Comments about Mirage Sketchbooks:

I use this as a general sketchbook for pencil, ink and light watercolor sketching. Nothing fancy, just a good utilitarian sketchbook with paper of medium tooth, slightly stiff and substantial. The cover is a heavy stiff black cardboard material and will work as a black paper if one wishes to experiment with doing a night scene to decorate the book. I have one done with white wc pencil which is a dim view of 3 coons on a limb illuminated by a head lamp. The shining eyes are white acrylic.

Comments about Mirage Sketchbooks:

I purchased the 7 x 10 sketchbook and am already pretty happy with it. I often draw ideas as they come to me and sometimes these ideas warrant a variety of media. My first addition to my new sketchbook was a pen and watercolor wash. The paper held up quite nicely. In some areas where I got a little too carried away with the water, it dampened the page underneath, but not too badly. This isn't watercolor paper so it's not for full blown watercolor pieces. However, it's heavy enough for washes of color and certainly seems to hold up well with pens and markers without any bleed through. If you want a fancy sketchbook, this isn't for you. This sketchbook isn't for "looks" and it's not frou frou,but if you are an artist who uses your sketchbooks in a more utilitarian way, you'll love this. The price can't be beat and it's hard cover will ensure that your precious ideas stay safely protected.

Comments about Mirage Sketchbooks:

I bought the 6x6 black sketchbook, since it didn't cost too much and I wanted a square sketchbook badly (just because, I like squares) . It's not bad, and it's not not-good, it just didn't wow me in any particular way.

The back and cover were made of the same thick black cardboard-material, which makes a good hard back and cover to keep the pages safe and flat. The wire binding is also the big, sturdy-enough kind, so this sketchbook can take a good amount of wear. However, it is very no-frills, with edges that look like they were just chopped out and put together and a slight, how to say, looseness that makes it seem unpolished (doesn't effect utility at all though) .

The pages are white, rather smooth with slight tooth, and a bit thicker than usual but not terribly. There are a lot of pages, 75 sheets in mine.

I decided to test it out with all the media I had at hand, and it seems to handle most things fine (though honestly, I don't know much about it; I've never been picky with paper, and usually stick with pen/pencils) .

My various pencils, my liner pens, and color pencils turn out nicely enough. My COPIC markers don't bleed through to the next page if I don't use them too heavily, but they do bleed a pinch at the edges, so it's not recommended for serious stuff or inked lineart. I used watercolor pencils and a waterbrush to do a few light drawings, and there was a minimal amount of warping, and it managed to take a full-page wash surprisingly well (no tearing of the page, leaking through, etc.), but it's not really recommended for much more than small/light stuff, if that. I don't know anything at all about charcoal or pastel, but I had some, and testing a bit, it seemed fine on this paper.

Overall, an OK sketchbook, nothing really wrong with it, but nothing fancy and nothing that really captures my eye. Personally, I will use it probably mostly for sketching compositions, thumbnails, etc. for use in my watercolor class, maybe quick gesture/hand studies, but nothing too fancy; I like to draw more finished sketches in nicer, more permanent-feeling sketches.