illo Sketchbook 8’’ x 8’’ Square Hardcover Sketch Book, (112lb/180gsm) Heavyweight Paper, Ribbon Marker, Back Pocket, Lays Flat, Minimal Bleed, Vegan, for Artists & Beginners

Really cool product. I'll buy again when I fill my most recent illo purchase, for sure! I very carefully and maybe somewhat deceptively give this inspired entry to the world of modern sketchbooks a healthy and well-wishing 5/5 (I love it!) while fairly offering the one notable caveat that bear some mention for current buyers -- its paper isn't acid-free. This ends up being problematic for anyone like me who is looking to recommend this as a material option in classroom situations where adhering to acid-free products and best material practices is an industry-must. Given how thoughtfully and considerately built the rest of this product is, I was fairly surprised by this reveal and had to double-check the item description to make sure I hadn't missed any details. That said, it *is* thoughtfully and considerately built a product with a cool future. The favorable characteristics do outweigh the caveat mentioned above for personal use and serve as an excellent base form for any point down the road that the product finds itself becoming more archival. For example, it's a lay-flat sketchbook, which is great! And this is something that isn't mentioned in the item's description but serves to set this book aside from a great many others in the same price bracket that cut corners while ignoring smarter binding methods. With this feature, you're able to transition from a 1:1 square surface to a 1:2 landscape format (or 2:1 portrait!) with ease, which is just great. Also, the cover is sleek and durable and what you'd expect from books ~$10 more in cost. The book has a nice weight while remaining being clever and compact. It shares many of the features one might be familiar with through competitors like Moleskine, Hand.book, etc. It has elegant papering and a space for contact information on the first insert page. There's a sturdy folder folio in the back. It has a bright electric blue marker ribbon. The presentation is smart and exacting. The branding is clean, clear, and concise. It's all really something. At the very least in my case, the product even shipped with a friendly, handwritten note. It's hard to ignore the charm and care taken, truly. The short of it is that this is a great product from a wonderful startup in Detroit with a caring product team, and I see them and it doing very well over time. I fully intend to dive right in to have some fun committing some 'illos' to the page. If you aren't particularly concerned about the archival quality of your surfaces yourself, you are absolutely good to go here, as there isn't much in this price bracket that competes with how net-complete this product ends up being for the overall cost. If not for its acidic quality, this is solid enough to be a fully greenlit material requirement for my level 200 classes. Even with that part of it being known, it's still great for a wide variety of applications and should be scooped up by anyone even remotely curious about it. This is a company to keep your eye on...

These are my child's favorite sketch books. The pages don't bleed, the texture is great, the pages are thick. The binding and backing is so strong. She's young and we still have all of her old ones so they are very durable. Very portable she brings it everywhere.

Hi this will be an IN DEPTH review :D The sketchbook shown in photos is the 10x10 illo, its been worked in since september 2022, and finished since march of 2024. It was my 17th sketchbook, im currently on 24, im an artist of 10+ years, so id say im experienced. illo is BY FAR the best brand i’ve tried, and ive tried strathmore, moleskin, leuchtturm1917 and other off brands. now onto the medium reviews WATERCOLOR AND GOUACHE - there’s minimal warping which i love, you can also tape off sections for borders and peel off fine, colors do NOT soak into the paper because the paper is hard press, so you really need to let them dry; i havent tried REALLY thick gouache, so be cautious with thick paints. ALCOHOL AND WATER BASED MARKERS - yes, alcohol markers bleed (water based do not) but out of all the sketchbooks ive used, illo bleeds the least. markers do not smear. BALL POINT PEN - this was my least favorite medium for this sketchbook. in the photo, it looks like i colored in the shirt, i did not. that color is from the pen bleeding over time. i did put clear tape over it, so im not sure if that makes a difference , but i didnt want to get ink on other drawings. PENCIL AND INKS - all pencils b-h work well, they do get smudgy when you go further up the b pencils (probably b6), other than that, theres minimal smudging unless purposely done. very minimal or no graphite residue transfers onto other pages. FOR INKS, i mainly use microns, zebra pens, and sometimes dip pens with ink: i have also used other brands with no smearing, but always check before working on something final; theres no smearing AS LONG AS THERES TIME TO DRY, dont put ink down and immediately do a smear test. COLOR PENCIL - i dont use this medium often, but from what i have done, it works fine. theres not a lot of texture, again because of hard press paper, but thats okay for me. WARPING - very minimal, ive done moderate taping , and little glueing/pasting, BUT i think if it was done more frequently it would be okay OVERALL: literally the best sketchbook ive ever used, the only thing that gets me is sometimes i get tired of the smooth hard press paper, and depending on the size you get, it can be hard to travel with. they mainly advertise square sketchbooks, but if you go to their website, you could find other sizes and orientations as well as types of paper (water color, cold press, etc) yea i love illo🫶

my favorite sketchbook! Good size, can handle a little bit of wet media but not too much. the paper is smooth like bristol just thinner. the lay-flat spin is wonderful for fun sketchbook spreads!

Wow. Best sketchbook EVER! I’ve purchased MANY, as you can see in one of the photos posted on my review. It can handle Alcohol based markers , my personal favorite to use in here are Ohuhu markers! And I use acrylics in them, and water colors! OH and gouache. I love using gouache ! It holds so well. The covers are so durable , pages are so thick. Ugh. I just love them so much, found out about these sketchbooks from Drawingwiffwaffles on YouTube. 😩🤘🩷🌎🪷

This is now my 3rd Illo sketchbook, and I love it! I have purchased both the 8x8 and 10x10 sizes, and both have performed wonderfully. Many book-bound sketchbooks I have owned fall apart pretty quickly, as I'm an active person and always carry my sketchbook in my bag. Both of my filled Illo sketchbooks still look nice, even after years of rough treatment and carrying them around. I love how they lay completely flat, just like a spiral bound sketchbook. It allows you to make big projects just on two pages, with how seamless it is when it lays flat. I am only taking one star off as the paper is not acid-free, which is an important aspect to me. This is not archival paper, so if you are using this sketchbook for more rendered, colored projects, make sure to take good pictures as the acid will start to eat at the ink and discolor it. But, in my opinion, this is a good trade off for the quality and durability of this sketchbook. It is also not super fantastic with colored pencils, as the paper is very smooth and does not have the tooth required to really capture the pigments from colored pencils. Also, this is not good watercolor or acrylic paper. You can maybe get away with acrylic paint if you do super super super thin watered down layers, but when I have tried, it's never been the best. I don't fault Illo for this at all, as this sketchbook is not advertised as watercolor-friendly. But for sketching, inking, and ink markers, this sketchbook is absolutely fantastic and I could not recommend it more.

Started this sketchbook last September, and as it has come to the end of its life, figured now is a good time to review. LOVED this sketchbook. I've torn through 3 or so Moleskine art sketchbooks previously, and have tested alternative brands that are cheaper. This one is the king. The paper is smooth but doesn't smudge too much unless you use VERY soft pencils (I used both Blackwing Pearls which don't smudge at all, and Blackwing Mattes which do smudge because of their softness). Holds ink VERY well, haven't had any bleeding. It could definitely handle light water coloring as well, though likely wouldn't last for full on water color paintings. The outer cover is great, very nice texture, holds stickers well, and very durable, no complaints. Elastic closure is actually FAR better than Moleskines, not exactly sure why, it's just a very very sturdy closure, still super tight after months of beating it up. The ONLY complaint I have is that the pages aren't perforated, so taking a page out of the book is a massive gamble if you want a clean edge. Only other thing that's worth noting is the square shape of the book; for me, this is DEFINITELY my preference, but if you prefer the standard rectangular Moleskine model then this might be a little awkward at first to get into. Personally, I think square books are far superior, as you can work in an orientation with no change in surface area, and if you want that widescreen effect, you can just block off the top and bottom. For the price, cleanliness of design, durability, and paper quality, this is DEFINITELY the way to go. Just remember its a square, not a rectangle, and the pages aren't perforated. Other than that, this is a no-brainer.

Great sketchbook. The paper is very smooth and takes marker, colored pencil, graphite, and pens really well. Alcohol marker bleed-through is there but it’s not too bad, as compared to other papers such as Moleskine. The size and quality are great. This sketchbook gets me really excited to make art.

Good quality, smooth paper. The paper is thick and holds different media very well.