Stillman & Birn Sketchbook Review | Side by Side Comparison with Pentallic and Handbook

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I finally got to see what all the fuss was about! Today we are looking at the Beta and Delta Series from Stillman & Birn and comparing their paper samples to two other popular watercolor sketchbooks from Pentallic and Aqua Journal.
Stillman & Birn Beta Soft Cover: amzn.to/2x5ICPT
Stillman & Birn Delta Soft Cover: amzn.to/2zz4PqS
Stillman & Birn Zeta Soft Cover: amzn.to/2zyXNCz
Stillman & Birn Beta Hard Cover: amzn.to/2xPa2sM
Stillman & Birn Delta Hard Cover: amzn.to/2yxFdfy
Stillman & Birn Zeta Hard Cover: amzn.to/2yxF8Zi
Pentallic Aqua Journal: amzn.to/2xOJveV
Handbook Travelogue Watercolor: amzn.to/2zkA2gW
Daniel Smith Naphthamide Maroon: amzn.to/2zz91au
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Mijello Fusion Palette: amzn.to/2vTU0xY
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As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Jackson's Art links are also affiliate links in which a small percentage of the sale supports this channel without costing you more. Thank you for your support!
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19 окт 2017

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Комментарии : 83

@mindofwatercolor 6 лет назад

Hi Denise, how did I not know about your awesome channel? Thanks to M.D Campbell, I found it and subscribed. I recognize your name from some of your comments on my channel. I guess I should check out commenters channels more often. Great review by the way! To quote Arnold Swartzneger, I'll be back. 😄

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

Hey Steve! Thank you so much for stopping by and for the kind words! I've been traveling and for some reason this comment was sorted into the spam folder so I'm just now seeing it, but it's an honor. The uploads have been a bit irregular due to said travel, but I should be uploading some more "normal" content soon :)

@mindofwatercolor 6 лет назад

No worries. I know exactly how easy it is to miss comments. Looking forward to the uploads.

@B1ackDahlia767 6 лет назад

I love the Stillman and Birn sketchbooks! I use the Zeta Series for my graphite portraits & other drawings. I'd say I'm more of a draftsman than a painter. I do have experience with acrylic & oil. Learning watercolor has been the most fun I've had since I was a little kid! I look forward to trying the Beta series Stillman and Birn. Thank you so much for the video. 😊❤️

@jenthulhu 5 лет назад

Thank you so much for being so thorough and showing things like dispersion, even though that's not your prefered method of working. It is mine--so this is helpful. I have a stillman and bern zeta notebook that I haven't tried using yet. Now I'm excited to do so!

@kimleon-guerrero9980 6 лет назад

Thanks for the review. I just purchased the Stillman & Birn beta series sketchbook and So far I'm really enjoying it.

@nancyhuss6653 4 года назад

Thanks, Denise! This was so helpful!

@mjpete27 5 лет назад

I simple love your style and you are so meticulous and your method is scientific (I may be incorrect with this term it is NOT supposed to be critical!) just so complete! I feel so informed when watching your videos and another reason your such a wonderful teacher! I am looking around a bit to view your video library, after all your in the midst of a move! we must do what we must to fill the void left by your absence!

@mkbuike7895 5 лет назад

This popped up in 'recommended'. Thank you for this excellent video comparison. I liked that you included other sketchbooks. I was particularly interested in your comparison of Beta with the Pentalic Aqua and I took notes! The latter is my favorite watercolor sketchbook. I find that even though the paper isn't 100% cotton, it behaves similarly. So many people I know just LOVE Beta for watercolor sketching and I do not. I can't articulate why but Valarie Connell's comments below are a good start on it. I will say Stillman and Birn are an excellent company with extremely responsive customer service. They make a really good product and I really want to like the Beta for watercolor sketching! Solutions: Brenda Swenson is one of those artists who likes Beta. She solves the problem of no elastic band to hold it closed by using a hairband! I like having a pocket in the back, which S&B do not have on any of their books. It's easily solved though: I glue in a CD sleeve. One technical suggestion: use darker type.... reading white type on white paper was really hard. Question: Regarding Vibrancy and dispersion. You rated Beta best. Was this between the S&B papers or among all four, as in, you thought the Beta was better an the Pentalic Aqua? Thanks Again. Kate

@sandihester 4 года назад

I'm obsessed with these sketchbooks! My favorite is the maroon one - their lighter weight paper takes water medium well. I mention them a lot in my videos. Great video!

@kathyhackney7950 2 года назад

Hey Sandi! I know this is 2 yrs old but I watch your channel too! So cool!

@sandihester 2 года назад

@@kathyhackney7950 🙌🤗🙌

@amis400 6 лет назад

Napthamide maroon is one of my favorite colors to use 😍

@cherylclough4309 6 лет назад

I have a small 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 Stillman and Birn Beta which I LOVE! I'm wanting to try a Pentelic as well. But I really like this little Beta which I keep in my purse w/ my Portable Painter.

@BirdwithaBrush 6 лет назад

Thank you for your very thorough reviews of paper. (This and your previous paper review video.) If I could make a suggestion - try doing a section where you blend out the edge. That's where you'll really notice a difference between cotton and wood pulp papers. I also have found layering to behave very differently on different papers. Some end up much patchier looking, almost like you're rubbing off the previous layering adding a new one. So some papers are just really frustrating to use with some techniques, but aren't so bad with others.

@jimcordle3085 6 лет назад

Great demo. Objective! Good job!

@lisathaviu1154 6 лет назад

Love the ivory S&B sketchbook. I have always liked ivory paper since I often begin with brown/sepia ink and ink washes.

@flickaJay Год назад

I've been planning to do that on some tan paper I got.. I think I'll start a series of either cowboys and their critters or the history of the local native americans and the foliage around here that they would have used. I love history anyway.

@TsukabuNosoratori2 3 года назад

I know this video is old now, but I'm going to be getting the Beta sketchbook for my bday this year in November after watching this. I've been using the Strathmoore 400 series mixed media journals for a while now and they're great, nothing against them. But I feel it's time for something a bit different. Thanks for posting this, it's really helped me.

@sailorfan86 5 лет назад

I have the 7 by 7 inch Wire bound Beta series & I love it. At first I thought I was going to have an issue with the size of the sketchbook because it seemed to small for my big hands but no, it took some time to get used to it. Now I love it and enjoy drawing in it. Want to try the soft cover as well. I will definitely buy another one.

@InLiquidColor 5 лет назад

I'm glad you've enjoyed it!

@anchesenamonsims5356 5 лет назад

Great video, thanks! It was very helpful and I'm definitely going to watch more of your videos!

@sandihester 4 года назад

I always save my front pages for "if found" info and for color swatches - I use the front and back pages of sketchbooks for this use.

@azzuparis 6 лет назад

Hi Denise, thanks for the comparison/review. The Stillman & Birn Sketchbooks seems to be great. Here in France are not available but I'd like to try them. And those DS colours .... beautiful :D

@EveBolt 6 лет назад

I loved your comparison! I enjoyed my Delta a lot and I'm looking forward to getting a new one once I've made a dent in the stash of sketchbooks waiting for me ;) The ivory paper is just so much fun!!

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

Thanks Eve! I really like the ivory paper too! It's so fun to work on :)

@KarijnsWatercolors 6 лет назад

Thank you for the side by side comparison, I have been seeing these sketchbooks for quite some time and I've always been curious about the differences between Beta and Delta series aside from colour. It appears they are quite similar after all. :D

@sheilasinghal2922 Год назад

Thanks for this. It was super helpful.☺

@cherylclough4309 6 лет назад

Si recently purchased an Alpha 8x5 Stillman & Birn from Amazon. I've not done any watercolor so far, just pen and ink. But I'm really loving it. I like the soft cover notebooks to carry w/ me in my purse. And just today I was at Hobby Lobby and they had a few Stillman & Birn sketchbooks. Couldn't help myself I picked up a little 3x5 landscape format Beta series. As soon as I got back to my car, I stuck it in my purse and decided it wouldn't come out until I finished it. I intend to use it for quick on sire type sketches. I'm also thinking of trying a Pentalic.

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

Aw what a cute little size sketchbook! :)

@erins.5420 6 лет назад

Nico and Flit! I like the stillman and birn books I particularly love the Zeta series but I prefer a hot pressed finish.

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

@ark8tct 3 года назад

0:34 Stillman Premium Sketchbook Lineup Description: ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA, DELTA, EPSILON, ZETA & new NOVA 2:12 Extra Heavy Weight Paper Types - 270 GSM * Stillman & Birn Beta Soft Cover (also available in HARDCOVER) * Stillman & Birn Delta Soft Cover (also available in HARDCOVER) * Stillman & Birn Zeta Soft Cover (also available in HARDCOVER) 2:58 Stillman & Birn Beta Soft Cover (also available in HARDCOVER) 5:16 Stillman & Birn Delta Soft Cover (also available in HARDCOVER) 6:10 Pentallic Aqua Journal 7:33 Handbook Travelogue Watercolor

@DrawingWithFire 6 лет назад

Great video Denise! 😁 I have 2 S&B beta series sketchbooks, the wire bound and hardcover. There is not a place marker for either but that's ok. 😉 Overall they are good sketchbooks, I do use them for watercolors. I will say they don't lift well, if that is something a person is looking for. The paper pills pretty quickly. I also have an issues with the paint drying fast. Which is good when I'm done doing plein air, but not so good when trying to wet into wet or edge softening. 😃

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

Thanks for the extra input Valarie! All very helpful to know :)

@IrynaBoehland 5 лет назад

thank you, Valarie, for your input!

@shallremainnameless1998 6 лет назад

Great review. Very useful to see all the wet media papers comparison. Until now I've only seen single book S&B sketchbook reviews. At some point I may get a Beta or Zeta series but at the moment my favourite sketchbooks are my Bockingford Fat Pad and Khadi paper. Bockingford, in my opinion, is fabulous for using with watercolour markers and lifting techniques and takes anything you throw at it. And Khadi handmade rag paper is just wow! It's handmade in individual sheets so it has flaws. Khadi is not perhaps what a fine artist would use as it's a bit rustic but it's lovely paper.

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

Thank you! I'm a big fan of comparisons, in hopes that viewers have used one of the products for a reference point. Maybe that's just how my brain works, but when I see a single product in a video, it's hard to know how it will stack up! I'm hoping to try Bockingford and Khadi someday :)

@shallremainnameless1998 6 лет назад

+In Liquid Color Mailed you a couple of sheets for you to try.

@mkbuike7895 5 лет назад

I've gotten 22x30 sheets of Bockingford Cold Press 140# from Cheap Joe's (in USA). Brenda Swenson likes it for sketchbooks. For not being 100% cotton, it performs quite well. I'd love to have a commercially made sketchbook with it. Seems the "Fat Pad" is only available in England. :( I can get one on Amazon but it's $70 for a spiral bound A5 with 25 sheets!!

@maryalgar8779 6 лет назад

If you know Denise, how does Naphthamide Maroon compare to Daniel Smith's perylene maroon? Is it more on the fuchsia side?

@joyfulldj 6 лет назад

if it arching urks you just make sure to keep the paper flat with one of those clips you use to tie a lose card on a paintingboard. just make sure you put some painterstape on the clips so their edges dont damage the paper.

@mkbuike7895 5 лет назад

Thanks for that tip about tape on the clips! Never thought of that beore.

@alejandromorales9516 6 лет назад

These are my favorite sketchbooks. I've used the Alpha (my main sketchbook until recently), Gamma (My current main sketchbook), Delta and Zeta (I have pocket softcovers of each because I wanted to try the papers). I love the Alpha/Gamma in hardbound for a general sketchbook. They take watercolor well if you're basically doing sketches or light washes. If I wait for the paper to dry, it can take a few layers of paint. They handle ink beautifully ... but the Zeta is the champ there. Ink looks great on that. I was never interested in using the Zeta for watercolor though as the drying time is too long for a sketchbook, IMO. I really want to use the Beige and Grey Nova paper with watercolor. It would be nice to do tonal studies on those in Indigos or Sepias or Siennas or Umbers.

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

Thanks for all the extra info Alejandro!

@bambibranchfield8626 6 лет назад

I know this was 7 months ago but I just found the channel. Have you used the watercolor in the Nova series yet? It is amazing...especially with gouache. She says the paper is thin but i have found that the alpha and gamma and nova series to take a beating compared to a lot of other sketchbook papers. I am currently on Volume 10 of Stillman and Birn pocket size daily sketchbooks that I carry with me all the time as a journal/sketchbook.

@jennifernewmanart 5 лет назад

hi denise , I use and love the beta delta and zeta for my watercolours and they work brilliantly . I do normal watercolour and gouache with no probs at all . great review , thankyou ;)

@wangsafff9808 5 лет назад

Hi jenn :) i want to ask you some question for the Beta version.does the paper works well on lifting technique? And should i get this sketchbook or the hahnemuhle watercolor sketchbook?? Thank you Have a nice day 😊

@jennifernewmanart 5 лет назад

Hi watercolor addict , yes , I have done light lifting with my wildlife scenes and the paper holds up beautifully , I highly reccomend giving it a try

@wangsafff9808 5 лет назад

@@jennifernewmanart THANK YOU JENN 😊😊

@katherineelizabethco 2 года назад

I bought the Zeta sketchbook. This book’s papers feather quite a bit. I have to paint fast and loose, which is frustrating. I’ve ended up using white gouache over the colors in an attempt to make a descent painting.

@Lorei71 6 лет назад

I love YT's recommending lists, that's how I found you. So many great tips! I'm slowly getting into watercolor, I'm mostly doing mixed media, and I'm coming to really loving it. Thank you so much for this review! It is really hard to find a deascent sketchbook for watercolor, especially in Sweden. Stillman&Birn I can can easily order from the UK, and I have been looking at them for a while. I might try a smaller size, just to see how it holds up. A bit concerned but the pilling problem though... Btw, what size do you have in this video? Don't know if I missed that.

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

This is a 5x8 I believe? I just did a video on my favorite sketchbooks and would recommend checking that one out! This journal is okay for ink and light washes, but I have had a lot of issues with pilling while lifting if that is a concern for you. So glad you found me and thanks for being here!

@MeowMeowKapow 6 лет назад

I accidentally got a zeta series about a year ago because I didn’t know what the difference between the papers vs the names were, and I both did and didn’t like it. =>.

@MeowMeowKapow 6 лет назад

(But also, yeah, hand•book is bae. But my bee paper watercolor journal is double bae.)

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

I will say that after using them for a while, they're not my favorite. I definitely prefer handbook, and still need to try out my bee journal more!! The S&B has a pilling issue with the way I use it, thoguh I've heard from other artists it's not a problem for them. I find it very difficult to lift anything without damaging the paper, which is not usually a problem I have with CP. If you're doing single or maybe double layers with no lifting though, it holds up well.

@MeowMeowKapow 6 лет назад

In Liquid Color hm. Meh, then it’s not worth it for the price. Plus, I’ve already got four thousand watercolor books, and I was gifted yet another bee paper watercolor journal for giftmas so I’m livin the good life!

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

Live it up! I pulled out my bee journal after reading your comment and was like, yeahhh, I need to use this more! I only have one painting in it!

@MeowMeowKapow 6 лет назад

In Liquid Color it’s SUCH GOOD PAPER!!! I used my bee watercolor journal all throughout inktober and fell in love. And honestly, for cotton watercolor paper of a really decent weight it’s pretty gosh darned affordable!

@stuffstuffstuffyay 4 года назад

Do you find them to pill at all? Because I do.

@jenniferhallqvist 6 лет назад

Just received my Beta stillman and birn Sketchbook today and was so distraught to find that the stitched binding was loose in the top part of the whole book. I'm not sure if it will hold up. Love the paper but the binding is not of a high quality. Your channel on the other hand I love love love!

@joyfulldj 6 лет назад

you can protect binding by using a small strip of painterstape i know its not ideal but at least it keeps from seaping paint

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

I'd contact the company Jennifer! They had fantastic customer service and I'm sure they'd be happy to get you a replacement.

@mkbuike7895 5 лет назад

Perhaps you bought from a seller who still had the recalled books in stock. When they first came out (a couple years ago now [2018]), there was an issue with them coming apart. S&B did the right thing and RECALLED THEM ALL!! They redesigned and the new editions are fine. I had tremendous respect for the company after that.

@brainysmarticus 6 лет назад

That Naphthamide Maroon is to die for. That thick wash, OMG! I looked up the color on Daniel Smith brochure and it is marked as a semi-opaque watercolor and it got me wondering. Everytime on the videos I've seen for beginners, artists would say to stay away from semi opaque to opaque and multi pigment colours. Up till now I've followed that rule blindly but there are so many amazing colours I've forbidden myself to use (fool). How do you work with both transparent/opaque and multi pigments watercolours without getting muddy colours ?

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

This specific color doesn't strike me as being overly opaque. I think people only say that you should avoid opaque colors because they can muddy more easily. You can still use them on their own or sparingly with mixes though. The whole multipigment thing is... eh. I think people make TOO big a deal about it. Some wont mix well with others, but others do just fine (e.g. neutral tint is SPECIALLY made to mix with other colors but is 2-3 pigments on its own). It just comes down to recognizing the colors you use. If they muddy, use them on their own instead :)

@lisathaviu1154 6 лет назад

I must add here that if you do portraits and figure drawing, one person’s “muddy” is another person’s “shade.” Sometimes you need subtlety rather than vivid colors, especially when doing portraits.

@maryalgar8779 6 лет назад

What is your favourite water brush Denise?

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

Mary Algar the pentel aquash in size medium :)

@Blissfulthings 6 лет назад

I really like my sketch books from them,the lighter weight paper will hold a light wash. I'm very Interested in the nova,is it a variety of toned paper in one book? Have a great holiday! Heather

@InLiquidColor 6 лет назад

They sell the Nova by color, so you can get a grey book or a black book, etc. Tricolored would be fun though! Thanks Heather!

@prissscilla9952 6 лет назад

if you do want it check your local hobby lobby and wait for the coupons you can get like 40% off!

@jenwilly7260 2 месяца назад

Which of the 270 GSM papers works best for watercolor?

@InLiquidColor 2 месяца назад

I'm honestly not a fan of any of these sketchbooks for watercolor. I love the Nova for gouache and colored pencil though!

@wt1820 4 года назад

Personally i prefer the beta than the delta,zeta etc cuz the beta is cold press (white)

@rajkumarpandey3376 8 месяцев назад

Not available first mix media sample paper online

@WillBaker 6 лет назад

Awesome sketchbook reviews! It was really useful to see how each paper reacted to paint. I've just gone and ordered the zeta for some travel journaling and fineliner sketches and I can't wait to get it. I've just uploaded my sketchbook tour/review of my inktober series and I'd love it if you checked it out :) *subbed