Neko Heavy Industries Custom Sketchbook and Resident Evil Sketchbook Review

Joshua from Neko Heavy Industries just sent me these fine handmade sketchbook samples to review. Quite impressed with his ability to figure out what might suit me best just from a couple e-mail exchanges. Yup, this massive 10" X 7"X 1 3/8" Chemistry sketchbook was custom made to meet my preferences and multimedia sketching needs with four different types of paper stock. It features a strong elastic loop to keep it tightly closed when not in-use and removable sheets. The subject matter on its front hard cover appropriately reflects my scientific background. The back cover interior featuring the periodic table brings back fond memories of all-nighters and lab classes back in college. These recycled old textbook hard covers are secured with three steel loops with ball and socket closure joints.
They are easy enough to open and close to remove a given sketch for scanning or repositioning the provided vinyl sheet that protects the paper below from marker bleed through. Actually to make the protective sheet easier to use like a shitajiki, I cut small wedge sections up to their holes so that the sheet could be quickly moved without taking the whole sketchbook apart. This sketchbook was loaded with 54 sheets of acid free smooth 28 lb paper stock, 30 sheets of 100 lb card stock, and 12 sheets of watercolor paper plus 2 bonus sheets of vintage Strathmore Aquarius paper. So with these four distinct support options, it should be able to accept a fairly wide range of sketching tools and watercolor washes.
To provide a clear visual indicator of the different functional sections of the sketchbook, I used my trusty rotary paper cutter and standard 3-hole puncher to fashion the colored card stock dividers shown above.
Let's take a closer look at the performance of the 28 lb smooth sketching paper with some pencil test doodles. Leadholders loaded with F and 7B graphite leads and a Mitsubishi Uni 4B pencil yielded a nice graduation of values and laid down rich dark marks on this support.
These additional graphite and watersoluble pencil sample doodles proved that the 28 lb paper could handle even some light washes and readily accepted different graphite grades (from the everyday Paper Mate Classic No. 2 HB pencil to the premium Japanese and German art pencils). The erasability test showed that F and 2B graphite test swatches on the smooth paper erased easily and completely.
The ink test doodles were drawn with a Faber Castell TGS-1 0.7 mm technical pen and a Sakura Pigma Sensei 0.6 mm drawing pen. Both pens glided effortlessly on the smooth paper surface which minimizes wear and tear on the pen nibs. Neither bled through the paper, but the inked images remained clearly visible through the back of the sheet. Not a big issue for me since I usually only work on one side of the paper anyway.
The Prismacolor Art Stix color chart showed that the sketching paper could even take some wax-based colored pencil, but the coverage was a bit uneven given its lack of "tooth".
Chartpak AD markers worked quite well on this paper laying down uniform flat colors, but always make sure to protect the sheets below since their xylene-based inks bled right through the page. A selection of 36 Copic Sketch markers and Multiliner SP pens were used to draw the color chart above. The ink from Multiliner pens did not go through the paper, but the alcohol-based inks from the Copic Sketch markers did bleed through.
The one thing I did not like about this sketchbook design was that the interior corners on the light weight 28 lb sketching paper were prone to get caught and get bent when turning the pages. Found that the heavier watercolor paper and card stock sheets were easier to flip without damage than the thinner 28 lb sheets. Thus once I am done filling them, I will probably remove them and replace them with bristol or some other heavier stock. Given their standard 3-hole perforations, the completed sketch pages could easily be filed away in a regular 3-ring binder. Thus you can appreciate the versatility of the Neko Heavy Industries custom sketchbook concept: not only do you get to express your individuality to the world by your choice of salvaged hardbound book covers, but you also get to choose exactly the type and weight of paper stock (Options listed on the cover band: paper 28#, Card Stock available in 60#, 80#, and 100#) you prefer to work with. Each sketchbook is assigned a unique reorder number, so that refill pages can be ordered as needed. I'm thinking that a sketchbook with smooth bristol, vellum bristol, and cold-press Arches/Fabriano/Nujabi watercolor sheets might just make for a pretty efficient multimedia travel sketchbook.
For something lighter and easier to carry around: this compact 8" X 5.5" field sketchbook with rounded corners would make a nice addition to a daily sketching kit. It features an impeccable coil binding job and a cool salvaged movie placeholder card cover. It is loaded with recycled 28# smooth paper, can lie open flat, and can fold on itself without the spiral coil binding coming undone in the edges. Since this initial review has gotten pretty long already, we will save the watercolor and doodle tests on the heavier card stock and field sketchbook for another post. These unique sketchbooks handmade in the USA are certainly worth trying, and thanks again Joshua for allowing me the opportunity to review them. For another thorough sketchbook review go visit the Pencil Revolution.