illo Sketchbook Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

I could tell as soon as I opened the packaging that the illo Sketchbook was pretty snazzy. Far too snazzy for my poor art skills. Fortunately, I live with a talented artist who was willing to put this book through thorough tests.

The sketchbook has a hard cover with a faux leather feel and the brand name subtly debossed on it. The color is a charcoal gray, which looks nice with the silky blue bookmark ribbon. There is an elastic band closure and a pocket in the back to hold any loose scraps of paper.

The sketchbook comes in two sizes: 8 x 8 or 10 x 10--both are square, designed to allow easy posting to apps like Instagram without having to crop anything out of the picture.

The binding is sewn and it lies perfectly flat with no training or spine-bending necessary. Even the first few pages lie flat right out of the package. I've seen some very fancy notebooks fail that test, so I was quite impressed with the binding.

There are 112 pages of 122 lb/180 gsm super white paper. The paper is not acid free, so I would hesitate to recommend it for professional artists, but it should be fine for student artists, especially if they'd be practicing with a wide variety of media.

This paper did well with pencil, colored pencil, markers, and one of the heaviest applications of paint I've seen in a while. The thick paper didn't even flinch, even when black paint was spread all across the back page of an illustration with a light blue watercolor wash. From the front, the peaceful island bird has no idea that one page over lies the deep black of space and the burning inferno of our sun.

The paper is coated, so there may be some longer dry time for wet media, and powdery pigments may smear a bit if you're not careful. The product is aimed at students who may need that versatility in function, rather than an artist who specializes in one form of media and needs paper that's engineered to that specific purpose.

And the price is aimed at students, too. The 8 x 8 notebook is only $16.75, and the 10 x 10 is $24.99. There are less expensive sketchbooks, but illo wanted to provide top quality at a reasonable price, and I think they've come pretty close. If the paper was acid-free, I'd be recommending it for everyone--I think that's an oversight on their part. But the build is very good and the versatility is great. I think it will continue to hold up to my resident artist's abuses and it will make a nice keepsake to showcase his fabulous talent.

(illo Sketchbook provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on October 11, 2018 by Sarah Read and filed under illo, Sketchbook, Notebook Reviews.

Pentel EnerGel Permanent Gel Ink 0.5mm

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Pentel EnerGel line of pens has been around for quite some time and enjoys a healthy level of popularity due to how easy they are to find in big box stores. They're known for the dark, rich line that the gel lays down, and there's good reason that many people swear by them.

If the EnerGel is already so good, how can you improve it? Well, one way is to offer a variant of the pen that provides waterproof and fade-resistant gel ink. That's exactly what the Pentel EnerGel Permanent Gel pen sets out to do.

On the outside, the permanent ink version of this pen looks exactly like a normal EnerGel, minus the slight accent color variations. The click mechanism is the same, the grip section is the same, and the clip is the same. As an added bonus, the barrel is made up of 54% recycled material.

When writing with this pen, it's easy to compare it to the normal EnerGel since it shares the same product name. But since this variant features a new ink formula, it doesn't write exactly like its older sibling. It's still a smooth feel with plenty of ink flow, and the colors are bright and pleasing. The ink delivery is consistent and there aren't any issues with skipping. The pen itself is quite light, so it's easy to hold and manipulate on the page.

Where it differs is hard to put your finger on at first, but it comes down to the different ink formula. It looks and acts like a regular EnerGel, but the ink color and line isn't quite as bold and sharp. In both the black and blue pens, I sometimes noticed a small amount of railroading in the line, which I've never experienced with the standard EnerGel pens, regardless of tip size.

By no means am I saying that this pen doesn't write well — not at all. It's a great pen that writes well, dries fast, and leaves you with the assurance that it's as permanent as ink can be. The difference here is that it just isn't as nice to use as the standard EnerGel pen, which is already a tall order.

The waterproof nature of this ink is no joke. I tried several different paper types and patterns for this example, hoping that one would show up well in photographs. The ink is so resilient to water that it's almost impossible to capture with a camera. Let's just suffice it so say that the only way you can tell water was added to the page is due to the rippled texture of the paper where the water evaporated. The ink is completely unaffected by the water.

There are many waterproof or archival quality pens available on the market today, and they all have some kind of trade off. They may not write as well as your favorite pen, they normally aren't offered with many colors or other options we're used to, but they fulfill a very specific purpose. In the case of the Pentel EnerGel Permanent Gel pen, it excels at hitting the mark.

The Pentel EnerGel Permanent Gel pen is available in 0.5mm and 0.7mm tip sizes with an option of Black, Blue, or Red in both sizes. At just under $3, they're a great deal considering the specific purpose. If you need a waterproof ink, this pen should be on your list!

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Pentel, Energel, Pen Reviews.

Baseball Playoffs Giveaway! Featuring Out of the Park Baseball 2019, CW Pencil Enterprise Baseball Scoring Pencil, and the Eephus League Halfliner Scorebook

The most exciting part of the baseball season is here, and even though my beloved Atlanta Braves were knocked out, I have an awesome giveaway for you today. My friends at Out of the Park Baseball are providing one copy of OOTP 19, the BEST baseball sim game for Mac and PC.

On top of that, they are including one pack of the new CW Pencil Enterprises Baseball Scoring Pencil, and a copy of the Halfliner, my favorite scorebook from Eephus League.

It has been a great baseball season all the way around, and it is not over yet. Huge thanks to my friends at Out of the Park Baseball for making this happen. Read the rules below and enter away!