moleskine makes people hate pens and is probably a huge part of why so many people give up on good pens.
to folks who might not know, moleskine is extremely famous AND infamous. they are hardcover notebooks with elastic enclosures. they are expensive, and sold everywhere from pharmacies to bookstores, and does collaborations with a variety of brands including james bond and pokemon. moleskine has tried to establish itself as a luxury notebook, which it technically is.
as long as you do not write in it.
moleskine paper is wholeheartedly shit. it is complete fucking garbage. you might wonder, what makes good paper? well the first thing is how well it can be written on. good paper can handle ink well. good ink handling means clear, solid lines without any feathering (fuzzy spreading), not bleeding through the page, and not ghosting. basically, you want paper that can do crisp lines with a variety of different inks and be used on both sides.
moleskine does not do that. anything more than a ballpoint or pencil will look fuzzy and gross and bleed right through the fucking page. the paper is shit. and that makes people think their pen is shit. and ballpoint pens can be seen on the other side of the page.
common knowledge is that fountain pens, rollerball pens, gel pens, felt pens, and more work better on good paper. good meaning good with ink. but when many people think good paper without knowing any better, they will reach for a moleskine notebook. because moleskine is expensive and advertises itself as good and is widely available. so people try out actually good writing implements on this shit paper, see how bad it works, and then blame the pen.
fountain pens, gel pens, and rollerball require much less pressure than ballpoint pens. they are ergonomic. easier on joints, easier for chronic pain. and moleskine makes people give up on them. nobody wants shitty bleeding feathered lines.
in the united states, our ideas of good paper and good stationery in general are extremely warped. so much of this is because paper here fucking sucks. a lot of paper performs like moleskine. there is shit paper at all price ranges. but you can pick up caliber brand paper (the ones that say made in vietnam) from cvs and have infinitely better performance for pennies. even though it looks low quality, caliber paper (vietnam) can even handle calligraphy ink clearly. bad paper makes people hate good pens and bad pens make people hate writing.
another thing really important to mention, a lot of people think thick paper is always better. this is extremely wrong. in terms of being able to handle a wide variety of inks clearly and cleanly, some of the best paper in the world is tissue thin (tomoe river).
do not buy moleskine. even if the stand is right there. they have some of the worst paper you can get at that price point. expensive paper is not always good paper, good pens need good paper, moleskine paper makes good pens seem awful, and moleskine is something you should only give to someone you loathe.
There are so many great options:
- Leuchtturm;
- Rhodia;
- Clairefontaine;
Notebooks made by pen manufacturers.
Seriously, there are so many options, just ask other pen buffs.
Also, if you have to use shitty paper (besides Moleskine, bc Moleskine sucks), then mind nib size and ink.
I could correct copies with a M nib TWSBI Eco with Iroshizuku ink and no bleedthrough. (On moleskine, though… yes.)
Anyone wanna go on an adventure in a new medium with me? I’ve never tried gouache before, but that changes tonight.
Our subject will be this photo I took in Monument Valley/Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii.
Half assed gradient? Check ✅
☁️ ☁️ ☁️
So far I deem this significantly more fun than watercolor, which is second only to pastels as my most frustrating medium
Gouache experiment 001 results: Not bad! The plants could’ve used a lighter hand and a different color but considering I only had one flat brush and 4 colors to work with (plus white and black—store had very little in stock) I’m gonna call it a success.
Might mess around with it more in the morning. TBD.
Psst. Anyone looking for a relatively cheap Wacom Intuos 4 tablet?
The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators is holding their annual auction online this year, and one of the items up for bid is a nearly untouched Intuos 4. I /think/ it’s a size Small, which has a small drawing surface but is also wonderfully portable. Current bid is $45 USD** and proceeds support the GNSI, which is a great organization.
**Excludes shipping, which is arranged after the auction between the buyer and the seller. Be aware that if you’re outside of the US, shipping may be prohibitively expensive.
Haya Abu alOuf, a survivor of the #WehdaStreetMassacre in Gaza that took away the lives of 42 of her family members, neighbors, and loved ones, has something to say to the world. Hear her out!
