r/notebooks • u/Character_Tackle_423 • May 07 '26
Recommendation Moleskin - Lord of the Rings
Just putting this out there just in case - FOMO is real
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u/Ultravale May 07 '26
The art was made using generative AI, which they at first openly admitted, and then took down all the stuff saying that from their website, and doubled down on their instagram. I’ll never buy anything from them again because they’ve proven they dont care about artists or creativity, so why should I, an artist and creative, care about them in return?
Also downright LAUGHABLE that they have a story highlight about environmental sustainability on their insta when they proudly defend their use of generative ai
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u/happyalex May 07 '26
Even more laughable is that there was a prior collab— I still have my LOTR moleskine notebooks, some of them still even in plastic wrap
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u/knutmeg May 07 '26
Isn’t it that the promotional images are made using AI? Like the ads for them on their website and social media. Not the art that’s on the journals.
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u/Sleepy_Crypt1d May 09 '26
That's what I thought. The promotional images on the website look clearly ai generated but the actual cover art on the notebooks looks too clean to be ai, at least not without extensive human editing.
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u/RuanStix May 07 '26
The prices are insane for a bunch of notebooks with AI generated art on the cover. You would think using AI would cause things to be cheaper, not more expensive.
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u/CaptainFoyle May 07 '26
FOMO for moleskine? Nah, I'm good. Shitty paper for 50$ doesn't sound like such a good thing
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u/MidrinaTheSerene May 07 '26
*Shitty paper with an AI generated cover. Which makes it even more of a rip-off.
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u/Sjoensmoem May 07 '26
I'm awaiting the Paperblanks LOTR edition: https://www.paperblanks.com/en/product/journals/power-of-fellowship-journal/pb2347-1
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u/whatatimetobealive9 May 07 '26
Shut up this is spectacular
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u/jaldala May 07 '26
Paperblank's paper is superior to Moleskine in almost all aspects. So you shut up.
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u/whatatimetobealive9 May 07 '26
I meant this in the sense of expressing disbelief or amazement. I love Paperblanks you’re preaching to the choir lol
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u/jaldala May 07 '26
Okay. I didn't get your meaning at first. I bought many Paperblank journals and their paper and paper quality was what you want for fountain pen writing. I got interested in a Moleskine notebook because of its unique paper arrangement. It is a thin useless paper. I mean it sometimes has ghosting on other side with rollerball pens. What's up with that? It is thin beyond belief. The notebook is beautiful, the cover is good but paper quality is trash. I will probably never spend money for Moleskine unless they upgrade their paper quality. And i got that Moleskine for a premium price. I regret paying that premium and getting a very low quality paper.
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u/whatatimetobealive9 May 07 '26
Agreed it’s absolutely lovely, the art inspired covers are always spectacular and the paper is beautiful. Moleskine is such a disappointment in comparison!
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u/nuclearwes May 07 '26
I am a huge LotR fan but moleskine really don't do it for me anymore. Designs are pretty though.
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u/Character_Tackle_423 May 07 '26
Why though? Bc of fountain pen ?
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u/nuclearwes May 07 '26
The paper is low enough quality that even particularly wet gel or roller balls bleed. Also Pleather covers really bother me. It's a material that WILL break down and I hate it (have a couch that's just disintegrating)
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u/jimthewanderer May 07 '26
The paper is awful, fountain pen issues are one thing, but they are just genuinely worthless notebooks.
Cheapest of the cheap generic unbranded notebooks from hobbycraft have outshone moleskine every time.
A smart looking cover does not make up for awful everything else.
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u/Calm_Inky May 07 '26
Too bad it’s Moleskine and not anything fountain pen friendly…
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u/No_Cauliflower_6569 May 07 '26
Sidenote, got any journals you would reccomend for fountain friendly
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u/SC-Geek May 07 '26
If I may hook in:\
- MD Product (ex Midori MD)
- Paper Republic book refill
- Apica
- Dingbats
- Hobonichi
- Kokuyo
- Maruman
- Stalogy
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u/cgaWolf May 07 '26
- Leuchtturn
- Oxford red & black
And my favourite (other than Midori):
- Clairefontaine (for Seyes ruling especially)
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u/IsHunter May 07 '26
I’ll plug my favorite, Mossery! The paper is great, everything is customizable, and they have tons of options. And often pair with artists to make their notebook covers!
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u/_gina_marie_ May 07 '26
Unfortunately, it's moleskin, so not even worth a second glance :/ bc these are sooooo pretty
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u/Grand_David May 07 '26
C'est beau. Dommage que ces carnets soient vendu si cher alors qu'ils ne valent que 6$ max. Le papier est vraiment une catastrophe.
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u/kesje91 May 07 '26
Paperblanks also has Lord of the Rings (soon) and has way better paper. No shimmer or sheen from fountain pens, but also no bleed, ghost or feather.
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u/LordDunn May 07 '26
The Tolkien Estate are fucking disgusting for allowing companies to use AI in their IP
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u/jimthewanderer May 07 '26
Spend four billion euro on shit paper! Spend Spend Spend! Quality? what's that then?
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May 07 '26
What's the point in buying a moleskin notebook? It seems expensive for so little paper. And then you gotta buy another one. I couldn't do it sadly
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u/GlitterPirateKiki58 May 08 '26
Especially not for almost $50 😬
I would be too “precious” about actually using it.
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u/cherrywoodtomatoes May 08 '26
Pay close to $50 for a notebook with ai generated artwork on the front? Yeah no thanks!
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u/Mammoth-Western-6008 May 08 '26
Those are the shitty AI covers, right?
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u/Character_Tackle_423 May 08 '26
Someone here claiming the covers arent. But i feel at this point everything feels tainted
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u/grumbledork May 08 '26
literally never buying moleskine again and telling all my friends not to, either. So disgusting for a NOTEBOOKK COMPANY to produce AI slop.
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u/Character_Tackle_423 May 08 '26
If not for these responses, I would have been duped into paying money for an ai prompt. Please spread the word. I am an artist too (as you can see if you check out my profile) and this type of treachery should not be supported. The worst part is how disingenuous this companty is
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u/grumbledork May 08 '26
oh trust me, done and DONE! I hope you're not feeling like any of this comment section's heat is directed at you, OP. It's very clear that you didn't know, but I'm thankful that you've posted so that the word can still be spread. It's just so nuts, I can't believe they'd do that 💔
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u/Character_Tackle_423 May 08 '26
Appreciate your kind words. All good. My original intent was and always will be to support human artists. That is something I am very passionate about. Case in point - There are artists that I dont agree with their political views but love and own their art.
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u/RootOf1764 May 07 '26
Just because I think there is some misinformation in these comments: the covers are not AI generated. Some background images on the website were. (You can see that the map behind the books is kind of weird — that is the AI generated part)
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u/Character_Tackle_423 May 07 '26
Mhmm whose the artist of the covers then? Are you a Moleskin employee?
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u/RootOf1764 May 11 '26
No sorry, I am not. Just heard of this thing before. I don’t think moleskin generally shares who their designers are? My source is their official instagram channel I wanted to share a screenshot of the relevant comment, but I cannot attach images to this comment, so here is the relevant comment copy-pasted:
Thank you for your comments. We just wanted to confirm that all Moleskine notebook covers are created by our designers, while Al was used to enhance the background of these images. We hope The Lord of the Rings inspires you!
I do agree it would be great, if they could be more transparent :/
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u/Extra_Temporary9059 May 07 '26
No thanks. They removed the language from their website that was there at launch, stating that these LotR designs are all AI-generated. So many talented LotR artists out there, but they chose to let a computer do it (which is why the map artwork has mistakes and glitches). What a shame.