Author Archives: iiiireaderadmin

Creative Haven Circular Cities Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: David Bodo

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my first coloring book by this design duo (David and La Jeana Bodo) so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Certainly, the cover art is representative of what is inside as it is both a design in the book and a compilation of various elements from many of the designs in the book. While the designs are detailed, for the most part, there are no small and intricate parts to color.

While the city designs are circular, the design pages are not. There are corner or side elements on each page along with a framing line at the outer edge. I like the format as it gives you the fish-eye look at the city but still presents you wish an easily framed design if you should wish to frame your finished project(s).
The designs are of well-known cities around the world. Some of the most famous and recognizable landmarks of each city is included in the circular design. While seven of the designs are of cities in the United States, I still found the cities of other countries I would expect and many others that were a pleasing surprise.
The name of each city, along with the associated landmarks, are listed on the back of the applicable designs. I like that it is on the back as I want the ability to guess at which city is which based on what I know of the architecture of the place. It also keeps the information together if you remove pages from the book.
These are the cities that are included:
Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Chicago, Dubai, Dublin, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Istanbul, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Miami, Montreal, Moscow, New Orleans, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Venice, Vienna, and the World Compilation.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
31 City/Architecture Designs in an unusual circular format
Designs are printed one side of the page
Paper is white, medium weight, slightly smooth and has perforated pages.
Glue Binding with perforations so you can remove them one at a time.
The designs stop well before the perforations
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers bleed through with colorful spots and shadows on the back of the page
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page. India ink pens can bleed through when I use more than one layer of color.
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. I was able to use both wax and oil based pencils equally well. I was able to get good color and to get deeper pigment by layering the same color. I found that I could layer multiple colors and blend easily using a pencil style blending stick. Hard lead pencils leave dents on the back of the page.
I generally prefer to use a blotter page under my working page to keep ink from seeping through but you can also remove pages from the book to color. I like card stock for my blotter page but a couple of sheets of heavyweight paper works as well.

Art of Coloring Star Wars: Rogue One

By: Disney Book Group

Rating: 4 of 5

Attached to this review will be a silent flip-through of the entire coloring book so you can make an informed decision as to whether or not it will work for you.

I’m a fan of Star Wars and have been looking forward to both the Rogue One movie and coloring book. I’ll be seeing the movie shortly but I received my coloring book ahead of time. The designs are well done based on what I have seen of trailers and movie stills. The characters look true to life and the creatures and machines are well drawn. The designs span from detailed to very simple. There are many wall-paper (repeating pattern) designs and there are really nice character studies. The designs range from simple line drawings to those where there are heavy lines and heavy use of black (which may be a problem for some.)
Where I have some problems with this book is how it was published. If I could give this book a 3.5, I would do so based on the publishing and the abundance of wall-paper designs. As I cannot, I rounded my stars to 4.
The book is part of the Art of Coloring series and has changed format in a number of ways from the earlier Star Wars book. Rogue One has a soft cover, is smaller, has thinner paper, has glue binding and has perforated pages. Personally, I don’t mind the change (except for the thinner paper) but it makes for a mismatched set. Having said that, I’ve been told by some individuals who are just now buying the older books that they are now being published with soft covers as well. I can’t confirm that as I purchased mine and my husband’s copies earlier on.
The book is sized smaller at 10 7.8 x 7 inches (compared to approximately 11 1 /2 x 8 inches. For those who like to scan and print their pages on better paper, this will make it easier as it should work with most standard scanner/printers.
The soft cover is okay but I would have hoped for a better value on the book if the quality of the publishing was being diminished. That is also true of the paper. Rogue One has more of a medium weight versus the heavy weight of Star Wars.
The change from sewn to glue binding makes it more difficult to get the book to open flat for coloring. As the pages are now perforated, the lack of ease of snipping threads to remove pages is less important.
The perforated pages is a nice change; however, given that the designs are printed on both sides of the page and many of the designs spread across two pages, the usefulness of the perforated pages is diminished. The only way I think that these larger designs can be printed effectively would be to use a fold-out page. I’ve seen this done in a number of coloring books and hope that the trend will catch on.
One of my issues with designs/publishing is a heavy use of wall-paper designs (oddly with a number of them repeated throughout the book). I would have been okay with this if the publisher had used some forethought and placed the wall-paper designs on the reverse of the more unique designs. There seems to have been an attempt to do this (at least with the character designs) but about half way through the book, that seemed to mostly disappear.
Because of the way the book was put together, for the most part, I will be using colored pencils. I will be willing to give up most of the wall-paper designs if I prefer to use markers on the reverse page but that will be limited to maybe a third of the designs in the book.
This is what I found while coloring in the book and testing my color medium on the paper.
126 Rogue One inspired Design pages (plus designs on title and copyright pages.)
51 pages are of wall-paper style repeating designs
10 of the Designs spread across two pages
Printed on both sides of page
Paper is medium weight, white, very slightly rough, and perforated
Glue binding
Many designs extend across the perforations, some into the binding. Certainly true of the two-page spreads and removing them from the book will result in loss of design. I was able to break the spine to get into the binding area a bit easier but there are still some issues.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper
Water-based markers either bled through or left colorful shadows on the back of the paper.
Gel pens and India ink pens left anywhere from colorful shadows to indistinct shadows on the back of the page but even at best, where still noticeable.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. I was able to get good, deep pigment. I could layer easily (both same and different colors.) Blending was okay though the tooth of the paper was not optimal. I was able to blend with a pencil style blending stick.

Coloring for Daniel: An Adult Coloring Book for Hope, Strength and Healing

By: Various Artists

Rating: 5 of 5

I recently came across a coloring book by Daniel Savage called, Gnomes. I read about his story and then found that a group of 32 artists (including Mr. Savage’s own 10 year old daughter) had contributed designs to this coloring book in his honor and support.

The artist, Daniel Savage, has been diagnosed with a late stage form of cancer (Stage IV metastatic cancer which is terminal.) Even while he is going through this struggle, he is trying to leave a legacy and provide for his family.
The artists involved in this project are generous with their time and with their talent. All of the proceeds (100%) from this book are being donated to the Mr. Savage’s family. I am thankful that there individuals who will give so much to such a cause. I have coloring books by some of these artists and will certainly be looking at purchasing books by each of them in the future.
There are a wide variety of designs. Some are messages of hope while others show us the usual style of the artist’s designs. In all cases, the designs showcase all of the artists talents.
This is what I discovered when coloring in this book and testing it with my color medium:
32 Various Designs in a coloring book to honor and support Daniel Savage plus four bonus designs by the Mr. Savage’s daughter.
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.

Gnomes: An Adult Coloring Book of Gnomes Throughout Time

By: Daniel Savage

Rating: 5 of 5

I have friends and family who enjoy placing gnomes in their gardens. I even have a couple myself. I wanted to find a coloring book which featured gnomes and this is a great one. When I found this book, I actually found a back story that was extremely touching as well.

The artist, Daniel Savage, has been diagnosed with a late stage form of cancer (Stage IV metastatic cancer which is terminal.) Even while he is going through this struggle, he is trying to leave a legacy and provide for his family. My son passed away at 18 after a battle with leukemia, so I know the struggle and hardship that can descend on a family during a battle with cancer.
That Mr. Savage continues to think of his family and hopes that this book will be part of that legacy is very touching to me. I think about them as I color in the book and hope for the best for all of them.
The designs are very upbeat and fun. There are 32 of them and they are fairly easy to color and have a nice amount of detail.
This is what I discovered when coloring in this book and testing it with my color medium:
32 Gnome inspired designs
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding and have a framing line at the outer edges of each design.
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.

My Fantastic Journey – Adult Coloring Book: Find Inspiration and Relaxation on a Journey to Another World

By: Okami Books

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my first coloring book by artist Alina Marchenko. I own several other books by Okami Books which seems to be a publisher for a variety of artists. I’m pleased to find such a diverse publisher and will be looking for new releases by this company in the future.

The designs in this book are quite detailed and, at times, even intricate, with small areas to color. The designs all have a swirling quality to them as if the ink were flowing in a perpetual motion. Because of the intricacy of the designs, I don’t suggest this book for anyone with fine motor or vision issues. It will be a bit of a challenge for everyone else.
The subject of the designs are generally women, animals, or women with animals (though I did glimpse a gnome as well.) The cover is very indicative of the designs in the book so I was not surprised by the style of the designs. What I was surprised by was the number of designs in this book. It is a very good value to receive 40 different designs and it will provide many hours of coloring enjoyment.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
40 Hand-drawn illustrations of animals and women
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding and have an unusual form of framing line at the outer edges.
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.

Invasion of the Doodle Aliens – Adult Coloring Book: Fun and Relaxation with Aliens from Outer Space

By: Okami Books

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my first coloring book by artist Pedro De Elizalde. I own several other books by Okami Books which seems to be a publisher for a variety of artists. I’m pleased to find such a diverse publisher and will be looking for new releases by this company in the future.

The 40 designs in this book are of doodle creatures. If you are at all familiar with the Doodle books by Zifflin, you may possibly recognize the genre of sketch which involves these little creatures.
In this book, the creatures are overwhelming all in their path. Invasion is a good word for what is going on. From the man sitting and watching a movie (eating popcorn) and covered in the little creatures to the waves being filled with them swimming and surfing to the hand which is (painfully) inundated by ferocious aliens, the little guys are everywhere. It should make great fun to play with various color while coloring each of them.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
40 Designs of Doodle Creatures in an overwhelming invasion
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding.
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.

World of Cats: Adult Coloring Book

By: Cindy Elsharouni

Rating: 5 of 5

I own several coloring books by Cindy Elsharouni which generally have designs of horses and some of dogs. This is the first coloring book I have by this artist which is devoted to cats.

I have a soft spot for cats as I have owned many over the years and was involved with rescue efforts for a number of years as well. Now that all of my cats have passed on, I get my vicarious enjoyment through coloring designs that remind me of them.
There are a variety of breeds in this book I noted American Shorthair, Siamese, Scottish Fold, Persian, and many more. It is lovely to see so much choice to color in one book. Most of the designs of cats are done realistically but there are a few which have various elements added to their body/face so that you can experiment with fun colors.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
42 Cat Designs in Various Breeds (45 including title and intro pages)
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
Most designs do not merge into the binding; however, two designs have slight elements which do merge into the binding.
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.

Psalms in Color: Cards to Color and Share

By: Christian Art Gifts

Rating: 5 of 5

I now have my fourth set of Christian coloring cards by this publisher and each one is better than the last. I especially appreciate this set of 44 cards which are based on verses from the Psalms. The cards in this set are inspired by the coloring pages in their previous coloring book The Psalms in Color. While the cards are similar to the book, the designs have been reduced, cropped, and/or reworked to fit the new format of a smaller card. The verses are all from the Psalms and cites are also listed.

I always go to the Psalms when I need to be reminded that I am to praise God at all times. The Psalmist has expressed both happiness and sadness and still praises God. I can find both comfort and joy in reading through the book. One of my favorites verses was the basis for the late Andra Crouch’s song, Bless the Lord, Oh my Soul. It is a tune that I grew up with and which runs through my mind throughout the day.
While I cannot find translation information on the cards, the coloring book from which they are derived listed the following Bible translations used for the verses are: The Holy Bible NIV, the Holy Bible New Living Translation, the New King James Version and The Holy Bible English Standard Version.
The cards are 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches. Sixteen of the cards are in horizontal format and the rest are vertical. The color is very light ivory (almost a warm white), the texture is slightly smooth on the design side and extremely smooth (probably with a coating) on the reverse blank side. They are a great size for on the go.
While I have colored and given away many cards from the first two sets by the publisher, and plan to do so with my last set as well, the first set of these cards will be for me. After coloring it, I want to carry one around with me daily throughout the month to remind myself to Praise God in All things. I will pick up an additional set to color for friends and family.
The designs are printed fairly small and I found that using my ultra-fine markers, smaller nib gel pens, and hard lead coloring pencils worked the best for me. Some of the cards have very tiny areas to color but that is to be expected with such a small coloring area.
As with the previous sets, none of my various coloring medium bled through this paper. That includes alcohol-based markers, water-based markers, India ink pens, and gel pens. It is a great quality card stock and the cards are well made and printed on it.
My coloring pencils worked well but there wasn’t really enough surface to do much with blending; however, when I tested them, both oil and wax based pencils blended well using a pencil style blending stick.

The Lunar Chronicles Coloring Book

By: Marissa Meyer

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a beautifully illustrated coloring book based on the New York Times Best selling series by Marissa Meyer, The Lunar Chronicles. The designs are by a fan artist, Kathryn Gee. For the most part, the designs represent four of the books in the series (Cinder, Scarlett, Cress, and Winter) though there is one design from Stars Above. The designs wonderfully represent the series which is a great cross of science fiction and fairy tales.

The designs are divided into four sections: The Crew, Allies and Villains, The World of the Lunar Chronicles, and Moments. On the facing page of each design is an excerpt from one of the books or, at the beginning of each section, an interesting note from Ms. Meyer about the process of writing the series.
Each section develops around its theme. In The Crew, there are designs of many characters (and my favorites!), including: Linh Cinder, Emperor Kaito, Iko, Scarlet Benoit, Ze’ev Wolf Kesley, Crescent Moon Cress Darnel, Captain Carswell Thorne, Princess Winter Hayle-Blackburn, and Sir Jacin Clay. The three other sections have additional characters, locations, and scenes from the book. It’s a great representation of the stories for fans of the books.
Additionally, Ms. Meyer tells the fun and interesting story of how the coloring book came to be. I think it is great that Ms. Meyer chose a fan-artist to illustrate the book and the story behind that choice makes the coloring book even more special. There is a special illustration that started the ball rolling on the project. I’ll include that one first in the photos that I upload.
The designs are detailed and will be fun to color. They are not so intricate that they will require special nib pens, markers, etc. but each one will provide hours of coloring time.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium. I will list, in the comments section below, the coloring medium I used to test this book and which I generally use in my coloring projects.
46 Design Pages with quotes from books printed on back of page
Designs printed on one side of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly smooth, and perforated
Sewn Binding
You can remove pages from the book at the perforations but I don’t plan to do so as it will break the continuity of the story included.
While most designs stop short of the perforations, some designs are printed across the perforations and into the binding area.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper. Rather than remove pages from the book, I use card stock as a blotter when using this medium. It will soak through the design page but the card stock stops it from bleeding through and damaging the page below.
Water-based markers, India ink and gel pens do not bleed through or leave shadows on the back of the page.
Colored Pencils work well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax-base pencils and got good results with both. My tests were for pigment lay down, layering the same color, layering multiple colors, and blending using a pencil style blending stick.

Proverbs in Color: Cards to Color and Share

By: Christian Art Gifts

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my third in the series of Christian coloring cards by this publisher. The 44 cards are inspired by the coloring pages in their previous coloring book A Garland of Grace. While the cards are similar to the book, the designs have been reduced, cropped, and/or slightly reworked to fit the new format of a smaller card. All of the cards have quotes and cites to the Proverbs.
For me, the Proverbs are one of the first books in the Bible I search out when I am trying to learn how I should be living my life. There are life lessons to be learned from each quote and sometimes I find them easy and sometimes I find it more difficult even though I know they are right.

While I cannot find translation information on the cards, the coloring book from which they are derived listed the following Bible translations used for the verses are: Holy Bible, New International Version NIV, Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Holy Bible, Contemporary English Version, and Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
The cards are 3 1/8 x 4 1/8 inches. Eight of the cards are in horizontal format and the rest are vertical. The color is very light ivory (almost a warm white), the texture is slightly smooth on the design side and extremely smooth (probably with a coating) on the reverse blank side. They are a great size for on the go.
I found, with my prior sets, that they worked wonderfully at Home Group as both women and men enjoyed finished the evening coloring a card. I also enjoy dropping them in as a small gift with other items as well as coloring them and using them as gift cards or a special pick-me-up gift for my friends and family. It’s so nice that at this wonderful value, I can purchase sets over again when I run out.
The designs are printed fairly small and I found that using my ultra-fine markers, smaller nib gel pens, and hard lead coloring pencils worked the best for me. Some of the cards have very tiny areas to color but that is to be expected with such a small coloring area.
As with the previous sets, not one of of my coloring medium bled through this paper. That includes alcohol-based markers, water-based markers, India ink pens, and gel pens. That makes it some of the best coloring card stock I have used.
My coloring pencils worked well but there wasn’t really enough surface to do much with blending; however, when I tested them, both oil and wax based pencils blended well using a pencil style blending stick.