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Swatchpedia

Ultimate Organization

Swatchpedia.jpg

Attention

Want to learn about the history of this Swatchpedia? ⇨Click here⇦

This book uses the Dunwell Presentation Book, with a cover sheet cut from Strathmore Toned Tan Mixed Media paper. It’s a top-loading album with clear sheet protectors.

Current Swatch Gallery

Photos are in order as they appear in the presentation book, organized by tabbed section.

Colored Pencils

Supplies Shown

Bee Paper Super Deluxe Paper
PCBeePaperSw.jpg300 FCBeePaperSw.jpg300

Bee Paper Stipple Paper
PCBeePaperStippledSw.jpg300 FCBeePaperStippledSw.jpg300

Strathmore Toned Tan Mixed Media
PCStrathTanSw.jpg300 FCStrathTanSw.jpg300

Strathmore Toned Gray Mixed Media
PCStrathGraySw.jpg300 FCStrathGraySw.jpg300

Strathmore Toned Blue Mixed Media
PCStrathBlueSw.jpg300 FCStrathBlueSw.jpg300

Alcohol Markers

Supplies Shown

Ohuhu Double-Sided Marker Paper
OHOhuhuDoubleSidedSw.jpg300 OOOhuhuDoubleSidedSw.jpg300
(These pages also include the Ohuhu Paper-Friendly Markers)

(Left): Bee Paper Super Deluxe Paper
(Right): Strathmore Toned Tan Mixed Media
OHBeePaperSw.jpg300 OHStrathTanSw.jpg300

(Left): Strathmore Toned Gray Mixed Media
(Right): Strathmore Toned Blue Mixed Media
OHStrathGraySw.jpg300 OHStrathBlueSw.jpg300

Acrylic Markers

Paper Shown

Supplies Shown

Supplies Shown

Paper Shown

Supplies Shown

Supplies Shown

Paper Shown

Supplies Shown

Supplies Shown

Paper Shown

Supplies Shown

Supplies Shown

Paper Shown

Supplies Shown

Supplies Shown

Paper Shown

Supplies Shown

Supplies Shown

Tempura & Ink

Supplies Shown (top-to-bottom):

(Left): Canson XL Mixed Media Paper
(Right): Ohuhu Double-Sided Marker Paper
T&ICansonXLSw.jpg300 T&IOhuhuDoubledSidedSw.jpg300

(Left): Strathmore Toned Tan Mixed Media
(Right): Strathmore Toned Gray Mixed Media
T&IStrathTanSw.jpg300 T&IStrathGraySw.jpg300

(Left): Strathmore Toned Blue Mixed Media
(Right): Strathmore Black Mixed Media Paper
T&IStrathBlueSw.jpg300 T&IStrathBlackSw.jpg300

Other Swatches

These are swatch cards I’ve made but that aren’t currently in my Swatchpedia. I may rotate them with my current cards depending on the media I’m using. These cards are in a different album from the same brand (ref. Dunwell Presentation Book)

Gel Pens

Note

The photos below aren’t scanned, they’re just pictures I took with my phone. Gel-pens are frequently neon or fluorescent and scanners don’t translate that well.

Ex:
GPsBeePaperSw.jpg400

Supplies Shown:

(Left): Bee Paper Super Deluxe Paper
(Right): Ohuhu Double-Sided Marker Paper
GelPensBeePaperDeluxe.jpg300 GelPensDoubleSided.jpg300

(Left): Strathmore Toned Tan Mixed Media
(Right): Strathmore Toned Gray Mixed Media
GelPensTan.jpg300 GelPensGray.jpg300

(Left): Strathmore Toned Blue Mixed Media
(Right): Strathmore Black Mixed Media Paper
GelPensBlue.jpg300 GelPensBlack.jpg300

Misc Misc

WCArchesColdSw.jpg

Evolution

I have gone through several iterations of Swatchpedias. Each was important in teaching me what to prioritize, how to conserve space, and what supplies were important to swatch.

Swatchpedia 1: Pen & Color Swatches

The first was a 3x5 index card three ring binder with sheet protectors. I wanted a small size for portability, without sacrificing space for swatches.

Swatchpedia 1.jpg

MANWU Index Card Organizer 3x5, Bought 01/2025 ($14.99), Link

I wanted to personalize the front and take advantage of that see-through cover. I didn’t officially name this book, but simply described it’s function.

S1 Front.jpg

The sheet protectors were nice and thick, and could fit thick pages. I organized the swatches by location in my organization. I use cases to hold my supplies and organized the tabs by case.

S1 Side.jpg

Thick. Held a lot of pages, and I definitely overstuffed it.

S1 Spread2.jpg

I primarily used Bee Paper Super Deluxe Paper paper for all the mediums. The first time I started testing out other paper colors, I deviated from my original template to fit more pens. The building blocks of my current process started early.

S1 Spread1.jpg

What I learned

It functioned really well and was small enough to carry around everywhere. But small pages means more pages means more clutter and mess. I also realized I should have fit more swatches on each page…at least double.

Functional, cute, but ultimately couldn’t hold everything I needed.

Swatchpedia 2: Swatchpedia Media

This was the first version that used the name “Swatchpedia.”

Swatchpedia 2.jpg

MANWU Index Card Organizer 4x6, Bought 10/2025 ($12.99), Link

This binder was made by the same company that made the first Swatchpedia, but in a 4x6 size. This allowed me to have even more swatches and pages, and more importantly, fit more swatches on each page.

S2 Side Side.jpg

Even thicker binder for holding more pages. That little elastic closure was holding on for dear life.

Swatchpedia2 Ex.jpg

Speaking of pages, the swatch organization changed for this book. Since I had more space, I also wanted to make each swatch smaller. Drawing out the lines in the first Swatchpedia was really annoying, and I decided to buy swatch stamps.

CRASPIRE Color Swatches, Bought 10/2025 ($5.19), Link
Ranger Archival Ink Pad, Bought 10/2025 ($12.44), Link

These swatch stamps were great. I bought a large stamp pad with permanent ink, used some old blocks I already had, and got to stamping. The dimensions fit 5 x 11 perfection, with some space for labels. But since the stamp was only 4 x 5 square big, this meant maneuvering the stamp to perfectly align it to fit all 55 squares. This would prove to be a much more difficult method than just drawing out lines.

I messed up A LOT. Which meant a lot of wasted paper. But I persisted, aiming to get perfectly placed swatches.

S2 Unfinished.jpg
S2 Unfinished Close.jpg

The effect it took to get usable pages made me eventually got over this method, so I wanted to do swatches a different way. I abandoned whatever pages I had left and switched to an A5 album, hoping to only have to use one page per supply.

That’s how we got the current Swatchpedia.

What I Learned

Trying to make less work for myself made more work for myself. When successful, the swatch grids looked great. But it took so much work to make it like that and I wasted a lot of paper. Abandoned.

Swatchpedia 3: Swatchpedia

Swatchpedia 3 had the benefit of all I’d learn from the first two Swatchpedias. I needed it to be big enough to hold all of a medium’s swatches on one page, but small enough to be portable. A5 was that perfect fit.

Every medium is on a single page of each paper type, though some pages have multiple mediums. I tend to include mediums I’m using together on the same page if they fit.

In order to fit everything, I made each swatch square 0.5 in. This mean drawing a ton of perfectly measured lines. Each page holds up to 160 swatches.

I often use my Swatchpedia to hold ideas and other swatch cards that may be useful.

S3 Front.jpg

Lessons So Far…

I’ve had two major lessons while working in my current Swatchpedia.

  1. Ink lines are annoying. I went back to drawing out lines and I had to wait between lines for the ink to dry or else it would smudge. So I would work on multiple pages at once and switch between them. But recently, I’ve realized I could just use pencil instead of ink lines. Pencil can be erased, so mistakes don’t matter as much, and I don’t have to wait for drying. Win-win!
  2. Boxes don’t have to be 0.5 in. There’s no reason I have to stick to the same formatting and structure for each page. Maybe some pages don’t need that. many boxes? Maybe I need more space? I need to break free from the rigid idea that every page must look the same.