Written by Pink Pig sketchbooks? That’s an odd name, and not one I’d ever heard before August. But when the rolled cardboard package arrived on my doorstep and I pulled back the tab, the package revealed sketchbooks that surprised me.
Overview
Produced in a family run business in Yorkshire, UK, Pink Pig Sketchbooks have been continuously made for over 25 years. Given their cute moniker, I expected sketchbooks that had a fun vibe and questionable paper. What I got was the opposite. Pink pig sketchbooks are solidly constructed and presented in handmade tissue paper wrapped hard covers. The leaves in my two review copies were 140# (300gsm) Bockingford not watercolor paper. A protective vinyl cover sheet inside the front of the sketchbook featured a tossed piggy pattern that brought a smile to my face.
Product Range
Pink Pig International prides themselves on having one of the widest selections of size/orientation/cover/paper combinations on the market. Sketchbooks can be fully customized with personal artwork or logos as well. Pink Pig developed a well-organized selection process on their website to navigate the hundreds of possible combinations.
Pink Pig Sketchbook Covers
Pink Pig Posh watercolor sketchbooks feature a sturdy double spiral binding and matching hard covers on both the front and back. I was pleased to see boutique quality Thai banana-leaf-and-silk hardcovers on a spiral bound sketchbook. Coordinating paper affixed inside the cover over the edges and folds keeps the handmade tissue paper secure and provides a space to add an inscription or mount an envelope for ephemera. There is no keeper strap or ribbon ties to hold the book closed.
The Paper
I had never used St. Cuthbert Mill’s Bockingford paper, but I knew Brenda Swenson and Rob Dudley both use it, and I admire their work. Any watercolor paper that’s described as “forgiving” is going to be a good match for my style, and I was eager to try it. The affordable price and excellent working properties of Bockingford made for an ideal sketchbook: sufficient quality for serious studies, but not too precious for sketching. My books each contained 15 leaves.
The Pink pig sketchbook is constructed so that the front of each page is the front of the watercolor paper. For me, this allows me to continue my natural work flow of thumbnail sketches, swatches, and notes on the left side of the spiral and my finished work on the right. The Pink Pig company advertises the ability to paint and doodle across the spiral, so I tested and discovered both sides of the paper gave similar (though not identical) results.
I also wanted to see how this paper would handle pencil, erasure, inkwork, masking fluids and tapes, and watercolor washes with both student and artist grade paint. After using the Pink Pig sketchbooks for a little over a month, I’m impressed with their design and quality. I take a bit more care with the covers than I do with my usual sketchbooks, but the Bockingford paper is a nice blend of affordability and quality.
Is a Pink Pig Sketchbook in your future? Click over to their website to look through the possibilities, and follow them on Instagram if you want to see how other artists are using their products. Whether you’re looking for a new Inktober sketchbook or replacing your finished watercolor sketchbook, it’s hard to go wrong with a hand-crafted beauty from Pink Pig International. Artists outside the UK may find it challenging to locate a Pink Pig watercolor sketchbook with Bockingford paper in shops, but Amazon is starting to carry the line, and sketchbooks can also be ordered directly from the Pink Pig website. Maybe we could talk Charlie into a custom Doodlewash Pink Pig sketchbook in the shop for Christmas or World Watercolor Month 2019, who knows?
What about you? Have you ever used Bockingford watercolor paper or Pink Pig sketchbooks? Would you be interested in a sketchbook with a decorative cover or do you prefer to customize your own? Are those of you in the UK ever going to forgive me for butchering the spelling of a dozen or so words in a review of an English product? Let me know in the comments.
And congratulations to Ann P. In the UK, the winner of our recent Pink Pig Sketchbook Giveaway!
Absolutely love the review Bekki! Following this we now have plans to stock more Watercolour in the USA & Canada on Amazon. A huge congratulations to Ann P (UK) for winning our watercolour prize!! We can’t wait to work with Doodlewash again in the future…watch this space 😉 Kindest regards, James Garlick | Pink Pig International Brand Manager
Thanks, James! I’m excited these will be available here in the US.
I am on holiday and have one of the pink pig not water colour sketch books you describe. Sturdy Yorkshire binding and paper that cockles very little. Good stuff!
Pink Pig Sketchbooks would be a great travel or holiday journal. The covers are nice enough to leave on a coffee table.
Thank you for the review. I was very curious about these books. I love Bockingford Watercolor paper so these would be right up my alley!
Thanks, Sandra! Bockingford is such a forgiving paper, and I loved the spiral binding.
Sounds like a great choice for sketchbooks, Bekki. How can you not love something named Pink Pig – or Bockingford? Your sunflower painting is lovely, BTW.
Oh, yes! These Pink Pig sketchbooks are a delight.
What is a tea wash? I really like your painting style.
Thank you, Faustine! A tea wash is a light wash of color to establish big areas. Marc Taro Holmes has a free printable entitled “Tea, Milk, Honey” on his website that shows how to do it.
Liked your review. I don’t have one of these books – yet. But when i enters the recent draw, I posted to Facebook and one of my daughter’s friend has won them! She thought it was a hoax at first and said she never wins anything. It’s lovely as her daughter, a schoolgirl, is a budding artist and takes classes on Saturdays art a local college so she will love them. And I’ve been promised one which is very kind. It’s so nice to hear good news.
How exciting! Yes, these sketchbooks would be ideal for an art student. I hope you have fun with yours, too.
Thanks for the great review. I have one of their sketchbooks (purchased in L.A.) with drawing paper in it – it’s quite nice.
Thanks, Sharon. I was curious about their drawing paper with Inktober just around the corner. Does the paper you have take ink well?
I’ve only used it for pencil sketches – it’s not very heavy. I don’t know what the actual type of paper is called by the manufacturer, as it came as a gift without any cello wrapping.
Thanks, Sharon. I enjoy pencil sketching, too.
I was given one of these a while ago and loved it! Thanks for the info on where to acquire more, Bekki!
Their website is impressive. From the sounds of the first comment, Pink Pig plans to bring their line to the US.
Great review Bekki 🙂 Who doesn’t want a sketchbook called Pink Pig?! Customization options look wonderful and the square size they have on Amazon looks great for mandalas.
Thanks, Jessica–it is a charming and memorablememor for their line. I found quite a few interesting options on Amazon and Jackson’s, but it’s hard to beat their own Pink Pig website.