Showerthought: I dropped $60 on a "pro" sketchbook at Blick in Chicago that bleeds through every page
Two months of daily doodles ruined because the paper is 50 lb and won't even hold a ballpoint pen, so now I'm back to the $8 Strathmore pad from the grocery store, has anyone else gotten burned by fancy art supplies that turned out worse than the cheap stuff?
60 bucks at Blick is a you problem, not a paper problem. Pro sketchbooks are made for dry media like graphite or colored pencil, the thicker tooth is the whole point, and if you're dumping ballpoint ink on 50 lb paper that's just not what it's built for. Strathmore grocery pads work fine for pens because they're smooth and cheap, sure, but try laying down three layers of soft pastel on one and watch it fall apart. Different tools for different jobs. Blaming the sketchbook is like buying winter boots and complaining they suck in July.