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Color My Art: Japanese Girl: Grayscale & Underpainting Coloring Book

By: Ikuko

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a lovely set of designs based on the artwork of Ikuko. The designs are grayscale images of young Japanese girls. The girls are mostly dressed in traditional costumes though there are a couple which have modern outfits. I had never seen this artist’s work before so the beauty of the designs was new to me.

There are 22 unique designs in this book and there is a duplicate set of 22. While the images are the same, the first set of designs are printed grayscale on white paper and the second set is printed grayscale on black paper. The designs are moderately detailed and should be fairly easy for anyone who is familiar with coloring grayscale images.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
22 Unique and original Grayscale designs of Japanese girls based on the artwork of Ikuko. There are two sets of the designs for a total of 44 coloring pages.
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality used by CreateSpace: thin, slightly rough and non-perforated. One set of designs is printed on white paper while the second set is printed on black paper.
Some designs extend into the binding but most do not.
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly
Water-based markers bleed through in spots and can pill the paper if too many layers are attempted.
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; however, some of the darker areas of the designs had a tendency to smear using this type of blender. I found that liquid forms (Gamsol or mineral spirits) did a better job. This doesn’t bother me as I generally do not use a blender on grayscale designs. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils (like Verithins) 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.

Santa’s Christmas: Grayscale Adult Coloring Book

By: Ruth Sanderson

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a wonderful Christmas-inspired grayscale coloring book with 24 unique designs. The designs are based mostly on Ruth Sanderson’s The Night Before Christmas illustrated book. There are a few additional images as well. The designs are so well done, I looked for the regular storybook and was unable to find it but I will continue to look.

The grayscale in Ms. Sanderson’s books are very well done. She also gives hints on how-to do grayscale at the beginning of her book. While the product description says that this book is not suitable for markers, I have found that I can use alcohol-based markers provided I use a blotter (see below) though some water-based markers if you continue to layer with them.
The story the designs tell follows Santa from his workshop to his visit and to his flying away. You can almost hear him shouting Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night as you flip through the final pages.
There are 24 designs in this book and, as Ms. Sanderson has done in the past, there are 12 bonus pages that are duplicates of half of the original designs in the coloring book. In previous books, the grayscale in the bonus area was done in a darker format; however, in this book, the images appear to be the same as the originals.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
24 Grayscale designs plus 12 bonus designs based mostly on The Night Before Christmas plus designs from Lenox collector’s plates.
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality used by CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not extend into the binding area. The designs have a framing line at the outer edges
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly
Water-based markers bleed through in spots and can pill the paper if too many layers are attempted.
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; however, some of the darker areas of the designs had a tendency to smear using this type of blender. I found that liquid forms (Gamsol or mineral spirits) did a better job. This doesn’t bother me as I generally do not use a blender on grayscale designs. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils (like Verithins) 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.

Norse Mythology: An Adult Coloring Book with Fun, Beautiful, and Relaxing Coloring Pages

By: Jade Summer

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really interesting coloring book of Norse Mythology designs. Usually, Jade Summer books are focused on females; however, in this book, there is a full range of mythological characters including many men and some creatures.

The designs have a very realistic look to them rather than a comic character type feel. The names of each character is included in the design. It is incorporated so well, it becomes part of the design and creates almost a storybook type feel to the entire book. There is a definite use of shading and cross hatching throughout which give the designs an almost sketch-like feel but leaves them still fairly easy to color.
The designs are quite detailed and will take time to finish. While the designs have backgrounds, some are much more elaborate than others. The overall designs are not what I consider intricate as the elements to color do not require special small nib pens/markers. I am able to use a wide variety of coloring medium on these designs.
While you can have access to .PDFs when you purchase this book, my review is based on the book as it is received from Amazon. That way you will know what the pages look like and how they accept color. I like that the publisher provides the digital version as well so you can choose the paper you wish to use and/or to color the pictures as many times as you choose.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium:
30 unique designs (2 copies of each) based on Norse Mythology
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated. The back of the page is printed black.
The designs do not merge into the binding. There is a heavy framing line at the outer edges of the design to give the project a more finished look, especially for framing. There is a slight shadowing effect to the framing line which gives the image an almost 3D effect.
Glue Binding (there is room to cut the pages out if you choose to do so.)
Though you cannot see the bleed-through easily due to the back of the page being printed in black, I recommend the use of a blotter page when working in this 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.
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.

Carousel: a Coloring Jones coloring book for adults: featuring the horses, menagerie animals and design motifs of classic American merry-go-rounds (Coloring Jones coloring books)

By: David Palmer

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a lovely little carousel inspired coloring book. While most of the line art designs in the book are of carousel animals, some are highlights of other parts of a carousel. I grew up near the Santa Monica Pier and was delighted to find that it was featured in this book.

The designs are open and fairly easy to color with lots of room for blending. An unusual feature of the coloring book is that there is a blotter page behind each design page. I’ve found that while it is enough to stop most water-based markers from leaking through (two pages), it is not enough to stop alcohol-based markers. I suggest using extra pages or a heavy duty page such as card stock behind your working page. The extra page is still very nice to use for testing color schemes, etc.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
20 carousel inspired designs in a smaller format book (8.5 x 8 inches)
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
Designs do not merge into the binding and there is plenty of room to cut out pages if you choose to do so. A cutting line is provided as a guide
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.

Adult Coloring Book: Dragon Life: Dragons and Dragon Masters in Fantasy Realms 35+ Original Illustrations

By: Nathaniel Wake

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a revised version of the Nathaniel Wake Dragon Life coloring book. From what I understand, the original version coloring book may have included illustrations which, unknowing to the publishers of Nathaniel Wake) were copyright infringing.

My review is also newly revised though the date may point to the original book. Any images I include in this review are from the newly revised book. I discarded my originals and contacted Amazon receive the purchase price back which I promptly invested in the new books. It may be a bit confusing as some of the earlier reviews will still reference 50 designs and/or show fully colored images from them. I do wish the publisher had made the original listing out of print and started fresh with a new page with new reviews to avoid this type of confusion.
This is a great book of Dragon illustrations. The dragons are shown in their terrible glory. Sometimes by themselves and sometimes with a friend (especially those ladies who seem to love them some dragons!) The designs are definitely detailed and some have intricate and smaller areas to color. Some designs have heavier black use than others.
A word about companies like Nathaniel Wake. This is a publishing company and not an artist. They contract artists from outside sources but present it under an umbrella name that infers a single artist. As such, the real artist of any book with content and style may differ wildly from any others under the same Nathaniel Wake name.
This is what I found in this coloring book:
35 new Dragon Designs are included with some fun samples from other books
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality by CreateSpace printing: white front with black back, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated. With the newly revised books, the publishers have chosen to use black on the back of the page to prevent bleed-though. It does not prevent it but it does mask it see more about this under tested media below.
The designs do not merge into the binding. None of the designs have frame so all edges are left open with unfinished elements
Glue Binding
CreateSpace Print Paper with tested Media.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly to blotter page though not noticeable on the back backing.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots to the blotter page.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows shadows cannot be seen on the back of the page as it is black. India ink can bleed through to the blotter page if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
As I mentioned earlier, the black on the page merely masks the bleed through. If you do not use a blotter with media that bleeds through, you run the risk of ruining the design pages below. 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. Also, remember to change the card stock from design to design so you don’t accidentally start pulling up an old color through the page of the new design.
Coloring Pencils work fairly well with this publisher’s paper provided you don’t press extremely hard while coloring. I find that I can layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. This is true of both oil and wax based pencils. I have also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.

Sirena : Colorful Dream of Mermaids and Seashells – Artist Edition Adult Coloring Book + 1 mini poster, spiral bound, single sided, perforated pages, toothy paper

By: Mardel Rubio

Rating: 5 of 5

I will include both a silent flip-through video of the entire book as well as some sample photos so you can see if this coloring book will suit your needs.

I am a fan of Mardel Rubio’s coloring designs. In this coloring book, he has left behind his doodle creatures and presents beautiful mermaids as Sirens of the sea. His mermaids has a slight Asian flair to them, not only in looks but in the clothing and accoutrements which surround them. The designs are detailed and some have intricate and small areas to color.
While most of the designs are of mermaids, there are some merman designs included as well. Most of the pages are black line designs on white; however, some have black printed backgrounds. There is a fairly heavy use of black on some designs (especially on the hair of the mermaids). You are still able to color the hair as you wish; however the accent color will be black.
This coloring book has been published in a format that sets a high bar for other publishers to emulate. Not only is the paper a good heavy weight, it also has great tooth, is printed one-sided, has excellent perforations and, best of all, has a covered spiral binding that makes opening and laying this book flat a breeze.
This is what I found in coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper
41 Mermaid designs including one poster page that is a double size fold-out page.
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is white, medium/heavy weight, rough with excellent tooth and perforated pages
Binding is spiral with the cover protecting the spiral.
The book lays flat in the open position for ease of coloring.
The designs stop short of the perforations and removing pages is very easy if you wish to do so. There are unfinished elements at all edges of the page
Alcohol based markers bleed through this paper. If you use this coloring medium, I highly suggest that you either remove pages before coloring, or as I do, use card stock or several sheets of paper as a blotter below the working page. That will keep the pages or the surface below from being marred.
Water based markers, India ink pens and gel pens do not bleed through the paper though some left the slight shadow of the back of the page.
Coloring pencils extremely worked well. The paper is definitely rough to the touch and has excellent tooth for pencils. Both oil and wax based pencils worked very well for providing good pigment. I was able to layer the same color for deeper tones, layer multiple colors and to blend easily using a pencil style blending stick as well as wet blending medium for excellent results.

Beautiful Birds and Treetop Treasures (A Millie Marotta Adult Coloring Book)

By: Millie Marotta

Rating: 5 of 5

I own all of Millie Marotta’s previous animal theme coloring books and some of her postcard books as well. In Beautiful Birds Ms. Marotta has focusing first and foremost on various Birds but does include an interesting number of other animals which favor living in trees. At the end of the book, there is a listing of the birds and animals (in page order) with both their common name and their Latin name.

As with all of her coloring books, the designs are detailed without being intricate. The illustrations are beautifully done. There are a number of designs that cross over the binding and, in my copy, they line up well but it is difficult to get into the binding area to color. Some of the designs are done twice on the left side with lots of detail and then again on the right side (facing each other) with limited detail. That way, you can do a lot more blending and shading work, making the design your own.
The book is in the larger square format at 9 7/8 x 9 7/8 x .5 inches as are the other books in Ms. Marotta’s series. The book cover is very pretty. It has touches of color and gold foil on the front of the cover. You could certainly color the remainder of the design if you so choose. The inside of the covers are plain white and very slick to the touch.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium:
Designs are printed on both sides of the page
Some designs merge into the binding and some spread across the binding for a two-page design.
Paper is white, heavyweight, slight rough and non-perforated.
Sewn Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper easily.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens leave extremely light shadows on the back of the page, especially dark and very bright colors.
My coloring pencils did the best of the various medium, with the exception of Pablo and Irojiten pencils. Most pencils went on well and blended well. I tested both oil and wax based pencils and could layer and blend easily using a blender stick. The Pablo and the Irojiten did well with everything but blending with a stick. I found that wet blending medium worked better for those two brands.

Fantasy Coloring Adventure: A Magical World of Fantasy Creatures, Enchanted Animals, and Whimsical Scenes

By: Jade Summer

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a new Fantasy/Fairy Tale theme coloring book by Jade Summer. This is a coloring book of 40 different designs (note there are no duplicates included as in previous Jade Summer coloring books.)

These designs detailed and some have intricate and small areas to color. The theme of fantasy is stretched to include fairy tales as well. There are mermaids, witches, wizards, fairies, dragons, castles, princes and princesses and many more.
While you can have access to .PDFs when you purchase this book, my review is based on the book as it is received from Amazon. That way you will know what the pages look like and how they accept color. I like that the publisher provides the digital version as well so you can choose the paper you wish to use and/or to color the pictures as many times as you choose.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium:
40 Different Fantasy/Fairy Tale inspired designs.
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated. The back of the page is printed black.
The designs do not merge into the binding. There is a heavy framing line at the outer edges of the design to give the project a more finished look, especially for framing. There is a slight shadowing effect to the framing line which gives the image an almost 3D effect.
Glue Binding (there is room to cut the pages out if you choose to do so.)
Though you cannot see the bleed-through easily due to the back of the page being printed in black, I recommend the use of a blotter page when working in this 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.
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.

Creative Haven Audubon Birds Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Patricia J. Wynne

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a coloring book of line drawings based on the realistic and scientifically accurate bird artwork of John James Audubon (1785-1851). There is a wonderful level of detail included in the designs rendered by illustrator Patricia J. Wynne.

I have many coloring book which have doodle style birds, so I am thrilled to now have one that is realistically rendered and includes many types of birds, such as: the white pelican, titmouse, great horned owl, condor and more. There are also images of several extinct species including the great auk, Carolina parakeet and passenger pigeon.
The drawings are detailed and some have intricate and small areas to color. That is to be expected in designs which so realistically represent nature.
I noticed that the feel of the paper is slightly smoother than some of the Creative Haven books I have received recently. It also appears to be slightly thinner as I can vaguely see some of the from the design below.
I’ve noticed that the paper seems to change quite frequently on these books. Because of that, if you buy one of these books, it may be slightly smooth or slightly rough depending on when and where it was printed. Colored pencils still work well with the slightly smoother paper (see below.)
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.
31 line drawing designs which are based on the bird artwork of John James Audubon
The designs are printed one side of the page
Paper is the usual Creative Haven quality: white, medium weight, slightly smooth and has perforated pages.
Glue Binding but with perforated pages so removing a page is fairly simple.
The designs stop well before the perforations. The designs have a variety of styles of framing lines at their outer edges.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers bleed through in spots (somewhat heavier than with previous paper in the Creative Have line) and show colorful 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 apply more than one layer of ink.
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. I was able to get good pigment (color) lay down, layer the same color and multiple colors and to blend easily using a pencil style blender. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils with similar results. Hard lead pencils, like Verithins, leave dents on the back of the page.
I suggest either removing pages from the book to color or using a blotter page under your working page. I like card stock as it keeps ink from seeping through and damaging the pages below.

Posh Adult Coloring Book: Inspired by Nature (Posh Coloring Books)

By: Marjolein Bastin

Rating: 5 of 5

Attached to this review will be my silent video which will show all of the pages of the book, both the designs and the photos. I will also upload a few pages in photos as well.

This is a beautiful book of designs based on artwork by Marjolein Bastin. The book is published by Posh (who also publish the Thomas Kinkade coloring books) and this one follows the same format as the Kinkade, that is, a line drawing to the right and a matte color photo of the design to the left. The size of the book is the same (smaller than most coloring books) as is the texture of the paper. What is different is that the line drawings are in a variety of colors from yellow to green to blue to purple and more. Each design is done in a single color. The line work is delicately done and somewhat difficult to see and the colored lines do not seem to show through when I am coloring in the book.
I have loved Marjolein Bastin’s artwork for years. I buy her calendars, gift cards, and other household decorated items. I have loved cross stitching her designs, many of which seem to be represented in this book. It is a real thrill to be able to color designs based on her nature work.
The designs are beautiful but lack details so that my finished projects will look quite different from the originals. However, I do get to enjoy Ms. Bastin’s exquisite nature studies while I am coloring. I plan to purchase a second copy of this book to keep just for the colored designs. My coloring medium generally shows through and mars the photo images, so I will want the second book just to enjoy a book of her work.
I could wish for (at least) two other books in the future. I would love to see a book of Vera Mouse designs and I also would love to see a larger format book of grayscale coloring based on Ms. Bastin’s work. That would be a great way of getting all the detail in a coloring book which is inherently difficult with a coloring book of line drawings.
The designs are printed on the right hand side of with the photo of the actual painting on the left hand side (i.e., opposite each other in the book.)
Here is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my medium:
63 Marjolein Bastin nature designs with 63 color photos as well
Designs printed on one side of the page with a photo on the back of the page.
Paper is bright white, very slightly rough, non-perforated and medium weight. Line drawings are printed in a wide variety of colors (one color per design.)
Designs stop before the binding area and do not leave elements dangling unfinished
Sewn Binding
Pages can be cut out without loss of designs or binding threads shipped to remove more than one page at a time. I don’t plan to do so as I want to keep the continuity of the colored picture and design together.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper
Water-based markers leave shadows of color (with some spotting through) on the back of the page except for the brush end of Tombows which did not leak through.
India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page
Gel pens do not bleed through
Colored pencils work well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based pencils and was able to get good results from both. I got good pigment (especially with multiple layers of the same color.) I was able to layer different colors and to blend easily using a blending stick.
If you decide to use markers, you will probably have some amount of bleed-through onto the back of the page. I recommend using a heavyweight sheet of paper or card stock below your working page. That will keep ink from damaging the next design below but they will mar the colored picture on the back of the page.