Rhodia Webnotebook version 3: even better than before + Giveaway!

(please note: the giveaway was drawn Sept 5 and the Webbie has been sent on to the winner)

I've already shown pictures of how beautifully this third version of the Rhodia webnotebook lies flat, and the gloriously clean and fresh look of the blank pages, devoid either of lines or logos.  I've now had the chance to test different pens, inks, and other pigmented items, and conclude that this newest version of the Webbie is equal to or better than its immediate predecessor, unless you really want or need lines.

Because this was a blank version, I wanted to test it for potential as an illustrated journal, and see what kind of media would work well in it. Given what we've seen from previous reviews, it works beautifully with fountain pen ink, providing crisp lines with no hint of feathering or bleedthrough. I couldn't resist adding my own logo to the bottom corner with a pigment marker, though.

verse from a translation by Diana Gilliland Wright, who blogs at the fascinating Surprised by Time - I am not sufficiently erudite to have known this verse on my own!

I'm less enamored of its use with colored pencil, however. I really like using watersoluble pencil, usually Derwent Inktense or some such, and the smooth crisp quality of the Webbie paper that makes it so wonderful for pen and ink makes it difficult to lay down layers of pencil.



More fountain pen ink, this time Iroshizuku Kon-Peki. Even tracing lines over a few times resulted in no bleeding. Sakura gelly rolls for color went on smoothly and beautifully.



Pencil for line drawing goes much better than colored pencil, and actually works very well. As long as you don't have to do a lot of shading or any other technique where you want a toothy paper to hold the graphite, all is well. The only problem I had is that it was somewhat difficult to erase unwanted lines.

Pigment pen ink (Sakura micron in this case) dries very quickly and you can put a watercolor wash on it fairly soon after the drawing.

Here are my two dogs - I do plan to enter text in here, thus all the white space. If I hadn't placed a sheet of paper under the right page, the faux manga drawings on the next page would have shown through. Despite being 90 g paper, there is still the possibility of some showthrough - the paper has a certain translucency to it. This is by no means an issue, just something I was a little surprised to see given the paper weight.



Pentel pocket brush pen, with Faber Castell brush pens for color. Again, everything goes down smoothly and easily. This paper is absolutely made for almost any kind of pen and ink.



Mandala in Sakura micron pigment pen - I haven't decided whether to colour this or not - I kind of like the starkness against the creamy ivory paper.



Neocolor ll crayons. I love these for their bright colors, which don't really resemble anything in nature but are a whole lot of fun, and easier to use on this particular paper than colored pencil.



I gave pencils another try. I did not really enjoy this. It seemed to be a lot of trouble getting layers of colour on, and I felt I had to press really hard, which embossed the page - and the next - more than I really liked.



But all in all - unless you really, really want to use colored pencil - this would be a great notebook to use as an illustrated journal, or any kind of journal or project book. The pocket in the back is perfect for collecting ephemera or reference pictures or anything you might want to paste into the pages (fortunes from cookies? ticket stubs?) and the paper works beautifully with all sorts of pen, ink, and light watercolor washes - you wouldn't expect to do true watercolor techniques on this type of paper, but you can certainly add a splash of colour.

And now - if you've made it this far, thank you! as previously mentioned, I have a shrinkwrapped, brand new version 3 webbie to give away. Just leave a comment telling me why you would like one, and a random winner will be drawn an announced on Labour Day, Sept 6. I'll give you a week to get back to me with your snail address, and if I don't hear from you, I'll assume you've changed your mind and I'll draw another winner. Good luck!

also, if you've reviewed this v3 Webbie too, please let me know so I can add a link to your post. So far, the only one I know about for sure are Julie and Heather's - but I know there are more!

Other reviews:
Whatever - Julie/Okami
A Penchant for Paper - Heather