Category Archives: Adult Color Books

Another fun book in the Color Me series 78 Designs printed on one side of paper

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Iiiireader

Color Me Fearless: Nearly 100 Coloring Templates to Boost Strength and Courage (A Zen Coloring Book)

By: Lacy Mucklow

Rating: 5 of 5

Color Me Fearless is my first full-size coloring book in this series. I have a couple of the books in the portable size and have enjoyed them, so I thought it time to pick up the larger format book. The book has many different styles of designs. Of the 78 designs in the book, 33 are mandalas or mandala style designs. The designs have many intricate and small details and may take using sharp pointed coloring pencils or small nib pens to color.

The book has seven chapters: Courage, Strength, Resilience, Confidence, Power, Adventure, and Freedom. The designs in each chapter is supposed to be symbolic of the title. I get it with some of the designs but others are a bit less obvious and I don’t relate them to the title of the chapter. That doesn’t bother me as I want to enjoy the book for the coloring opportunities first and foremost. While the subtitle of the book states there are nearly 100 designs, I only count 78. There are additional partially colored designs and some blank pages (as well as the patterns on the back of the designs) but I think that there was a bit of stretch in rounding the number up to 100.

The designs are printed on one side of non-perforated paper that is a nice weight. The binding is sewn rather than glued, so you can remove a few pages at a time by snipping a few threads. That may be a choice (especially for those who are left-handed) as this is a fairly thick book. I can get to the book to lay flat enough for my purposes as the designs all stop well before the binding edge. All of the designs have either finished elements at the sides or have a framing line around the entire design. This provides a natural stopping point, saving me time, ink, and frustration. I always appreciate it when an artist adds this to their designs.

All of my alcohol-based markers bled through this paper easily. All of my water-based markers, gel pens and India ink artist pens left a color shadow to varying degrees on the back of the page. My gel pens did not require more than the usual drying time. My coloring pencils worked very well with the paper and according to their brand and type. My soft lead pencils were easily blended and went on fairly thick without too much pressure. My hard lead pencils did not leave indents on the back of the page. If I choose to use anything other than pencils with this coloring book, I will use a blotter page of card stock to keep the ink from seeping through my working page and ruining the designs below.

These are the coloring medium that I use for testing. If there is something else you feel I should be testing, please let me know and I will see if I can add it to my growing pile:

Markers: 1) alcohol-based Copic Sketch, Prismacolor double ended markers (brush and fine point), Sharpies (fine and ultra-fine) Bic Mark-its (fine and ultra-fine) and 2) water-based Tombows dual end markers (brush and fine point), Stabilo 88, Staedler triplus fineliners, and Pentel markers

India Ink: Faber Castell PITT artist pens (brush tip)

Gel Pens: Sakura, Fiskars, Uni-ball Signo in the following sizes – 0.28/0.38/0.5/1.0 and Tekwriter

Coloring Pencils: Prismacolor Premier Soft Core, Derwent Colorsoft, Prismacolor Verithins, and Faber-Castel Polychromos

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Another great coloring book in the Doodle series by Zifflin printed on one side of non-perforated paper

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Iiiireader

Doodle Chaos: Zifflin’s Coloring Book (Volume 3)

By: Zifflin

Rating: 5 of 5

The Doodle series is a fun set of coloring books that push the envelope on coloring designs. I own Doodle Invasion and Doodle Fusion and have enjoyed coloring the designs by the artists who teamed up with Zifflin on those books. Doodle Chaos has yet another new artist (to me), Irvin Ranada. Once again, the central theme is quirky little characters, animals, and other odd bits and pieces are drawn in such a way as to create another image (I especially like the take on the Statue of Liberty and New York City) or to create a silly or cute vignette (such as the little critters in the gumball machine.) The 32 designs are fun to color as your imagination can take over and you can use any color you wish.

The designs are printed on one side of thin white non-perforated paper. The binding is glued rather than sewn, so you will have to cut pages out if you choose to remove them from the book. Almost all of the designs in the book merge into the binding, so you will lose parts of the design if you remove them from the book. By breaking the spine somewhat, I was able to get the book to lay fairly flat.

All of my markers, India ink art pens, and gel pens leak through this paper to some degree. My coloring pencils work well but the hard lead pencils leave an indent on the back of the page. Because of the paper, I will always use a blotter page (card stock or heavy weight paper) under the page I am working on to keep the following design from being ruined by leaking ink and/or dents from my hard lead pencils. I will list, in the comments section below, the coloring mediums I used to test this coloring book.

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20 Beautiful Coloring Designs with Focus on Scripture printed on one side of page

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Iiiireader

Live Free: An Adult Coloring Book

By: Margaret Feinberg

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the second coloring book by Margaret Feinberg that I have purchased. The first book focused on what God has in store for each of us. This coloring book focuses on what we have been given and how we are to live as believers. It is a beautiful way to sit and meditate on verses that lift me up and remind me of the spiritual abundance that I have. Left to my own thoughts, I can become more pessimistic and discouraged, even while coloring. Coloring generally releases me from the thoughts that cloud my brain. Coloring in a Christian-based coloring book actually fills my thoughts with things that are good and true. This one in particular reminds me of what God has in mind for my life.

The verses in this book are taken from a wide variety of translations. The author additionally gives a good guideline on how you can use the book as part of a devotional exercise.

As with her previous book, the focus of each design is the scripture. The designs in this coloring book are more integrated with the words than the previous one and, while I liked the first book, I like this one even more. The words are once again in cursive, which looks both beautiful and elegant. I have found that a well sharpened coloring pencil is my best way of filling in the words. I prefer a soft lead pencil for this it doesn’t fill in all the nooks and crannies but it gives a beautiful color and emphasis to the words.

The designs in this book are printed on one side of very nice heavyweight white paper. The page facing each design (which is the back side of the preceding page) is a page for a journal. It has a similar thought and feel the quote on the design page and has the verse and the cite listed. You can jot down your thoughts or even simply write down the coloring mediums you used in finishing your design. The pages are not perforated and I don’t believe I will remove pages from the book because of the way the journal pages are set up. I would lose continuity of thoughts, verse, and design by removing pages. The binding is glued rather than sewn. Only one of the designs merge into the binding area though a second one is very close. You can remove pages if you choose to do so by cutting them out but in addition to losing the flow of the book, you may also lose portions at the side of those two designs.

As with the previous book, I think the paper used in this coloring is a good grade. My alcohol-based markers all bled through the paper. My water-based markers did a much better job. My Staedler triplus fineliners and the brush end of my Tombows did not bleed through at all. All other water-based markers (including the fine point end of the Tombows) left a shadow at the back of the page. My India ink artist pens did not bleed through. My gel pens did not bleed through but they did require extra drying time so that they wouldn’t smear on the paper. Extra drying time for gel pens has signified a better grade of paper for me apparently the ink sits on the page rather than being absorbed into and through. My coloring pencils worked well for their type of lead (soft or hard.) Blending worked well with soft and the hard leads did not leave indents on the back of the page. If I decide to use markers, I will use a blotter page of heavier weight paper or card stock to keep ink from seeping into the next design. It will play havoc with the journal page but that is okay with me. In the comments area below I will list the coloring mediums I used to test this coloring book.

I can’t express how thankful I am that Christian publishers are now providing great quality Christian coloring books. I actively look for more these days and am always so happy to find new ones. I like to share these books with friends as a way of reaching out to them. This particular book is set up with a believer in mind and it makes it a great book to own and to give to a friend who is going through a difficult time in life.

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45 Beautiful Botanical Coloring Designs designs printed on one side with floral print on opposite side of page

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Iiiireader

Royal Horticultural Society Floral Colouring Book

By: Royal Horticultural Society

Rating: 5 of 5

When I saw that the Royal Horticultural Society was releasing a floral coloring book, I immediately pre-ordered it without any picture to go by except that of the cover. I love both coloring and gardening, so it seemed to be an opportunity to combine two of my favorite hobbies into one. Thankfully, I was not disappointed. The book contains 45 different floral designs. Each of the designs is based on a floral print and that print is included opposite the page you are coloring on (the backside of the preceding page.) The quality of both the coloring page and the print are excellent. You can use the print as a way to inspire your coloring or do it your own way but still enjoy seeing the flower in a beautiful print as you color. Because of the way the book is set up, I will probably color it from back to front. That way I can see the botanical print clearly without any issues from bleed through (see coloring medium section below.)

The designs are printed on one side of heavyweight non-perforated white paper. The backside of the page is a botanical print bot the design on the following page, i.e., not the one you are coloring. All designs merge into the binding but nothing appears to be lost into the binding. As the binding is sewn rather than glued, it only takes a few snips of thread to be able to remove a few pages of the book at a time. If you cut the pages out, you will lose portions of the design. I was easily able to get the book to lay flat enough to for me have access to all parts of the design. Because of the way this book is published, I will not be removing the pages I want to keep the coloring design in order with the botanical print as published.

Only my various alcohol-based markers bled through this paper. Everything else worked well and did not bleed through or leave a shadow (except my dark purple Stabilo triplus fineliners left a bit of a shadow though I must note that I put this marker on with a fairly heavy hand.) That includes water-based markers, India ink artist pens, and gel pens. Some of my gel pens took a longer drying time. My coloring pencils work fantastic with it with the soft lead pencils going on thick, creamy and easily blendable. My hard lead pencils colored well and did not leave indents on the back of the page. Because of the botanical prints on the backside of the page, I will use my alcohol-based markers with discretion as they will ruin the print. I would use a blotter page under the page I am working on with anything other than pencils to be on the safe side. You never know if one particular color (such as the purple one noted above) will bleed through unexpectedly.

These are the coloring medium that I use for testing. If there is something else you feel I should be testing, please let me know and I will see if I can add it to my growing pile:

India Ink: Faber Castell PITT artist pens (brush tip)

Gel Pens: Sakura, Fiskars, Uni-ball Signo in the following sizes – 0.28/0.38/0.5/1.0 and Tekwriter

Coloring Pencils: Prismacolor Premier Soft Core, Derwent Colorsoft, Prismacolor Verithins, and Faber-Castel Polychromos

Intricate and Beautiful book of Fairy Tales by Tomoko Tashiro Japanese version of the book

Princesses and Fairies Colouring Book (Japanese Edition)

By: Tomoko Tashiro

Rating: 5 of 5

Based on the title, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect given Tomoko Tashiro’s previous book was of fairy tales. It turns out that this is another book of mostly fairy tales. Some of the tales were unfamiliar to me but I loved the artwork regardless of the story. While there is duplication of some of the tales, the artwork is different no duplication of designs. There are 78 pages of designs with most of them spanning across two pages. The designs are intricately and exquisitely drawn and will require a small point coloring medium, a steady hand, good eyesight to color.

The tales included are: Thumbelina, The Frog Prince, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Real Princess (Princess and the Pea), Cinderella, Princess Minon-minette, The Fairies, The Mermaid, The Flying Trunk, The Moon Princess, Tanabata, Many of the words are in English (e.g. the introduction to the designs) along with Japanese. The explanation pages at the beginning and end of the book are in Japanese only.

The book has a removable dust cover. The inside of the dust cover is plain white and the actual book is teal blue with white line drawings on it which can be colored if you wish to do so. The book is printed on both sides of non-perforated paper. Many of the designs span across two pages and the designs merge into the binding. The binding is glued rather than sewn and you will lose portions of some of the designs if you cut the page to remove it from the book. I was not able to get the book to lay flat, so coloring into the binding edge will be problematic. As with her first book, if I could give this book a 4.5, I would do so because of the binding/printing issues. I always round up when I am faced with this issue, thus a 5 star rating.

All of my markers, both water-based and alcohol-based bled through this paper with the exception of the brush tip of my water-based TomBow dual end markers. The fine point edge did bleed through. My India ink artist pens did not bleed through. My gel pens did not bleed through but all of them required a much longer drying period than normal. I especially liked the smaller nib Uni-ball Signo (0.28 and 0.38) for the fine detail on this book. My coloring pencils worked well and performed as expected for the type of lead soft/hard. My soft lead pencils blended well and the hard lead pencils didn’t leave an indent on the back of the page.

These are the coloring medium that I use for testing. If there is something else you feel I should be testing, please let me know and I will see if I can add it to my growing pile:

India Ink: Faber Castell PITT artist pens (brush tip)

Gel Pens: Sakura, Fiskars, Uni-ball Signo in the following sizes – 0.28/0.38/0.5/1.0 and Tekwriter

Coloring Pencils: Prismacolor Premier Soft Core, Derwent Colorsoft, Prismacolor Verithins, and Faber-Castel Polychromos

30 Delicate and Pretty Hand-drawn Mandala Designs printed on one side of page

Mandalas: Hand Drawn Art Coloring Book for Adults Featuring Mandalas and Henna Inspired designs, for Stress Relieving and Relaxation

By: Inbal I. Gaffa

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a coloring book of 30 delicately hand-drawn mandalas. The lines are thin but well printed. I find that when I color one of these designs, I think of airy and open spaces a really lovely way to de-clutter my mind. There are intricate and small areas in a number of the designs but nothing too stressful to color using various choices of coloring medium. There are also open designs that allow for a lot of blending and shadowing techniques if you choose to go that route. I like coloring mandalas and find that hand-drawn ones are especially fun for me. I don’t feel the rigorous need to get my color lines perfect (like that would happen for me, anyway) but, instead, I can make my errors look like part of the design.

All of the designs stop well before the binding. The designs are printed on one side of thin white non-perforated paper that is typical for books published by CreateSpace. The binding is glued but there is plenty of room for you to cut a page out if you choose to do so. In my copy, there is design where the design is ever so slightly cut off on one side. It is something I can easily correct in coloring, so it isn’t an issue for me; however, it is something the publisher may want to correct when they print the book in the future.

All of my markers bleed through and my gel pens either bleed through or leave a distinct shadow on the back of the page. My coloring pencils work well with the paper according to their type though, as usual for CreateSpace, my hard lead pencils are apt to leave an indent on the back on the page. I will use a piece of chipboard or heavy paper behind the page I am working on so I don’t ruin the following page with leaking ink. I will list the coloring medium I used to test this coloring book in the comments section below.

Whenever I purchase a coloring book published by CreateSpace, I know that the quality of paper will be fairly thin. The color of the paper is good and the surface takes pencil well. The trade-off for me is the variety of artists that I have access to through this self-publishing group. If you have any coloring book by this publisher, at this point in time, you will know what type of paper you will have on any future books. While I was given a copy of this book, I purchase a number of CreateSpace published coloring books on a regular basis.

I was provided a free sample of this coloring book for test and review purposes.

Fanciful and Fantastic Animals and Plants brought by Zifflin and artist Irina Vinnik printed on one side of page

Manic Botanic: Zifflin’s Coloring Book

By: Zifflin

Rating: 5 of 5

When I first saw this coloring book on-line, I thought perhaps it was a new book in the Doodle series. I was happy to find out that it is an additional book by a publisher I really enjoy. There is also another Doodle book just published, so getting both books were high on my priority list.

Irina Vinnik has created over fifty wildly imaginative designs which feature at least two of each animal she has hand-drawn into each design. The animals are surrounded by plants and are in natural habitats. In some instances, the animals appear to be the male and the female of the species while in others, they appear to be an adult and a young animal together. That these designs are hand-drawn is simply amazing. I love this look and look forward to the challenge of coloring these designs. The designs feature intricate and small areas to color. I think this is a good book for someone with a steady hand and good eyesight. Some of the animals included are: frogs, rabbits, deer, snails, jellyfish, many types of birds and reptiles and much more.

The designs are printed on one side of thin non-perforated white paper. The binding glued rather than sewn but there is plenty of room between the design and the binding for you to cut a page out if you choose to do so. None of the designs merge into the binding. I truly appreciate that the artist has finished all elements at the edges of these designs and/or put a framing line around the outside. It makes it much easier to finish and have a good looking project as well as saving time, ink, and frustration. I wish more artists would do as Ms. Vinnik has done.

All of my markers, whether water based or alcohol based, fine, ultra-fine, or brush tip bled through the paper. My gel pens and my India ink artist pens left shadows of color on the backside of the page. My coloring pencils worked well for their type (hard or soft lead) with the soft blending well and the hard leaving slight indents on the back side of the page. As the book is printed one side only, it is easy to put a blotter page below the page you are working on. Because of the indents, I strongly recommend using a more sturdy blotter for this book (chipboard, card stock, or a folder) rather than just another sheet of paper.

These are the coloring medium that I use for testing. If there is something else you feel I should be testing, please let me know and I will see if I can add it to my growing pile:

India Ink: Faber Castell PITT artist pens (brush tip)

Gel Pens: Sakura, Fiskars, Uni-ball Signo in the following sizes – 0.28/0.38/0.5/1.0 and Tekwriter

Coloring Pencils: Prismacolor Premier Soft Core, Derwent Colorsoft, Prismacolor Verithins, and Faber-Castel Polychromos

25 Beautiful Fantasy Designs printed on one side of the page

Mystical – A Fantasy Coloring Book: Mystical Creatures For you to Color!

By: Molly Harrison

Rating: 5 of 5

I have most of Molly Harrison’s fantasy coloring books. Most of those of have particular theme (mermaids, fairies, etc.) This coloring book is more of an over-arching fantasy book. It includes among its 25 designs, fairies, dragons, unicorns, mermaids, etc. Many of the designs are more intricate details than not. It makes this book more of a challenge, but a fun one, that will give me a much richer looking final project than some of her previous books.

The designs in this coloring book are printed on one side of the page. The paper is the average CreateSpace thin white paper. The binding is glued rather than sewn. Because none of the designs merge into the binding, it should be fairly easy to cut a page out if you choose to do so. The designs are all surrounded by decorated frames. I really like this because, should I choose to color the background, it will limit the amount of area I will need to color to finish the book of the design. Saves me time and pencil/ink.

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Imaginative

Fantastic Animals: Coloring Book of Fantastic Journey Through Dreams

By: Kuo Chun Hung

Rating: 5 of 5

I bought this book on a whim, without knowing anything about the artists involved and without having the ability to see any of the designs. I was intrigued by the artwork on the cover and was hoping that the designs in the coloring book would measure up to the cover. The great news is that they absolutely did. This is a intricately drawn and imaginative coloring book of animals. While the book attributes the designs to a team of artists, the artwork is so well integrated, I cannot see a distinct difference from page to page as happens all too often with team coloring books. The designs are intricately drawn and may pose some difficulty for anyone with visual or fine motor skill issues. For the colorist who enjoys a challenge and something different, this is a fantastic find.

The smaller format book contains designs of many animals. While a few are set in what seems like natural habitat, most of the designs put the cute little creatures in fun poses (really, a bee riding a bicycle?) There are so many lovely designs, I really want to and plan to color all of them. Most of the designs have part of an on-going story on the backside of the design page. For those, I will feel comfortable using type of coloring medium. For the designs which are printed on both sides, I will stick with soft lead coloring pencils so I don’t ruin the backside of the page.

Most of the designs are printed on one side of thin white non-perforated paper that is typical for books published by CreateSpace. A few of the pages are printed on both sides and there are a couple that span across two pages. Most of the images merge into the binding. As the binding is glued rather than sewn, it may be difficult to remove a page without losing part of the image. I won’t be removing pages from this book.

All of my markers bleed through and my gel pens and India ink artist pens leave a distinct shadow on the back of the page. My coloring pencils work well with the paper but the hard lead pencils leave an indent on the back of the page. I will use a piece of chipboard or heavy paper behind the page I am working on so I don’t ruin the following page with leaking ink. For the pages that are printed double-sided, I can only recommend soft lead pencils.

While I could wish for thicker, perforated paper, it appears that this is the quality that comes from CreateSpace (which is an Amazon company.) What I really like about the CreateSpace is it is a way that independent artists can get their work self-published. That way, I get a huge choice of design styles albeit with not the best paper. This particular book is an excellent example of a new fantastic artistic team whose work I may never have seen but for the ability for them to self-publish.

These are the coloring medium that I use for testing. If there is something else you feel I should be testing, please let me know and I will see if I can add it to my growing pile:

India Ink: Faber Castell PITT artist pens (brush tip)

Gel Pens: Sakura, Fiskars, Uni-ball Signo in the following sizes – 0.28/0.38/0.5/1.0 and Tekwriter

Coloring Pencils: Prismacolor Premier Soft Core, Derwent Colorsoft, Prismacolor Verithins, and Faber-Castel Polychromos

31 Whimsical and Magical Designs to Color printed on one side of the page

Whipped: A Delectable Adult Coloring Book

By: Blue Star Coloring

Rating: 5 of 5

When I find a new (to me) artist in coloring books, I try to do my research on their artwork. When I first saw this book by Rudy Fig, I was able to find a number of examples of her work and was intrigued enough to purchase the book. While much of the artwork I found elsewhere had doll-like young ladies only partially clothed, I was pleased to find that was not the case with this book. It means it gets to be in the G rated pile of coloring books in my house for kids of all ages to color if they wish. Had it been otherwise, it would have been for me alone and possibly difficult to post photos on Amazon.

Having said all of that, I did really like her artwork and I also like the coloring book form. It comes across as fun and magical a land where there are planets that look like kitty cat heads and where little girls have huge doll-like eyes. The designs range from super cute to simply adorable. They call for lots of interesting color combinations which will make for coloring in this book a ton of fun.

The designs in this book are printed on one side of the non-perforated thin white page. Most of the designs stop before the binding; however, I did find six that merged into the binding. The binding is glued rather than sewn. Cutting out those six pages will probably result in losing a small portion of the design but nothing integral to it. As I was able to break the spine and get the book to lay flat, I probably will not be cutting pages out of this book.

All of my markers (water and alcohol-based) bleed through and my gel pens and India ink artist pens leave a distinct shadow on the back of the page. My coloring pencils work well with the paper. I will use a blotter page (chipboard, card stock, heavier weight paper, etc.) below the page I am working on to keep the design below from being ruined. I will list, in the comments section below, the coloring medium I used to test this book.

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Category Archives: Adult Color Books

Color Me Fearless: Nearly 100 Coloring Templates to Boost Strength and Courage (A Zen Coloring Book)

By: Lacy Mucklow

Rating: 5 of 5

Doodle Chaos: Zifflin’s Coloring Book (Volume 3)

By: Zifflin

Rating: 5 of 5

Live Free: An Adult Coloring Book

By: Margaret Feinberg

Rating: 5 of 5

Royal Horticultural Society Floral Colouring Book

By: Royal Horticultural Society

Rating: 5 of 5

Princesses and Fairies Colouring Book (Japanese Edition)

By: Tomoko Tashiro

Rating: 5 of 5

Mandalas: Hand Drawn Art Coloring Book for Adults Featuring Mandalas and Henna Inspired designs, for Stress Relieving and Relaxation

By: Inbal I. Gaffa

Rating: 5 of 5

Manic Botanic: Zifflin’s Coloring Book

By: Zifflin

Rating: 5 of 5

Mystical – A Fantasy Coloring Book: Mystical Creatures For you to Color!

By: Molly Harrison

Rating: 5 of 5

Fantastic Animals: Coloring Book of Fantastic Journey Through Dreams

By: Kuo Chun Hung

Rating: 5 of 5

Whipped: A Delectable Adult Coloring Book

By: Blue Star Coloring

Rating: 5 of 5

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