Category Archives: Adult Color Books

Creative Haven Fantasy Fashions Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Ming-Ju Sun

Rating: 5 of 5

I love coloring Ming-Ju Sun’s fashion design coloring books. Whether it be historical in nature or fantasy, such as this, her fashion designs are beautiful and a fun challenge to color. This is a set of all new designs and, to me, there is a distinct modern Asian flair to many of the drawings. The fantasy in these designs are in cut and texture of the intricacy of the fashion prints rather than in some other-worldly sense of fantasy. These are the dresses you might see as an experimental fashion on a runway or being worn by a known trend-setter.

The designs are detailed and most have small and intricate details to color. These intricate areas are generally the detail within the clothing. I’ve found that sharp point pencils and ultra-fine point (or brush end) markers work well for these areas. Each fashion design is surrounded by some form of background (generally flowers) to give a more balanced look to the page.
This is what I experienced when coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
31 beautiful and intricate fantasy fashion designs by Ming-Ju Sun
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is medium weight, white, lightly rough and perforated
Glue bound but pages can be removed easily at perforations.
Designs stop before the perforations. There is a framing line at the outer edges of each design for a more finished look. Some portions of the design extend slightly beyond the framing line for an almost 3D effect.
The book opens fairly flat by creasing/breaking the spine.
Alcohol and water based markers bleed through to some degree
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. Both wax and oil based pencils lay down good color, layer (same and different colors) and blend well using a pencil style blending stick. Hard lead pencils leave dents on the back of the page.
I remove pages or use a blotter page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper to keep ink and dents from marring the pages below.

Adult Coloring Book: Nice Little Town (Volume 1)

By: Tatiana Bogema (Stolova)

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really cute coloring book which is filled with 32 pages of designs of a various places in a little town. It has many designs of shops and it has scenes of the outside of homes as well as scenes which look out into the town from the inside of a home. The drawings all appear to be hand-drawn, which is my favorite style. I decided to do the Hat Shop for my first project and enjoyed using my Polychromos pencils to finish the design.

I also purchased this coloring book in the original version, which was a much smaller book (but contains the same number of designs). That smaller book, because of its size, was intricate and more difficult to color. This book is larger, though still not full size. It is approximately 7 x 10 inches and that makes a world of difference in the intricacy of the details. Each design is still detailed but not nearly as intricate. I actually wish this artist would done the book in standard 8.5 x 11 inches but this is a vast improvement. I still like the smaller book for coloring on the go, but will only use my sharp point pencils with it.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
32 line drawing designs of a cute and scenic little town (including presentation page). Also included are a couple of sample pages from the artist’s other books.
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 area.
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.

Creative Haven Unicorns Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Marty Noble

Rating: 5 of 5

I really enjoy Marty Noble’s coloring book designs and am pleased that she has come out with one with unicorns. While the coloring book is based on a single subject, her treatment makes for a wide variety of designs. Some are flowing and elegant while others have a more stylized look to them. In most designs there is a single unicorn but there are others which involve a beautiful maiden or several unicorns. There are even rectangular shaped unicorn mandalas. Ms. Nobel’s unique style is recognizable in each of these designs.

The designs are detailed (including backgrounds and/or framing.) A few of the designs have small and intricate areas to color. On the whole, I don’t think it is a difficult book to color in due to small shapes. The designs present a nice challenge and have plenty of room to try blending and shading techniques as well as embellishments to the original design(s).
This is what I experienced when coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
31 beautiful and elegant unicorn designs by Marty Noble
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is medium weight, white, lightly rough and perforated
Glue bound but pages can be removed easily at perforations.
Designs stop before the perforations. There is a framing line at the outer edges of each design for a more finished look.
The book opens fairly flat by creasing/breaking the spine.
Alcohol and water based markers bleed through to some degree
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. Both wax and oil based pencils lay down good color, layer (same and different colors) and blend well using a pencil style blending stick. Hard lead pencils leave dents on the back of the page.
I remove pages or use a blotter page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper to keep ink and dents from marring the pages below.

Creative Haven Creative Kittens Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Marjorie Sarnat

Rating: 5 of 5

I own a number of Marjorie Sarnat’s coloring books the first of which was her cute Creative Cats. I’ve gone through a couple of copies of that book and was longing for more cute cat designs from Ms. Sarnat. Creative Kittens is an adorable follow-on to the Cats book. It shows a variety of kittens in cute and playful poses.

It reminds me of the four kittens my husband and I rescued and adopted (we also caught their feral mama and neutered and released her back around our house. The kittens were so playful and fun and I get the same feeling from this coloring book.
As with all of Ms. Sarnat’s coloring books, there is a high level of detail. While there are some small areas to color, I don’t consider the designs to be intricate and hard to color.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.
31 Cute and fun to color kitten designs by Majorie Sarnat
The designs are printed one side of the page
Paper is the usual Creative Haven quality: white, medium weight, slightly rough and has perforated pages.
Glue Binding but with perforated pages so removing a page is fairly simple.
The designs stop well before the perforations and each of the designs has a framing line at the outer edge.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers bleed through in spots 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 and even better than many of the more recent Creative Haven coloring books I have bought. 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.

Edward Gorey: Coloring Book

By: Edward Gorey

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a well made hardback book of 25 pen and ink designs by artist Edward Gorey. The designs range from stand-alone designs to those which were used as illustrations in various books. At the front of the book, there is a full listing of the included designs (1 through 25). For those who are familiar with Mr. Gorey’s work, humorous and sometimes slightly macabre tone is no surprise. He illustrated for many famous authors with his distinctive crosshatched drawings which rely heavily on the use of black.

I was thrilled to find this coloring book. I have been enjoying using The Ghastlies quilting fabric line which is also based on Mr. Gorey’s work and have been wishing for a coloring book as well. Because of his crosshatch style, the designs in this book are quite different from those one usually finds in a coloring book.
Because of the heavy use of black in these designs, I will be treating them, for the most part, as if they were done in grayscale. My preferred method of doing grayscale is to use alcohol-based markers as a basecoat and then to add shading and details with colored pencils. However, I will be careful in using colored pencils as these sometimes give an off-color when placed on top of black.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and using my coloring medium to test the pages:
25 Designs based on the pen and ink, crosshatched artwork of Edward Gorey
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly smooth, and non-perforated
Sewn binding with a thin glossy hard back cover
The book opens flat easily.
There is enough room to remove a page if you wish to do so.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper quite readily
Water-based markers can spot through. The exception was my Tombow brush ends did not spot through even with dark and bright colors.
Gel pens and India ink pens did not bleed through but some gel pens took much longer to dry than usual.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based in several brands. I was able to get light pigment as well as heavy (with multiple layers) and to layer colors and blend well using a pencil style blending stick. My hard lead pencils were good color as well with crisp lines and did not dent through the page.

Kawaii Girls: An Adult Coloring Book with Adorable Manga Girls and Cute Fantasy Scenes

By: Jade Summer

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really cute coloring book of Kawaii girl designs by Jade Summer. There are 30 different designs (with 2 copies of each design for a total of 60 coloring pages.) The designs are quite detailed and some contain small areas to color. The designs; however, are not what I consider intricate and difficult to color.

The word Kawaii is Japanese for cute. The girls in this book are definitely cute and have a kind of manga style about them. They are more mature than the girls in Jade Summer’s Chibi Girls coloring books but still have large eyes and lots of fun personality. There are so many girls in different scenarios, including: princess, witch, mermaid, scientist, Native American, school girl, angel and much 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:
30 x 2 each cute Manga style Kawaii girl designs for a total of 60 coloring pages
Designs are printed on one side of the page
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.
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.

Molly Hashimoto’s Birds: Coloring Book

By: Molly Hashimoto

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a coloring book of 22 bird designs based on the artwork of artist Molly Hashimoto. The drawings are uncolored block prints which have big, bold black lines. The designs are quite bold in concept with the birds as the main focus but with full backgrounds as well.

Included on the inside of the front and back covers are full color thumbnails of all of the original artwork. The title of each design is listed not only on its page but also on a contents page at the beginning of the book. The contents page also gives the size of the original artwork, the medium in which it was done and also the date it was finished.
The designs are easy to color but with a heavy use of black which is very prominent due to the nature of block prints. I prefer to use my markers with this style of design and accent it with colored pencils. I find that some shades of pencil are apt to be seen on top of the black as a grayish tone if I accidentally color over it.
This is what I experienced in coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
22 line drawing designs derived from the unpainted block print artwork of Molly Hashmimoto
Designs are printed on one side of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough to the touch and non-perforated
The designs are bound by two heavyweight staples which can be removed to release all of the page from the book without any loss of design.
Designs do not merge into the binding area and have a distinct finished edge which acts as a frame and an ending point for coloring.
Pages can be cut out if you wish without losing any design elements.
Book easily opens to a flat position for coloring.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper easily.
Water-based markers leave shadows and slight spots of color bleed through on the back of the page
If I use any style of marker, I also make sure to use a blotter under my working page. I like card stock but a couple of sheets of heavyweight paper works well, too.
Gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through the page. Some gel pens require slightly more drying time than usual.
Colored pencils work well with the paper. It has a slight roughness to it that allows good pigment coverage from both oil and wax based pencils. I was able to layer the same and multiple colors well and could blend easily using a pencil style blending stick. As I mentioned previously, some colors look gray if they are used on top the heavy use of black in the designs.

Jill Mayberg’s Animal Friends: Coloring Book

By: Jill Mayberg

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a coloring book of 22 animal designs by artist Jill Mayberg. One of my favorite styles of coloring designs is folk art. These designs have that vibe. From the blurb in the book, Ms. Mayberg appears to use mixed media in order to create her original artwork, including photographs, drawings, paintings and even cut-outs. The results are charming, both in the original artwork and in the coloring book designs.

Included on the inside of the front and back covers are full color thumbnails of all of the original artwork. The title of each design is listed not only on its page but also on a contents page at the beginning of the book. The contents page also gives the size of the original artwork, the date it was finished and that it was done in mixed media. No further detail is provided as to which media was used.
The designs are open and easy to color. While some designs contain small areas to color, I don’t consider the artwork to be intricate and difficult to color.
This is what I experienced in coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
22 folk art style animal designs derived from the artwork of Jill Mayberg
Designs are printed on one side of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough to the touch and non-perforated
The designs are bound by two heavyweight staples which can be removed to release all of the page from the book without any loss of design.
Designs do not merge into the binding area and have a framing line at their outer edges.
Pages can be cut out if you wish without losing any design elements.
Book easily opens to a flat position for coloring.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper easily.
Water-based markers leave shadows and slight spots of color bleed through on the back of the page
If I use any style of marker, I also make sure to use a blotter under my working page. I like card stock but a couple of sheets of heavyweight paper works well, too.
Gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through the page. Some gel pens require slightly more drying time than usual.
Colored pencils work well with the paper. It has a slight roughness to it that allows good pigment coverage from both oil and wax based pencils. I was able to layer the same and multiple colors well and could blend easily using a pencil style blending stick.

Color Your Own Spider-Man

By: Various

Rating: 5 of 5

I will attach a silent video to this review of a page by page flip-through so you can decide for yourself if it suits your needs. I’ll also attach some sample photos of the pages as well.

In this latest coloring book by Marvel in their Color Your Own series, Spider-Man is the character whose comic series is highlighted. The coloring book contains the associated characters from the series that I would hope to see. There are also mock-up pages from the front of comic books and even pages which include dialog boxes.
The designs are highly detailed with small and intricate areas to color. The designs are done by a large group of individuals. Interestingly, though there are many different styles represented, the book is still a great cohesive presentation of the series. There is a heavy use of black in the designs which doesn’t bother me but may be an issue for others.
This is what I found while coloring in the book and testing the paper with my coloring medium:
59 designs based on the comic Spider-Man
Printed one side of the page
Paper is white, medium weight, slightly rough and perforated
Glue Binding
The designs stop at the perforations
Alcohol and water based markers bleed through the paper to some degree
Gel pens and India ink pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page
Colored pencils work well with the paper. I tested both oil and wax based with good results. I could get good pigment due to the rough tooth of the paper. I could layer the same and multiple colors easily and blend well using a pencil style blending stick. Hard lead pencils can leave dents through the paper.
I use and suggest others use a blotter page behind the working page (if you don’t remove pages from the book to color.) I use card stock but a couple of sheets of heavy weight paper work well, too.

Vincent Van Gogh (Art Colouring Book): Make Your Own Art Masterpiece (Colouring Books)

By: Daisy Seal

Rating: 5 of 5

This is one of a new series of Make Your Own Art Masterpiece coloring books from Flame Tree. In this coloring book, the artwork of Vincent Van Gogh is explored. The designs in this book have a lot of detail which can be sometimes intimidating. In this book, some of detail lines suggest areas for shading.

There are 45 line drawing designs to color. The designs were chosen by Daisy Seal and were illustrated by David Jones. The designs cover a good range of Van Gogh’s artwork. It’s amazing to think that such a wonderful and popular artist only sold one painting during his lifetime.
On the opposite facing page of each design, is the name of the work, when it was created and how it was published. There is a thumbnail of a small portion of the design with some color showing.
The inside flaps at the front and back of the book have black and white line drawings which can be colored as well. The cover is quite smooth but will accept various forms of color medium.
This is what I found in coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper
45 Designs based on the artwork of artist Vincent Van Gogh.
Designs are printed on one side of the page
Paper is light ivory, heavy weight, slightly rough and is perforated.
Sewn Binding. You can remove pages at the perforations if you wish but it will separate the designs from the describing thumbnails.
Book fairly easy to lay flat in the open position.
The designs do not merge into the binding area. The designs have framing lines at their outer edges so you don’t have to color up to and over the edges.
Alcohol based markers bleed through this paper.
India ink pens can leave slight shadows of color on the back of the page.
Water based markers and gel pens do not bleed through the paper.
Coloring pencils worked well. Both oil and wax based pencils worked well for providing good pigment. Though the paper is slightly smooth, I was able to layer the same color for deeper tones, layer multiple colors and to blend easily using a pencil style blending stick.
If you use a medium that bleeds through the paper, I suggest using a blotter page under your working page. I use card stock but heavy weight paper works well, too. This will keep ink from seeping through and marring the pages below.