Customer Reviews

Moleskine Japanese Album Pocket

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I never bought a moleskine before but I saw this design they had for a sketchbook and it looked interesting enough to try out. The paper is nice, though when it says 60 pages that is really assuming you are not going to be drawing on the last 30 pages (the back side of the accordion), and will instead be scrapbooking/gluing things to it, etc. Here is why:

The pages are made up of 3 'chunks' of long, accordion-folded moleskine drawing paper: about 1/2 an inch of the next is glued to the back of the previous one to connect them together. This is not cheap looking or bad quality at all, mind you, it won't fall apart (I haven't used any wet media on it though) but just a warning if you plan on drawing on the back side to save money & space.. every 10 pages or so there will be a 1/2 inch second layer of paper on the edge (from where the next part is glued on). However, this is a matter of opinion--my goal of writing this is just to bring this to the attention of potential buyers.

Another thing to note is that you can pull out the length of the sketchbook (thus the 60 pages--30 on one side, 30 on the other). Hopefully this clears up my description of the paper assemblage.. And unless you are only holding the front cover of the book, it won't all fall out while you are drawing.

The elastic band to hold the book closed is durable, and it's not made too loose or too tight.

The only other thing that may bother people is the size. I only wish there were a larger size available; 3x5 is nice for little daily doodles and such but for those with larger scale ideas it's too small. They don't seem to have a bigger version and I haven't found any other brands that use this japanese folding style for a sketchbook. (If anyone knows of one please let me know!)

And so, besides the "Japanese Album" design of this moleskine it is just a regular hardcover blank journal with the elastic band to hold it closed (something that is found on other journals/sketchbooks). For me it just happened to suit my needs of a small daily art journal.

As an artist I like to explore all sorts of different media and stocks so when I came across this baby in an art store in D.C. I had to give it a shot and see if it could withstand a weeks travel going in an out of museums, coffee houses and what have you, so here it is.

[...]

I have to say at the end of the week I went back and picked up 2 more. Currently I'm on my 5th one. What I love about these books is not only it being pocket sized but you can start drawing something, turn the page draw some more then fold it out and connect the two drawings or the whole book if you want.

I only gave it a 4 because like the other moleskine sketch journals the paper doesn't really absorb ink washes all to well but I enjoy the texture it creates. All in all, great journal to go with.

The accordion folds make it perfect for larger sketches and uninterrupted flow of words. The only drawback to this is that it's quite a bit more difficult to have this notebook be universally portable; you need to be able to hold the pages out and steady if you're going to use more than one page at a time. Other than that, I love the option of having a giant work in the notebook that's three pages wide or long or tall. It makes for a beautiful display as well.

The pages are premium and acid-free, holds ink well (sharpies/permanent ink will and can bleed through), and are perfect for drawing, writing, collages, etc. Even though the Moleskine brand gets a lot of crap ([...]), they still make a great notebook.

I was really looking forward to getting my Moleskine Japanese Album Pocket Journal... and true to Amazon's word, it arrived quickly and in good condition. I am using it as a trip journal to document views and vistas of the Southwest. I adore its format and love that when unfolded, it gives a different representation of my trip. One downside, however is that the paper is somewhat slick and doesn't accept watercolor well. I guess that I had misunderstood the type of paper and while it would be good for pencil, pastel, marker... it just isn't all that great with watercolor. Maybe I will have to go with more of a gouache.

Wanted to try out this moleskine. I was not disappointed. It really helps with creative thoughts and work. Pages are durable and love the fact that you can expand the pages out.

I enjoyed this album, as I glued pictures into it to make a photo album! It is cute and fun to look at. But it almost appears to be "bursting" as it is now FULL. I wouldn't use this as a photo album again, I'm not even sure if that is what it is made for, but it would be a cute way to take notes or keep a journal.

The sketchbooks I ordered took a long time to arrive, but they were in great condition and exactly what I was looking for.

I'm using this as a cigar journal since I only know what I like and don't like at this point and is works beautifully for it. I glue the labels to the paper and unfold the accordion pages to get a good overview. I love it!

i love these for my short trips. good sturdy paper, perfect for sticking little receipts or whatnot to.

The Moleskine Japanese Album is a different kind of note book. I love it, it takes some time to get used to it but after I did it was awesome. Now my notes doodles and other ideas flow together since its one long sheet. You almost feel like a ninja unfolding out this giant scroll. Very cool.