{"id":36118,"date":"2021-06-15T15:10:04","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T19:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=36118"},"modified":"2021-12-04T13:23:52","modified_gmt":"2021-12-04T18:23:52","slug":"a-pretty-good-little-sketchbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2021\/06\/15\/a-pretty-good-little-sketchbook\/","title":{"rendered":"A Pretty Good Little Sketchbook"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Tina snagged this 5.5 inch by 8.5 inch Canson XL Mixed Media<\/em> sketchbook from a big box store to hopefully replace my beloved Sketchbook from Heaven<\/em>. It wasn’t quite the replacement for that cheap but inexplicably magical doodle pad, but it wasn’t half bad.<\/p>\n

The Canson XL has a nice, heavy stock that will take both wet and dry media. I’m finding that I prefer it to the paper in the Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbooks which I sadly have a number of strewn around my house. They’re not as bad as the hardbound sketchbooks which I have one or two I still need to polish off, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the enormous 14 inch by 17 inch Strathmore sketchbook that I bought years ago for a particular project. I’ll probably never finish it off. It’s too big to stuff into a backpack.<\/p>\n

I just ordered another 7 inch by 10 inch Canson XL sketchbook along with a number of other art supplies from a retailer I have never dealt with before. I’ll let you know how I make out once the package arrives. Maybe I’ll do an unboxing post when my stuff comes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As I’ve written before, I like to have noise in the background when I am scribbling in my sketchbooks. That noise is usually in the form of my TV tuned to something that doesn’t require my strict attention. I think I struck pay dirt<\/em> with the fabulous DistroTV<\/em><\/a> channel available on the Roku<\/em> and probably a bunch of other streaming boxes. Distro is\u00a0 sort of like the cable methadone for cord cutters in that they offer a number of TV channels within their channel featuring movies, news\u00a0 and what have you, but what I discovered was a music channel called ’80s Loop<\/em> that is like MTV back when that station first started. They just play music videos along with the occasional commercial. No VeeJays<\/em>, but I don’t miss them. They play way too much Madonna, but it’s like I got my MTV<\/em> back! I killed off the little sketchbook while listening to songs I haven’t heard in years.<\/p>\n

\"Nora <\/a>
Nora emerges from the thicket <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Vermin\" <\/a>
Vermin <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Rex\" <\/a>
Rex <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Forager’s C.V. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Count and watercolor doodles <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Coveting <\/a>
Coveting a treasure <\/div> <\/div>
\"SMASH!\" <\/a>
SMASH! <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Little Sketchbook Intro <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Lady <\/a>
Lady walking <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Gulp!\" <\/a>
Gulp! <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Watercolor <\/a>
Watercolor zombie doodle <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Red <\/a>
Red monster <\/div> <\/div>
\"Not <\/a>
Not so fast, Nora! <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tina snagged this 5.5 inch by 8.5 inch Canson XL Mixed Media sketchbook from a big box store to hopefully replace my beloved Sketchbook from Heaven. It wasn’t quite the replacement for that cheap but inexplicably magical doodle pad, but … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4953,49,3456,5084],"tags":[4068,907,5089,5088,185,3663,25],"class_list":["post-36118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doodle-tuesday","category-it-came-from-the-sketchbook","category-weird-world-of-the-roku","category-whats-on-tv","tag-doodles","tag-drawing","tag-i-want-my-mtv","tag-mtv","tag-roku","tag-sketch","tag-sketchbook"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-9oy","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43116,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/04\/09\/tuesday-doodle-stubborn-strathmore-sketchbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":36118,"position":0},"title":"Tuesday Doodle \u2022 Stubborn Strathmore Sketchbook","author":"Joe","date":"April 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I finally killed off a small Strathmore sketchbook that was lying around the house. It was picked up years ago while it was most likely on sale. The price was probably too good to resist. I honestly don't remember. It had some notes scratched in it along with arithmetic, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/unfortunate-strathmore-sketch.jpg?fit=800%2C1036&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/unfortunate-strathmore-sketch.jpg?fit=800%2C1036&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/unfortunate-strathmore-sketch.jpg?fit=800%2C1036&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/unfortunate-strathmore-sketch.jpg?fit=800%2C1036&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22417,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2017\/06\/26\/sketchbook-dragon\/","url_meta":{"origin":36118,"position":1},"title":"Sketchbook Dragon","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"June 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I decided to set aside my toothy Canson XL Mixed Media sketchbook for a smaller, inexplicably smoother Canson XL Mixed Media sketchbook to sketch the toothy beast above. The newer sketchbook was purchased at a local Walmart strangely enough and is the same brand and make as a 7-inch by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sketchbook Dragon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/c1.staticflickr.com\/5\/4253\/35125850110_bb9b4f1aeb_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/c1.staticflickr.com\/5\/4253\/35125850110_bb9b4f1aeb_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/c1.staticflickr.com\/5\/4253\/35125850110_bb9b4f1aeb_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45103,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/05\/13\/tiptoe-through-the-sketchbooks\/","url_meta":{"origin":36118,"position":2},"title":"Tiptoe through the Sketchbooks","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"May 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Having finished up the Canson XL Mixed Media Sketchbook, I am working here and there in a few different sketchbooks. The subject is still The Teenage Beast. As far as discount sketchbooks, the Ucreate sketchbook from Ticonderoga is a pretty decent pad of paper. I like how it takes inks.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/detail-Coming-Through-Part-Two.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/detail-Coming-Through-Part-Two.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/detail-Coming-Through-Part-Two.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45033,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/05\/05\/heavenly-sketchbooks-are-what-you-make-of-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":36118,"position":3},"title":"Heavenly Sketchbooks are what you make of them","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"May 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I finished up a 7-inch by 10-inch Canson XL Mixed Media Sketchbook which I turned to once I got tired of chasing down cheap sketchbooks. I have had a lot of luck with small sketchbooks, but it seems that my luck has been running out. Sometimes they were great, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/canson-4_3_24-5_3_25.jpg?fit=640%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/canson-4_3_24-5_3_25.jpg?fit=640%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/canson-4_3_24-5_3_25.jpg?fit=640%2C794&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44236,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/12\/17\/tuesday-doodle-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":36118,"position":4},"title":"Tuesday Doodle","author":"Joe","date":"December 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I am having a lot of fun using my Sailor Fude fountain pens in a couple of small, mixed media sketchbooks. Sometimes I have a subject in mind, and other times -- like the drawing above -- I go wherever my pencils and pens take me. I roughed something out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/The-Monster-v-Lady-Frankenstein.jpg?fit=550%2C708&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/The-Monster-v-Lady-Frankenstein.jpg?fit=550%2C708&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/The-Monster-v-Lady-Frankenstein.jpg?fit=550%2C708&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44374,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/01\/07\/canson-xl-mixed-media-pad-7-x-10-inches\/","url_meta":{"origin":36118,"position":5},"title":"Canson XL Mixed Media Pad 7 x 10 inches","author":"Joe","date":"January 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm still working on this sketchbook. It's not finished, but I thought I would talk a bit about it this week. This is a similar sketchbook to the one I recently finished off in that it's a mixed media pad able to take both wet and dry media. This pad\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Canson-XL-mixed.jpg?fit=640%2C782&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Canson-XL-mixed.jpg?fit=640%2C782&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Canson-XL-mixed.jpg?fit=640%2C782&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}