Search
Reviews by Category
-
Recent Posts
Archives
- February 2022 (1)
- January 2022 (2)
- December 2021 (2)
- November 2021 (5)
- October 2021 (4)
- September 2021 (4)
- August 2021 (5)
- July 2021 (4)
- June 2021 (6)
- May 2021 (5)
- April 2021 (4)
- March 2021 (5)
- February 2021 (5)
- January 2021 (5)
- December 2020 (5)
- November 2020 (5)
- October 2020 (9)
- September 2020 (8)
- August 2020 (6)
- July 2020 (7)
- June 2020 (11)
- May 2020 (6)
- April 2020 (8)
- March 2020 (5)
- February 2020 (8)
- January 2020 (5)
- December 2019 (8)
- November 2019 (6)
- October 2019 (11)
- September 2019 (11)
- August 2019 (8)
- July 2019 (12)
- June 2019 (10)
- May 2019 (8)
- April 2019 (5)
- March 2019 (4)
- February 2019 (4)
- January 2019 (4)
- December 2018 (16)
- November 2018 (20)
- October 2018 (25)
- September 2018 (20)
- August 2018 (26)
- July 2018 (25)
- June 2018 (23)
- May 2018 (25)
- April 2018 (28)
- March 2018 (24)
- February 2018 (23)
- January 2018 (26)
- December 2017 (12)
- November 2017 (10)
- October 2017 (37)
- September 2017 (48)
- August 2017 (19)
- July 2017 (30)
- June 2017 (30)
- May 2017 (44)
- April 2017 (32)
- March 2017 (49)
- February 2017 (32)
- January 2017 (54)
- December 2016 (29)
- November 2016 (36)
- October 2016 (39)
- September 2016 (31)
- August 2016 (49)
- July 2016 (64)
- June 2016 (52)
- May 2016 (52)
- April 2016 (66)
- March 2016 (72)
- February 2016 (60)
- January 2016 (59)
- December 2015 (72)
- November 2015 (81)
- October 2015 (59)
- September 2015 (41)
- August 2015 (33)
- July 2015 (30)
- June 2015 (25)
- May 2015 (42)
- April 2015 (40)
- March 2015 (32)
- February 2015 (25)
-
Net Galley
Daily Archives: January 25, 2016
Fun Land of Oz Coloring Book printed on one side of perforated paper
Worlds of Color: Welcome to Oz Adult Coloring Book
By: Eric Shanower
Rating: 5 of 5
This is a really fun coloring book with a new take on the characters of the Land of Oz. There are 30 single page designs and a really long 4 page fold out design (which is a collage of the various characters) which will be a good challenge to color. The designs are new and original by Eric Shanower. Mr. Shanower was the illustrator/artist for the popular recent Marvel version of the stories; however, these characters are not at all like the ones in those books. While most people are most familiar with the characters based on the movie, The Wizard of Oz, there were actually many other novels that expanded the characters and the story. The designs in this coloring book are drawn from a variety of works (both novels and short stories) by L. Frank Baum, including:
The Scarecrow of Oz, The Road to Oz, Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse, The Littlest Giant An Oz Story, A Magnetic Personality, Tik-Tok of Oz, The Magic of Oz, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, Glinda of Oz, The Wicked Witch of Oz, Ozma of Oz, The Woggle-Bug book, The Tin Woodman of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, How Adventurers Lost and Found Themselves, Lucky Bucky in Oz, The Witchcraft of Mary-Marie, Rinkitink in Oz, The Purple Prince of Oz, and The Lost Princess of Oz.
While these are not the traditional characters that most of us are used to, they are fun and interestingly drawn. I plan to color all of these and have them on hand when I read the books to my grandchildren.
Each of the single page designs are printed on one side of the white perforated page. The page opposite gives an explanation of which book and quote from the book is represented by the design. The four page fold-out is also perforated on the side of the page closest to the binding. The binding is glued rather than sewn. All of the designs stop well before the perforations and have various types of framing lines around the edge of the design to give them a more finished and polished appearance. If you remove a page from this book at the perforations, you will not lose any portion of the design.
All of my alcohol-based markers bled through the page immediately. All of my water-based markers, India ink pens, and gel pens did not leak through but they left a faint shadow of color on the backside of the page. My coloring pencils worked very well. The soft lead went down creamy and could be blended easily. The coloring medium I used for testing this book is listed at the bottom of this review. I plan to use chipboard or card stock as a blotter when I am coloring in this book to keep the rest of the book in pristine condition.
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
Posted in Adult Color Books
Leave a comment
50 Fun and Easy Mandalas Designs printed on one side of white paper
Magical Mandalas Coloring Book: Magical Designs (Doodle Art Alley Books) (Volume 1)
By: Samantha Snyder
Rating: 5 of 5
This is a really easy and enjoyable coloring book of 50 mandala designs. The designs are all hand-drawn which adds to the enjoyment. I can be a little more free in how I color these designs as they are not computer-generated exact match quadrants of designs. If I want make a slight error I can generally mask it as part of my design plan. I also find that hand-drawn designs, such as these, really inspire me to try new ways of looking at mandalas. I suddenly realized that I wanted to color a gray scale into a design after studying one of these. I really enjoyed that process and experiment and will probably do more of it in the future.
The designs are really open and easy to color. They are projects that I can finish in one evening. I also think this is a great book for beginners and for anyone who might find more traditional and intricate mandala designs too difficult (maybe due to vision or fine motor skill issues.)
The book is a smaller format book which cuts dead space away form the circular design of the mandala. I appreciate that as it makes it easier for me to frame my finished project if I choose to do so and saves paper from being wasted. The designs are printed on one side of bright white non-perforated paper. The designs are centered well on the page and the print quality is excellent. The binding is glued rather than sewn, so you can cut pages out if you choose to do so. I was able to break the spine enough to get the book to lay fairly flat and it was easy to get to all parts of the design to color. Each of the designs has a framing line around them which is great if you are coloring a background for the mandala you get a natural stopping point instead of having to color to all edges of the page.
All of my markers (water and alcohol-based, fine, ultra-fine, and brush end) bled through this paper. My India ink brush pen also bled through. My gel pens (all brands and nib sizes) all left a color shadow on the back of the page. My coloring pencils worked well for their lead type. The soft lead blended really well. The hard lead left indents at the page of the page if I pressed hard when coloring. All of these are non-issues for me because I place a piece of chipboard or card stock under the page I am working on and nothing mars the design on the following page. I will list, the comments section below, the coloring mediums I used in testing this book.
I received a free sample of this coloring book for test and review purposes.
Posted in Adult Color Books
Leave a comment
More than 40 Lovely Designs with a spiritual message printed on one side of non-perforated paper
The Promises of God – Adult Coloring Book: Color as You Reflect on God’s Words to You
By: Passio
Rating: 5 of 5
This is a very pretty book of more than 40 designs in a Christian coloring book. The designs have all been licensed through Getty Images/Depositphotos. While some of these designs are Christian in nature, most are more generic. They do apply to the verse that is printed on the page opposite (the quote is from the Bible (both Old and New Testament from the Holy Bible, Modern English Version.) I’ve also seen many of these designs in non-Christian books but I must say that this printing is the best I have found so far. I could wish for more Christian specific designs and, perhaps, more original artwork. Some of the designs include intricate and small details.
The Christian nature of the book, with the Bible quotes, makes coloring in this book very enjoyable for me. As I color, I think about the Bible verse and how it applies to me and those around me. It takes the nature of coloring from merely a calming period to one of spiritual meditation.
The designs in the book are printed on one side of white non-perforated paper. The binding is glued versus sewn so you will have to cut the pages out if you wish to remove them. Several of the designs merge into the binding. Three of the designs spread across two pages as well as merge into the binding. In one such case, you are coloring a rainbow and it is very difficult to get to all parts of the design. Most of the design do not merge into the binding and can be cut out if you wish to do so.
All of my markers (both alcohol and water based) as well as my brush tip India ink pens bleed through the paper to varying degrees. My gel pens did not bleed through and did not require any additional drying time. My coloring pencils worked well and as expected for brand and for their lead type (soft or hard.) You should always double check your markers and pens before starting a project to check for ink leaking through. This book has a page at the back that you can use for checking without danger of messing up any designs. I always use a piece of chipboard under the page I am working on to keep ink from leaking through or indents from hard pencils marring the following page. In the comments section below, I will list the coloring medium I used to test this coloring book.
Posted in Adult Color Books
Leave a comment