Daily Archives: May 22, 2016

Spellbinding Images: A Grayscale Fantasy Coloring Book: Advanced Edition (Volume 2)

By: Nikki Burnette

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my third book of Nikki Burnette’s Spellbinding Grayscale coloring books though it is the first one that I have purchased at the advanced level. After working with both beginner versions of her first two books, I felt that I wanted to try the advanced version. I’m fairly new to grayscale coloring and as most of the work I have done previously involved light colored images, I was comfortable with the idea of the lighter prints in the advanced book.

What surprised me (in a good way) was the the how-to and hints at the beginning of the book were geared to the advanced prints. There were additional ways of working with markers that I was really pleased to see. I am utilizing those hints in all of my grayscale books whether the prints are lightly printed with light contrast or heavy in contrast with bold printing. Before getting buying this series of books, I only used colored pencils with grayscale. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning grayscale as the tutorial is so well-written.

This is a beautiful set of 20 grayscale designs. They are the same designs as are included in the beginner version of the same volume (2) but are printed in a completely different way. They are much lighter in tone and in contrast and it makes for a much more involved coloring process. I am doing much more shading, both with markers and pencils, than I did in my first projects in the beginner books. The end result is also much lighter but with much more detail that I have added. The projects also take more time. I think the artist has rightfully named these as advanced but I think that anyone could attempt these, especially with the tutorial included in the book.

In addition to the 20 designs being printed on one side of the page, Ms. Burnette has included thumbnail color samples of each design along with two additional thumbnails in which you can test your own colors and mediums. I’ve found these thumbnails even more useful in the advanced version as I am doing samples of shading for almost every portion of the design.

The artist also has a tutorial on her website which has proved invaluable as well. If all of this wasn’t enough, she has graciously provided permission to copy her designs onto other forms of paper if your coloring medium doesn’t work well on the paper in this book. The pages in this book are medium weight and do not have the glossy look that the beginner version of the book has.

The designs are printed on one side of the non-perforated page. The designs all stop well before the binding and the book easily opens to a flat position for coloring. There is plenty of room to work if you plan to keep the pages in the book as I am doing (though I absolutely have to use a blotter page below my working page when using markers.) If you wish to remove pages, there is also room to cut the pages out.

I am really pleased with these grayscale books and plan to buy new volumes as they appear. The artist has really given a lot of thought and attention to details that make it easier for me, at least, to have a fun and successful coloring experience with her books.

Spellbinding Images: A Grayscale Fantasy Coloring Book: Beginner’s Edition (Volume 2)

By: Nikki Burnette

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my second volume of Nikki Burnette’s Spellbinding Grayscale coloring books at the beginner level. I am just learning how to do grayscale, having started with it just this year. Because of issues I have had with another book, Ms. Burnette’s book was recommended to me. I’m so glad I followed everyone’s advice because Ms. Burnette not only has great designs to color, she also provides many how-to tips that have challenged me to try new ways of coloring both grayscale and with my regular coloring books as well.

Before getting buying this series of books, I only used colored pencils with grayscale. Because of the suggestions in these books, I am now using water-based and alcohol-based markers and even gel pens with my grayscale not only in these books but in my other grayscale books as well. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning grayscale as the tutorial is so well-written.

This is yet another beautiful set of fantasy designs. In addition to the 20 designs being printed on one side of the page, Ms. Burnette has included thumbnail color samples of each design along with two additional thumbnails in which you can test your own colors and mediums. I am definitely using the thumbnails to try out colors and find that it is extremely helpful It feels like the artist has done just about everything but color the design for me to help me with my choices and coloring methods.

The artist also has a tutorial on her website which has proved invaluable as well. If all of this wasn’t enough, she has graciously provided permission to copy her designs onto other forms of paper if your coloring medium doesn’t work well on the paper in this book. The paper is a medium weight that has what she calls a satin sheen and to me, a glossy feel to it.

The designs are printed on one side of the page. The page is non-perforated but I find it opens to a flat position very easily. The designs all stop well before the binding, so you won’t have to twist and tweak the page and book to color in it. You also have room to remove pages if you choose to do so.

I was so impressed with my first purchase of Volume 1 of this series, I knew that I would be buying future books when I found them. I now have volume 2 in both the beginner and advanced form (definitely more challenging) and will be looking forward to more grayscale books by this artist in the future.