September 25, 2008
Dots and Dashes
Here's a quick update of my never-ending search for the right pen and paper:
Dot Grid Notebooks
Before they closed up shop, I used to buy Japanese notebooks with a faint 5mm dot grid from Mai Do in Palo Alto (apparently the SF location is still open). They had just the right form factor (B5?), though the spiral binding reliably broke and started to spill pages when I got through 3/4 of the notebook.
While in Seattle, I found the Behance dot grid books at Peter Miller, the architecture book store near Pike place market. They are beautiful, sturdy, and have great paper. They are a little large, and the $14-$18 price tag is steep, even if you "value your ideas."
Since my last Behance is filling up quickly, I spent some time searching for alternatives. While I didn't find any other notebooks, I came across Incompetech's Graph Paper Page that lets roll your own graph paper designs (including crosses and dots) from parametric templates. I'd love to make a spiral-bound book from those templates, just have to find a small-volume printer with good binding services.
Behance has a one-page PDF of their "actionpad" available for download as well which has dots and "action step" areas.
I also got a free Maker's Notebook a few weeks ago which as a light-blue eight-inch two-weight grid. Unfortunately, it's book binding makes it pretty uncomfortable for me to write as the pages just don't like to lie flat.
Pens & Markers
For regular sketching and writing I switched to Prismacolor Fine Line markers. They're not quite as smooth as the Micron pens but, unlike the Microns, they don't leak from a little bit of shaking in a backpack.
For bold lines, I found the Pilot Bravo!, also at Peter Miller in Seattle. A little too thick for writing but great for highlighting thicker lines in sketches. Oh, and it's cheap.
Sharpie's Pen on the other hand is mediocre (what did I expect?) and certainly doesn't hold up to Prismacolor pens. Not enough ink flow, and a bit scratchy.