Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Paper Pad, Smooth, Tape Bound, 14x17 inches, 20 Sheets (100lb/270g) - Artist Paper for Adults and Students - Markers, Pen and Ink

I’ve loved Bristol vellum paper for years, and I keep coming back to it for its incredible versatility. Surprisingly, it’s also quite affordable here, which makes it an even better choice. As an art teacher and printmaker, I’ve tested it across a variety of mediums—watercolor, colored pencil, marker, and even linocut—and it holds up beautifully for all of them. The surface provides just enough texture to grip dry media while still being smooth enough for detailed work, and it handles wet media surprisingly well without buckling too much. Whether I’m using it for my own work or introducing students to different techniques, it consistently delivers excellent results.

Quality Rating: 5/5Based on price: 4/5Time with Product: 5 years (purchased in 2016)Review:Where do I begin. WOW. The quality of the paper is unbeatable! It is extremely smooth and durable. It is not easy to rip this paper. It has thickness to it too. I had to outline a few of my abstract art with a fine-tip marker and there was no bleeding on the back of the page.This booklet is absolutely amazing, it is great for sketching and it can withstand a lot of ink and a lot of graphite. The main reason why I decided to purchase this product was because I was using normal printer paper to sketch and shade in my art and the paper would appear like it was going to fall apart because there was so much graphite on the paper that it felt like the paper was soaked with water. It had that same feeling. Not to mention, all the graphite bled through the paper. For example, if I was working on a white wooden table and I was shading, There would be graphite marks and shades that had went through the paper. This product eliminated that! There was no more bleeding thanks to its great thickness, and there was no longer a weird texture while shading in that a normal printer paper would normally have.This is a high quality paper and I would recommend it to all artists who are serious about their work and their art. I would not necessarily recommend this for beginners because the paper is expensive and if you are at least not an amateur, it is simply unnecessary. You can get other great quality sketch books to practice on for much cheaper and you would not notice much of a difference in quality. I do notice the difference but that is because I have reached a point in my career where those small details matter and those small imperfections are important to me.WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST | EVEN FOR PROFESSIONALS:I would suggest you purchase two sketchbooks. One for practicing and daily sketching. Projects with an estimate time of under 10 hours. Then, I would purchase this high quality paper, and I would use it only for my serious pieces of work. Anything with an expected 10+ hours of sketching and work.I hope my review makes sense and helps you decide whether or not you would like to purchase this sketchbook.Have fun shopping! :)- Rami Taha

This Bristol board is great for creative projects, making signs, or just doodling! Have used this type of board for a great many years. Ever since I was in art school. It’s good paper to use with colored pencils, charcoal or graphite. It is professional use paper. For rough or final drafts.

This Bristol sketchbook is absolutely amazing quality for my comic drawings! I will definitely buy more of these. It works perfectly for my college classes, and the 11x17 size is exactly what I needed. The price is cheaper than any local stores—such a steal! Honestly, 5 stars isn't enough to rate this gem!

I loved to work on this. It's so easy to lay down color on and the colors look terrific. It feels wonderful too. Nice and sturdy.

Great quality paper, but the binding is coming apart.

While I would normally rate this product with 5 stars, (I've changed my review to 5 stars, see below) I have had to replace the pad teice in a row due to the item being either an obvious return or a way to sell off stock that could not be sold if on the shelf of an art store. In the past, several years ago the smooth bristol pad would arrive PRISTINE, no tears in the tape binding, perfect uncreased or otherwise damaged sheets. But the last two times I ordered, the pad was either completely separated from the tape with 3 corners crushed and oddly dirty, or with a gouge through the majority of the sheets making them unusable for tabloid illustration. I have ordered a third pad since I need it. Maybe this time it will be a proper new pad and not a return or otherwise undesireable/useless item. Strathmore store, you know better. Anyway, if you take the risk and get lucky with a new pad, you'll LOVE the bristol boards -- they are some of the best, perfect for ink and alcohol marker work.Edit: 5 Stars, on my third order, the smooth bristol pad came in and it was packaged in a box instead of an envelope, that was great! AND the product was in perfect shape, new, usable. I love the 300 series bristol so I was very happy to receive it in such good condition (after the last two debacles). I will order it agian when I need to, I am chalking up my experience to just bad luck.

This was required for a course. I’ve never use such heavy drawing paper before. It creates beautiful drawings. I’m spoiled now. I don’t think I can go back to thin paper.