I ran into the internet radio, "Sketchbook Honwaka Radio" some months ago and got partially hooked, so picked up the original manga for the series.
Obviously, it's not possible to know a series by merely comparing it with other series, but just to give you an idea, it's like a mix of "Hidamari Sketch," "ARIA," and maybe even "Azumanga Daiou." Characters and their antics correspond somewhat to those of Hidamari Sketch, but the mood is definitely closer to ARIA. And the 4-coma style is somewhat like Azumanga Daiou.
There are a lot more characters in this than in Hidamari Sketch, and the characters are not tied to one-liners like in ARIA. Art has wide ranging attributes, from simple to complex, and the cats are all so adorable. It's not gripping or anything, but is easy to read and highly enjoyable. I can easily recommend it.
As for the anime counterpart, "Sketchbook ~full color'S~," I have no plans to pick it up. It's apparently produced by the same backend team that produced ARIA. I don't feel like watching any more HAL Film Maker works. Besides, there's always the original manga.
