm sheets are perforated for easy removal, the scored cover is easy to fold back, and the rigid back cover offers solid support.
Buy: Rhodia “R” Premium Stapled Notepad, 8 1/4 x 6 inches $9.55
WE ALSO LIKE Field Notes Dot Graph Notebook If you tend to take your sketches and scale them up to sizable final artworks, consider getting a notebook with a dotted grid. These can help you figure out composition and sizing before you execute your masterpiece. Field Notes’ notebooks are slim options, with just 48 pages each, and perfectly sized to slip into your pocket at 3.5 by 5.5 inches. These 70-pound (105 gsm) sheets are super smooth and can tolerate wet media with minimal warping, ghosting, and bleed-through. The covers are flexible yet durable and feature a sophisticated design. Bound with a saddle stitch and staples, this sketchbook lays flat so you can maintain a firm grip on pages maintaining a firm grip on pages.
Buy: Field Notes Dot Graph Notebook $14.95
ARTIST’S CHOICE Stillman & Birn Zeta Series Premium Sketchbook If you need a sketchbook that provides extra heavyweight paper, look no further than this beautiful option, which is designed for mixed media. The 180-pound (270 gsm) paper is surface and internally sized to maintain well-balanced and even absorption while allowing the brilliance of pigments to shine. Whether you use inks, pastels, or watercolors (with wet-in-wet techniques!), you can be sure that this archival product will resist pilling, tearing, or buckling. Available in six sizes, each holding 26 sheets, this is truly a sketchbook that feels luxurious to engage with.
Buy: Stillman & Birn Zeta Series Premium Sketchbook $17.56
ALSO CONSIDER Moleskine Classic Notebook Moleskine’s notebooks always make our lists for their design as well as the variety of options in terms of size, color, and paper style. Yes, they are expensive, but using them is such a pleasure. The Italian brand protects its notebooks in a buttery-soft faux-leather cover with a subtle pebbled finish that is luxurious to the touch; inside, the ivory pages are super smooth and crisp. At just 47 pounds (70 gsm), these sheets are the lightest on our list and can really be used with dry media only; you’ll notice bleeding with inks. We do appreciate how slim and tightly bound they are, and we love the additional features like a ribbon bookmark, inner pockets, and an elastic band to keep pages together when not in use. Choose from notebooks with plain, ruled, gridded, or dotted pages and shades from earth brown to hydrangea blue.
ANOTHER GREAT OPTION Muji Recycled Paper Bind Plain Pocket Notebook Popular with architects, artists, and designers and another ARTnews favorite, Muji’s super-affordable blank notebook is bound with high-quality recycled paper and even comes with a bookmark. Especially friendly to drawing and writing in pen, it comes in two sizes: 5.8 x 4.1 inches (with either 50 or 144 sheets) and 7.7 x 5.4 inches. Made in Japan.
Buy: Muji Recycled Paper Bind Plain Pocket Notebook $2.90
Buy: Muji Recycled Paper Bind Plain Pocket Notebook
Brought to you by the oldest and most widely circulated art magazine in the world, ARTnews Recommends helps you make the choice that suits you best from products in hundreds of art and craft supply categories. Our offerings are based on intensive research, interviews with artists and craftspeople, and the accumulated experience of the site’s editors and writers. We provide trustworthy and helpful advice about materials to artists ranging from beginner to professional.
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Highly regarded for its stripped-down yet elegant look, Moleskine is our top pick for not only aesthetics but also functionality and variety of notebook options. The Italian brand protects its notebooks in a buttery-soft faux leather that is luxurious to the touch, and the ivory pages—although not bleed-proof—are supersmooth. Each is slim and tightly bound and features a ribbon bookmark, inner pockets, and an elastic band to keep pages together when not in use. No matter how you want to use your journal, Moleskine has you covered, offering notebooks with plain, ruled, gridded, or dotted pages.
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This is a timeless and sophisticated notebook that will last a long time. Bound in high-quality faux leather, it features crisp lined paper of substantial weight—thick enough to take ink from a fountain pen without bleeding. Compared with Moleskine’s lined notebooks, the lines are slightly wider and darker, which some people might prefer. Beechmore Books’ journal is available in seven tony colors, from Dartmouth green to chestnut brown, and it comes with a ribbon bookmark and a sturdy binding that is built to withstand bending and loss of pages.
Buy: Beechmore Books Ruled Softcover Notebook
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If you’re looking for an option that can help you mark or track your musings, a paginated journal might be a smart choice. This one features smooth pages with dotted grids, and the page number on the outer bottom corner of each sheet is small and subtle. The dots allow you to write in a straight line while offering you flexibility to draw charts, make lists, and much more. Unless you’re using a very inky marker, the pages are thick enough to generally prevent bleeding.
Buy: The Unlabel Dot Grid Notebook
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There is a greener alternative to soft book covers made of leather or faux leather: kraft paper, which still presents a minimal and fashionable aesthetic. This set of six journals from Twone features covers made of 50 percent postconsumer recycled paper that are much easier to customize than leather while effectively protecting your work. The journals are tightly stitched, but you can still open them completely flat, and the pages are thick enough to use with a fountain pen without bleed.
Buy: Twone Travel Journal Set
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This is a great option for those seeking pages with well-defined grids. The squares are not too big but not too small, and their borders are opaque rather than translucent. The sheets are also nice and thick—you can fill them in with inky pens, markers, and even paint, and minimal bleed will occur. The faux leather covers are soft but not too bendy, and they give the journal a professional look. The one thing this option is missing is an inner pocket, although it is finished with a ribbon bookmark.
Buy: Minimalism Art Soft Cover Notebook
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