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As with many things in life these days, there is a bewildering choice when it comes to sketchbooks. Fortunately, art supply shops and stationers are pleasant places to linger, and they don’t seem to mind if you wander their aisles in a cartridge paper-induced trance.The trouble is, blank books of paper are so beguiling. How can you possibly choose between them? Well, here are a few considerations to help you stride in and make a quick and informed choice, freeing you up with extra time to go and doodle with all the pens on those pads they so thoughtfully provide.

Size Clearly, if you draw big (and you’ve taken the advice in this post), you need larger pages. If you prefer tight little illos, something smaller is going to suit you. Obvious. But size can have other implications, too - for example, if you buy that A2 pad, will you ever take it out of the house? Perhaps you’d be better off simply buying the largest book you can fit into your bag or pocket.

Something else about small books is that you can use them discreetly - definitely a plus if you like to draw people unobserved (see my post on secret drawing), or if you prefer not to have people coming up to you and looking over your shoulder while you draw.

It’s worth considering going for something less obvious, though. Just because you draw small now, doesn’t mean you work might not benefit from loosening up a bit. Might a bigger book than you are used to help you with that?

Size also has to match with your media of choice. You won’t get far with oils or acrylics on a tiny little A5 notebook.

Paper Talking of media, that’s your main consideration when it comes to paper. While you can get away with using watercolour on all sorts of paper, clearly if you want a ‘finished’ end product you should use the dedicated watercolour paper, which is heavy enough to take wet paint. Similarly, acrylic and oils need pretty hefty grounds. But having said that, if you genuinely are just sketching, even with these types of paint, this becomes less important.

And even if you only intend to use pencil, bear in mind that a rougher paper will create a more interesting line, particularly for the softer pencils. Shiny paper is pretty much a no-no for pencil and, actually, most media. A matte paper not only allows media to ‘grip’ more easily, but it will also mean that your work dries more quickly, a real consideration if you are drawing on the go.

Do feel a page between finger and thumb before you buy; cheap paper is thinner, and even if you are only doing line drawings, this can impact when you realise you can see your drawings from the other side of the page (sometimes not until you try to photograph or scan them). That’s definitely a false economy if it means yo can only use one side of each page!

Shape While many sketchbooks are standard ‘A’ sizes, others are appealing squares or non-A-sized rectangles. These are fine if you have no specific plans for your content, but if you wish to scan your drawings, make sure the page fits comfortably on your scanner. Also, of course, if you are planning to remove pages and put them in a portfolio or display book, standard sizes will be easier. If you are making sketches for a distinct purpose such as a book or exhibition, it makes sense that your sketch book is in the same proportions (I know it sounds obvious but it is worth remembering!).

Binding Yes, even the humble binding needs to be considered. Rectangular books can be bound down the short end or the long end, and if you plan to draw over a double spread, you’ll want to think about this. Are you likely to be drawing landscapes or portraits? Pictures which are tall or long?

If you do plan to spread out over two pages, then you’ll want a standard binding, of course, not ring-binding. But ring binding does have its advantages. You can tear out pages for framing or other uses (or if you hate your work). More importantly, for the type of artist who collects inspiration from all sorts of places, you can stick in many extra pieces of paper and even objects without breaking the binding.

Those are some basic considerations for buying a sketchbook. If it’s still hard to choose, you might end up buying a few - one for home use, one to take to class, and one to have with you at all times. And while the idea of a lifetime of sketchbooks, all bound precisely the same way, stretched out on a shelf is undoubtedly a very attractive image, it’s really only an option for the artist who has made very definite decisions about his working methods and preferences, and can stick to them. That’s not me. How about you?