When creating graphic designs, it may surprise you to learn that many artists and illustrators don’t go straight to the digital drawing board.
While it’s important to consider the parameters of what you’ll be able to digitally reproduce from a drawing or painting, sometimes the act of taking pen to paper, or even paint to canvas, gets the creative juices flowing like nothing else.
Whether you’re a traditional painter or digital art native, the first and most important tool in your arsenal is likely a good old notebook and your favourite pen for sketching.
Though not all graphic designers need a gold medal for drawing, even the simplest sketch to help plan out your work – be it a stick man storyboard or a kaleidoscopically colourful portrait – offers a helpful and creative springboard upon which your final creation can be based.
Drawing tablet or physical notebook?
Physical notebooks are an inexpensive, utilitarian piece of kit all artists should have. That said, whether it’s worth investing in an additional, digital drawing tablet is entirely up to the artist. Here’s what to consider first:
- Display: inexpensive drawing tablets don’t have a display, and instead connect directly to your computer. This means that you’ll be drawing on a blank board and your artwork will be mirrored on your computer monitor instead. They’re a good starting point for digital art newbies who don’t want to spend a fortune on a drawing tablet.
- Compatibility: be sure your tablet is compatible with your digital setup. This is especially important if you’re planning to upload preliminary sketches to your graphic design program of choice seamlessly.
- Pen pressure and sensitivity: before investing in a drawing tablet, ensure it’s responsive to pen pressure and sensitivity. Otherwise, you’ll be left with astonishingly boring pen strokes that don’t respond to classic artistic movements.
We’ve rounded up a selection of the best physical and digital notebooks for graphic designers to try in 2024.
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Drawing tablets
Surface Pro 9
We know what you’re thinking, “Isn’t a Surface Pro just a laptop?”
The answer is both yes and no. Created to be the ultimate 2-in-1 Windows computer, the Surface Pro 9 seamlessly transitions between laptop and tablet with a few simple adjustments.
A highly portable device with fantastic pressure sensitivity and a brilliant Surface Slim Pen 2 stylus (sold separately) it’s also equipped with a powerful Windows 11 operating system.
You’ll be able to create masterpieces on the edge-to-edge 13” PixelSense touchscreen before flipping the tablet into desktop mode to work on your final graphic design.
Buy now £959.00, Amazon
XP-Pen Deco LW Pen Tablet
XP-Pen’s products are sturdy by design and this one is no exception. If you like the usability of XP-Pen but don’t need the larger artist tablet, this is great little sketchpad and notebook.
It has a 10-inch work area and XP-Pen’s signature chunky buttons down the side. One of the major draws to this all new mini tablet is the new stylus pen. The X-3 Smart-Chip Stylus comes with the tablet and you also get 10 replacement nibs. The pen has excellent pressure sensitivity and you barely need to apply any pressure at all to draw a line, it’s almost as if the pen can do this by itself.
This fantastic pressure sensitivity makes the tablet very much an artist’s tablet, rather than a notebook, and it fits perfectly into any pro artist’s work flow.
Buy now £97.99, XP-Pen
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2
Best for: a desktop replacement
Intel Core processors, up to 64GB of RAM, and Nvidia graphics chips combine with a totally unique design to create a top choice for graphic design. The Surface Laptop Studio comes with a stylus and touchscreen, and you can fold the display forwards over the keyboard to turn it into something much more suited to pen input than the standard clamshell design.
Not exactly a tablet or 2-in-1, but not fully a laptop either, the Studio 2 comes with Thunderbolt, an HDR screen, and an integrated AI accelerator for the new generation of generative tools and filters.
Buy now £2069.00, Microsoft
ReMarkable 2
If you’re the kind of person who loves sketching in a coffee shop, doodling away your thoughts and ideas, and ideally using pen and paper, you’re going to love the ReMarkable tablet.
It’s as slim as a thin notebook and it really does feel just like you’re using pen and paper: it even makes the sounds of pen on paper. It has to be said, the ReMarkable tablet isn’t going to fulfil all your needs if you’re a pro artist, but it is going to slot nicely into your work flow.
It’s very portable and you can replace your old sketchpad with this and simply use it over and over. You can make notes on it, jot down ideas, and using the device’s templates you can even write sheet music! The ReMarkable tablet doesn’t connect to the internet, so it is basically a digital sketchpad and notebook, but at that, it’s an extremely good one.
Just to note: the pen, or marker, is sold separately, £59.
Buy now £299.00, ReMarkable
Physical notebooks for preliminary sketches
Pith Oroblanco Sketchbook 200gsm 76 Pages 310 X 222mm
Aesthetically pleasing and available in a vast range of colours, Pith Oroblanco’s sketchbook has an impressive 76 pages of 200gsm paper. Sandwiched between two recycled boards, the sketchbook opens 180 degrees and lays completely flat to help artists create brilliant work without worrying about broken book spines and balancing pages.
Oroblanco is a versatile sketchbook which works brilliantly with wet and dry mediums, though the manufacturers suggest using it with pencils, charcoal, acrylic, watercolour and ink. Pith produces similar sketchbooks in a variety of sizes, including a premium landscape option in 155 x 222mm.
Buy now £21.95, Cass Art
Moleskine Art Plus Sketch Album Pocket 90x140 Black
For those who are concerned about maintaining a cohesive stationery aesthetic, Moleskine also produces dedicated art sketchbooks to match your daily journals and diaries.
This sleek option contains 72 sheets of easily detachable, 120gsm ivory paper. It also has Moleskine’s signature expandable inner pocket for additional notes and pieces of inspiration.
Buy now £8.75, Cult Pens
Strathmore 400 Drawing Pad - A3 - 163gsm - 24 Sheets
Draughtsmen who prefer using graphite would benefit highly from premium quality Strathmore paper. This acid-free, heavyweight paper may be pricey, but it offers a luxurious surface onto which artists can layer and erase without worrying about rips and tears.
Available in a range of sizes and always with a ring binding for working flat, Strathmore is a staple within the artistic community for a reason.
Buy now £15.95, London Graphics Centre
Alpha Softcover Sketchbook 8X10
This soft-cover, lay-flat sketchbook is made with heavyweight, acid-free archival paper and is designed for multimedia use, including dry mediums, watercolour and ink washes. It contains 46 sheets of white paper with a medium-grain texture for a highly unique finish.
Buy now £30.29, Amazon
