Author Archives: Iiiireader

Natural Wonders | Color Art for Everyone – Leisure Arts (6704)

By: Leisure Arts

Rating: 5 of 5

This is an adult coloring book filled with gorgeous flower and animal designs. Some of the designs are of flowers or leaves by themselves, some are a mixture and at least one is of an insect in a repetitious pattern. The designs are all supplied by GMC Designs/Shutterstock, Inc. I don’t know if that means there are various designers within those companies or not, but there isn’t a specific artist mentioned.

There are 24 different designs. I really enjoyed the look of the mushroom design as well as several that are of leaf patterns. I noticed butterflies, owls, cactus, mushrooms, and many other lovely details that will be fun to color. The design of the dragonflies is stunning and highly imaginative. I will love adding color to this one and it will be my first project in the book.

The paper weight is nice and heavy – very much a feeling of premium grade paper. The designs are printed on one side of the page (with the back side blank.) The pages are all micro-perforated so removing them from the book will be easy. The print quality of the design is excellent. Interestingly, some of the designs are printed with a heavy ink tone and a lighter, more subtle tone at the same time. I will keep my magnifying lamp handy as some elements of a number of the designs are small and intricate.

I have had some bleed through of color with my markers and gel pens. Not as much as with some other brands but certainly enough that I would either remove the page from the book or put some freezer paper or heavy card stock between the pages while I am working.

At the front of the book there is a section on understanding colors. There is a color wheel that explains primary, secondary, and tertiary colors and how they are made. It also explains Warm and Cool colors and gives examples of how they can be used within their family or with a mix (Warm Colors, Cool Colors, Warm Colors with Cool Accent, Cool Colors with Warm Accents, Tints and Shades of Red, Tings and Shades of Blue, Analogous Colors, Complementary Colors, and Split Complementary Colors.) This is a wonderful addition to a coloring book as it gives a lot of information for beginners and gives examples in actual color.

Living Wonders | Color Art for Everyone – Leisure Arts (6705)

By: Leisure Arts

Rating: 5 of 5

This is an adult coloring book filled with gorgeous animal designs. Some of the designs are of a single animals (with lots of fun and flowing details for coloring) and a lot of them offer a montage of animals in a beautiful pattern. The designs are all supplied by GMC Designs/Shutterstock, Inc. I don’t know if that means there are various designers within those companies or not, but there isn’t a specific artist mentioned.

There are 24 different designs. I like many of the designs but a couple (the fox in the forest, the single owl and the koi fish) leaped out at me to color first. The paper weight is nice and heavy – very much a feeling of premium grade paper. The designs are printed on one side of the page (with the back side blank.) The pages are all micro-perforated so removing them from the book will be easy. The print quality of the design is excellent. Interestingly, some of the designs are printed with a heavy ink tone and a lighter, more subtle tone at the same time. It is definitely not a problem with printing but rather part of the design. I will keep my magnifying lamp handy as some elements of a number of the designs are small and intricate.

I have had some bleed through of color with my markers and gel pens. Not as much as with some other brands but certainly enough that I would either remove the page from the book or put some freezer paper or heavy card stock between the pages while I am working.

At the front of the book there is a section on understanding colors. There is a color wheel that explains primary, secondary, and tertiary colors and how they are made. It also explains Warm and Cool colors and gives examples of how they can be used within their family or with a mix (Warm Colors, Cool Colors, Warm Colors with Cool Accent, Cool Colors with Warm Accents, Tints and Shades of Red, Tings and Shades of Blue, Analogous Colors, Complementary Colors, and Split Complementary Colors.) This is a wonderful addition to a coloring book as it gives a lot of information for beginners and gives examples in actual color.

Kaleidoscope Wonders | Color Art for Everyone – Leisure Arts (6707)

By: Leisure Arts

Rating: 5 of 5

This adult color book lives up to its name, “Kaleidoscope Wonders – Color Art for Everyone.” The images are very reminiscent of that which I would see through a kaleidoscope when I was a child. I remember that magical feeling of shifting and changing the patterns and the colors and now I can have a similar feeling as I color the various designs in this book. The designs are all supplied by GMC Designs/Shutterstock, Inc. I don’t know if that means there are various designers within those companies or not, but there isn’t a specific artist mentioned.

There are 24 designs, which each of them having a kind of repetitious look – some with centered designs and others with the patterns at a slightly off-angle. Most of the designs are either flowing patterns or flowers but there are also designs that incorporate butterflies, tea cups, sea shells, and hearts. The paper weight is nice and heavy – very much a feeling of premium grade paper. The designs are printed on one side of the page (with the back side blank.) The pages are all micro-perforated so removing them from the book will be easy. The print quality of the design is excellent. I will keep my magnifying lamp handy as some elements of a few of the designs are small and intricate but for the most part, I will not need to use my lamp.

I have had some bleed through of color with my markers and gel pens. Not as much as with some other brands but certainly enough that I would either remove the page from the book or put some freezer paper or heavy card stock between the pages while I am working.

At the front of the book there is a section on understanding colors. There is a color wheel that explains primary, secondary, and tertiary colors and how they are made. It also explains Warm and Cool colors and gives examples of how they can be used within their family or with a mix (Warm Colors, Cool Colors, Warm Colors with Cool Accent, Cool Colors with Warm Accents, Tints and Shades of Red, Tings and Shades of Blue, Analogous Colors, Complementary Colors, and Split Complementary Colors.) This is a wonderful addition to a coloring book as it gives a lot of information for beginners and gives examples in actual color.

Creative Haven Paisley Mandalas: Designs with a Splash of Color (Adult Coloring)

By: Shala Kerrigan

Rating: 5 of 5

“Paisley Mandalas – Designs With A Splash of Color” is a first for me – I’ve never had an adult coloring book which has pre-printed colors in it. Sometimes, the colors are merely the outlines of the design. Other times, color is filled in as part of the design. It is a new experience for me and one that seems to be okay so far. It certainly reduces the amount of time I spend on some of the designs. Of the two styles, only three are not the outline style.

The designs are by artist Shala Kerrigan and I noted that there is a disclaimer on the back of the book that says that the book was previously published as “Paisley Mandalas Coloring Book.” I don’t know if that issue was done in color or not, but if you have it on your book shelf, you might want to check before ordering this book.

The designs are quite pretty and are large and easy to color. I will not be needing my magnifying lamp for this book. I will need to give a lot more thought to the colors I choose as they will need to work with the pre-printed ones. I must admit that of the two styles, I prefer the outline one. It gives me the opportunity to either compliment or contrast my colors against the outline. The three more extensively colored designs leave a lot less for me to decide on.