{"id":40404,"date":"2023-04-11T07:10:50","date_gmt":"2023-04-11T11:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=40404"},"modified":"2023-04-11T07:10:50","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T11:10:50","slug":"second-thoughts-on-a-cheap-sketchbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/04\/11\/second-thoughts-on-a-cheap-sketchbook\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Thoughts on a Cheap Sketchbook…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I may get my $3.25<\/em> worth out of the terrible little sketchbook<\/a> from discount chain Five Below<\/em> after all. I have stubbornly refused to put it aside, and I continue to doodle in it as I sit on the couch with a cat and a spouse. It’s been more miss than hit, but I have managed to make a few drawings I am happy with. Pencil still comes out an uninspired gray on its cut-rate pages and ink is an unmitigated disaster as it bleeds, but the water soluble graphite pencils are not too bad. It does not qualify as a Sketchbook from Heaven<\/em>, but I am determined to use it up. Waste not, want not.<\/p>\n

As you can see I have felt the need to encrust the cover with stickers. I couldn’t stand the study hall attempt at Manga<\/em> that was printed on the cover.<\/p>\n

\"PUNCHenstein\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"monster-rumble\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

I won’t be buying another one of these HQ Fine Stroke Sketch Draw <\/em>after this one is spent. I think I’ll chase down some nicer pads that can handle medias wet and dry and can take a nice rich black from my pencils. We shall see!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I may get my $3.25 worth out of the terrible little sketchbook from discount chain Five Below after all. I have stubbornly refused to put it aside, and I continue to doodle in it as I sit on the couch … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40412,"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":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4953,49,16],"tags":[4274,310,5597,3661,2034,5,391,3663,25,480],"class_list":["post-40404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-doodle-tuesday","category-it-came-from-the-sketchbook","category-sketch","tag-cheap","tag-doodle","tag-five-below","tag-illustration","tag-it-came-from-the-sketchbook-2","tag-joe-williams","tag-monsters","tag-sketch","tag-sketchbook","tag-usa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Teenage-Werewolf-at-the-Reunion.jpg?fit=640%2C578&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-avG","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":40404,"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":45192,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/06\/03\/a-doodle-for-a-tuesday\/","url_meta":{"origin":40404,"position":1},"title":"A Doodle for a Tuesday","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"June 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A scribble in a cheap sketchbook...","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\/06\/family-court.jpg?fit=640%2C1162&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/family-court.jpg?fit=640%2C1162&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/family-court.jpg?fit=640%2C1162&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38860,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2022\/09\/13\/tuesday-doodle-not-fast-enough\/","url_meta":{"origin":40404,"position":2},"title":"Tuesday Doodle – Not Fast Enough","author":"Joe","date":"September 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Today's doodle is another one I did sitting on the couch while watching television. It was drawn in a 6 inch by 9 inch sketchbook manufactured in India for Ticonderoga and was sold at Target. It's got a wire binding which I prefer and an unusual heavy plastic cover that\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\/2022\/09\/Not_Fast_Enough.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Not_Fast_Enough.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Not_Fast_Enough.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Not_Fast_Enough.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40462,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/04\/18\/hacking-away-at-a-cheap-sketchbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":40404,"position":3},"title":"Hacking Away at a Cheap Sketchbook","author":"Joe","date":"April 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I continue to throw graphite at the unwilling little sketchbook of which I have written about lately. I've had no evidence of anything close to supernatural brilliance bubbling up from the pad's cheap little pages, but I continue to make a go of it. I'm using it as a sketchbook\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\/2023\/04\/Get-the-point.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Get-the-point.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Get-the-point.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39669,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2022\/12\/13\/more-monsters-in-a-cheap-sketchbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":40404,"position":4},"title":"More Monsters in a Cheap Sketchbook","author":"Joe","date":"December 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been drawing monsters in front of the TV set for as long as I can remember, and it seems the trend continues as of late as I finish my evenings watching trash television and doodling in a cheap sketchbook.","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\/2022\/12\/BANG.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/BANG.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/BANG.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24636,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2018\/11\/09\/a-teenage-werewolf-in-a-juvenile-sketchbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":40404,"position":5},"title":"A Teenage Werewolf in a Juvenile Sketchbook","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"November 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A couple of doodles in the cheap sketchbook. The paper bleeds like crazy with ink and does not work to well with the water soluble pencils, but is real happy with my red leads and Blackwing 602 pencil.","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\/2018\/11\/Cthulhu.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Cthulhu.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Cthulhu.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40404","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}