Daily Archives: May 26, 2016

Mythical Mermaids – Fantasy Adult Coloring Book (Fantasy Coloring by Selina) (Volume 8)

By: Selina Fenech

Rating: 5 of 5

Mythical Mermaids the latest fantasy coloring book by Selina Fenech. She is one of my favorite fantasy designers and this is my first book by her that is devoted to mermaids (though she does have an earlier coloring book with a similar subject.) The designs are of primarily mermaids though there are some mermen and a man or two who has been saved from a watery grave by a beautiful mermaid. Some of the designs include more than one mermaid but most of them focus on a single beautiful female.

Once again with Ms. Fenech’s books, I’m really happy that the book contains two of each design because it gives me the opportunity to explore each in different colorways. I generally go towards light and clean looking lines in my coloring but having a second copy of each design gives me an opportunity to try different techniques and darker colors and heavier shading.

The mermaids are all gorgeous, of course. There is a hint of nudity but all of the female parts are well covered by hair and whatnot. The mermen are without shirts but that doesn’t really matter in any case. There are no children in this book and most of the poses are highly romanticized while stressing the female form of the subject.

For my first two projects, I chose to use alcohol-based markers. I have been using pencils to shade but for these two, I tried using my markers for shading as well.

I will provide a more detailed description of the physical book below but here is a quick overview of what I found:

25 x 2 Mermaid Fantasy Designs

Printed on one side of page

Paper is white, thin, slightly rough (tooth) and non-perforated

Designs do not merge into the binding and there is plenty of room to remove pages if you wish to do so.

Glue Binding

Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through the paper (though water-based is more spotty compared to alcohol-based)

India ink pens and gel pens leave shadows on color on back of the page. Gel pens left dents on the back of the page.

Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I was able to put down good color, layer, and blend well with both wax and oil based pencils. Hard lead left dents on the back of the page.

I recommend a blotter page below your working page to keep ink and dents from marring the page below.

The artist has placed a frame around the majority of the designs in this coloring book. There are three that do not have the lines but for the most part have finished elements on the outer edges of the design. I really appreciate when an artist includes this thoughtful touch. It makes it easier for me to complete the project with a finished look and saves me time, trouble, and especially ink.

Adult Coloring Book Vintage Series: The Masters of Fashion Illustration

By: Wendy Piersall

Rating: 5 of 5

This is an absolutely beautiful fashion coloring book. The artist pays homage to five artists from the Art Deco and Art Nouveau periods: Helen Dryden, Erte, George Wolfe Plank, Frank Leyendecker, and George Barbier. The designs in the book are hand-drawn from the original works and have been beautifully rendered for coloring.

I own a number of fashion coloring books and I must say that this one is one of my favorites both for style of the design as well as for the care with which they have been drawn. The designs all have a framing line around the edge to give you a definite end to the design. I always find that gives me a more finished and polished look to my project.

This is my second coloring book by Wendy Piersall. While the subject matter is wildly different, what is not different is the extremely high caliber of the artwork. I just can’t say enough about how much I enjoy this artist’s work. What I can say is that my sincere hope is that Ms. Piersall will make this merely a volume 1 in her fashion design coloring books. I hope to see more in fashion from her in the future.

I was so pleased that the artist included test pages at the front of the book as I usually end up with a discard page when I test my various mediums on designs themselves. I love each of the designs in this book and didn’t want to lose even one of them. The designs are detailed and in some cases have intricate and small areas to color.

This is what I found what I found while coloring in and testing this book:

30 Beautifully hand-drawn fashion designs from the Art Deco and Art Nouveau periods

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is medium weight, white, slightly rough (tooth), and non-perforated

Designs do not merge into the binding area

Glue bound

Plenty of room to cut pages out if you wish to remove them

Book easily opens to fairly flat position for coloring

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. I recommend using a blotter page below your working page with this medium to keep ink from seeping through and ruining the page below.

Water-based markers, India ink pens, and gel pens leave shadows of color on the back side of the page

Coloring pencils work extremely well with this paper. I was able to lay down color lightly as well as firmly. I was able to layer and to blend very easily with both wax and oil based pencils. Hard lead pencils did not dent the back of the page.