Sketchbook

A sketchbook is a book or pad with blank pages for sketching and is frequently used by artists for drawing or painting as a part of their creative process.

Sketchbooks began as a way to provide a readily available supply of drawing paper in the convenient form of a book.

Sketchbooks made out of high quality paper, differentiated by weight (referring to density of the sheets) and tooth (also called grain), allow for a wide variety of techniques to be used, ranging from pencil drawings, to watercolor, to colored pencil, to pen and ink, and so on.

In displays of contemporary art, as well as historical retrospectives, intimate and ephemeral records are increasingly valued, resulting in the exhibition of sketchbooks alongside "finished" artworks.

Computer technology has allowed for the development of digital sketchbooks, such as Apple's iPad devices and Microsoft's Surface tablets.