Monthly Archives: June 2016

Color the Psalms 2017 Weekly Planner

By: Michal Sparks

Rating: 5 of 5

I am really pleased with this weekly calendar. It has all of the notation space I look for and more. The designs are printed on the left side of the page with the calendar on the right. I plan to color a design each week throughout the year. The translations used in this book are taken from the New King James Version, the Holy Bible New International Version, the Good News Translation in Today’s English, and the Holy Bible New Living Translation.

The Bible Scripture will help set the tone for my meditation time as I really enjoy reading and studying the Psalms. I find that the psalmist has expressed what could be my joy, my sorrow, my questions and my answers as if he were looking into my mind.

The designs are very done. If you, as I do, own the Color the Psalms coloring book by this author, you will see duplication of the designs. That’s generally what I expect in this type of calendar booklet. What I like is that this is a different size and quite different paper.

The cover of the book is nicely done in an off white with fold outs on the front and back cover. The color decoration on the cover is in a very pretty gloss while the rest of the cover is matte. The front and back binding is re-enforced with a good sturdy tape so they should not separate with use throughout the year.

In addition to the weekly calendar and design, there is a full page calendar of 2017, pages for important dates throughout the year, pages for birthdays, two-page spread calendars for each month of the year, pages for important dates 2018, address pages, password pages, pages for to-do lists, and many pages for notes. Each of the weekly pages shows a small full-month calendar in right lower right hand corner.

The paper used in the book is a medium weight off white non-perforated page. The outlines of the calendar is printed in beige and the words are in black. The designs are black lines on the off-white paper. The book is glue bound. Alcohol-based markers, water-based markers, and India ink art pens all bleed through the paper to some degree. Gel pens did not bleed through. Colored pencils worked well with good color, layering and blending by both oil and wax based pencils.

Fabulous Copycat Coloring: Pretty Pictures to Copy and Complete (Copycat Coloring Books)

By: Sally Moret

Rating: 5 of 5

I have all four books in this series which is being marketed to children by the publisher but as an adult colorist, I like both the pictures and the complexity they provide. The artist in this book is is Sally Moret though the cover is illustrated by Cindy Wilde. This book has some designs which would traditionally be geared towards girls but many of the designs are gender neutral.

The series of books, including this one, has an interesting concept. The design you color is on one side of the page and a colored copy is on the back side of the proceeding page that way you can look at the finished design for inspiration. What it also means is that for me, as an adult colorist, the designs are printed essentially printed on one side of the page. As I don’t care about the colored images, I don’t care if my coloring medium leak through and ruin them.

There are 24 designs (including the bookplate page of various buttons, and the end page which is partly colored flowers and other designs which have a stitched together look.) The various designs include: butterflies, dancers, flamingos, jellyfish, and faceted jewels among others. The designs have a nice amount of complexity without having tiny intricate details. These are perfect for an adult who doesn’t want to strain their eyes or for a teenager or even an advanced younger child.

Here is an overview of what I found (details will follow below):

24 pages of designs

Printed on one side of non-perforated page (except for end page which is printed on the back of another design page)

Paper is heavyweight, soft white, smooth, and non-perforated

Designs are black lines on soft white background

Sewn Binding you can easily remove several whole pages at a time by snipping a few threads if you wish to do so

Designs merge into binding

Back of page has full color print of the next design page

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page

Water-based markers, India ink and gel pens do not bleed through

Coloring pencils work well with this book I got good color and was able to layer and blend easily with both oil and wax based pencils.

If you want to use alcohol-based markers, you will mar the color image on the page below. I recommend using a blotter page below the page you are working on to keep ink from seeping further into the book.

Whimsical World #2 Coloring Book: Fairies, Mermaids, Witches, Angels and More!

By: Molly Harrison

Rating: 5 of 5

While this is my first coloring book by Molly Harrison which is devoted to little girls fantasy characters, it is actually the second in the series. I have colored a few of this style of designs that were included in other coloring books by Ms. Harrison. I enjoyed them so much, I decided to purchase this book as well.

The designs are adorable. The little girls are fairies, mermaids, angels, witches, and maybe even just little girls! They have sweet round faces with rounded shoulders and non-existent noses. They are set in cute backgrounds which give context to the subject of the design. Some have animals to cuddle while others have balloons to hold or a crescent moon to sleep on.

The designs are also easy and fun to color. I like these kinds of projects to work on while I am working on something more difficult. Rather than get bogged down, I pick up a fun, happy and easy project and finish that. It usually gives me the burst of energy to finish off my longer project as well.

This is what I experienced while coloring in and testing the paper of this book with my various coloring medium:

25 Whimsical Fantasy Designs of Little Girls

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is typical of Createspace it is white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated

Glue Bound

Designs do not merge into the binding area and have double framing lines at the outer edge of the design. I really appreciate this finishing feature on designs.

Book opens fairly flat for coloring purposes.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper.

Water-based markers bleed through to a lesser degree with spotting more than a full bleed through

Gel pens and India ink pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page. India ink can bleed through if I use multiple coats or blending of two colors.

Colored pencils work really well with this paper. I can get good color with both wax and oil based pencils. I can layer and blend well using a blending pencil. Hard leads such as Verithins can dent/score through to the back of the page.

I used and recommend the use of a blotter page of card stock or several sheets of paper under your working page to keep seeping ink and dents from ruining the design below.

Angela Porter’s Zen Doodle Designs: New York Times Bestselling Artists’ Adult Coloring Books

By: Angela Porter

Rating: 5 of 5

I have a number of Angela Porter’s coloring book designs from other publishers and enjoy her work tremendously. She has a distinctive style that really appeals to me. This is the first of her books to be carried by Racehorse Publishing under their line, New York Times Bestselling Artists’ Coloring Books.

Please note that, at this time at least, this doesn’t mean that this book is a NY Times best-seller, merely that the artist has had books in that category previously. Frankly, I won’t be surprised if this one joins the others as it is filled to the brim with the type of designs I look for in a book by Dr. Porter.

There are 49 doodle designs mostly in a rectangular format. While the designs incorporate some real life and recognizable elements, for the most part, the designs are tangled doodles that are simply fun to color. Also note that, unlike Dr. Porter’s other books, there are no colored samples (other than the cover) in the book.

The designs are detailed and in some cases rather intricate. I don’t consider the elements to be small and hard to color. I find that I like to practice my blending skills with these designs. They just seem to inherently lend themselves to color changes and changes in intensity of a color as well. I also like to use a bunch of colors and just see where I end up as well. This sometimes works out well and sometimes it ends up being a project from which I learn what not to do (again) in the future.

This is what I discovered about the book while coloring in it and testing my coloring mediums on the paper:

49 Tangled Zen Doodle Designs

Designs printed on one side of the page

Paper is medium weight, white, somewhat smooth, and perforated

Glue bound but you can remove pages at the perforations

There are either frames, framing lines, or finished elements at the outer edges of the designs

Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through this paper though the water-based were more spotty than a full bleed through. I recommend using a blotter page below your working page if you are using markers. It will keep ink from seeping into the lower pages of the book.

India ink pens left a shadow on the back of the page.

Gel pens did not bleed through or require additional drying time.

Colored pencils worked well with this paper. While it is somewhat smooth, it still had enough tooth to allow good pigment coverage. I was able to lay down color, layer, and blend with both oil and wax based pencils.

Angela Porter’s Zen Doodle Animal Tangles: New York Times Bestselling Artists’ Adult Coloring Books

By: Angela Porter

Rating: 5 of 5

I ordered this book at the same time I ordered Zen Doodle Designs by Angela Porter. While I own a couple of other coloring books by Dr. Porter, these are the first two (by her) that I have from Racehorse Publishing. I’m really pleased with the quality of the publishing in these books and am extremely happy with beautiful designs to color. Dr. Porter’s style is one that is unmistakable for any other.

A note about this line of coloring books. I own a couple of others in this line, which is called New York Times Bestselling Artists’ Coloring Books. This doesn’t mean that this book is a NY Times best-seller, merely that the artist has had books in that category previously. It certainly can become a bestseller but the line title may seem to infer that status before it is actually attained.

Dr. Porter’s hand-drawn designs are a real joy to color and, as hand-drawn, have a original art quality to them that suits my tastes and my coloring abilities. While the blurb at the back of the book refers to imperfections due to hand-drawing, I like to think of them as a realistic approach to design there is very little in nature that is perfect and yet to my eyes, nature creates a beautiful and perfect picture.

This set of designs includes much of Dr. Porter’s distinctive doodle style of design but each of the designs all includes at least one animals. It reminds me of her recent dragonflies coloring book but with a much broader range of animals included. There are reptiles, birds, sea creatures, insects and animals of all sorts including giraffes, cats, tigers, elephants, foxes and more. The animals are generally set in a background or are included as part of more doodle style design. The designs range from rectangular to circular and even hybrids of both together where a circular form is incorporated into a rectangle.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my various coloring medium:

49 Animals Designs in Doodle style

Designs printed on one side of the page

Paper is medium weight, white, somewhat smooth, and perforated

Glue bound but you can remove pages at the perforations

Designs either have a framing line, finished elements, or even a frame at their outer edge

Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through this paper. Water-based are more spots than a full bleed-through. I use a blotter page of card stock to keep ink from seeping into the rest of the book.

India ink pens left an indistinct shadow on the back of the page.

Gel pens did not bleed through nor did they require any additional drying time.

Coloring pencils worked well with the paper this publisher uses in this line. Both oil and wax based pencils provided good color with both a soft and firm touch. They also layered and blended well.

Where’s Waldo? The Coloring Book

By: Martin Handford

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a great coloring book for any one who also enjoys the Where’s Waldo style books. It was certainly a blast from the past for me. My kids started us on the Where’s Waldo books and, being the type of who enjoys puzzles, brain teasers and logic puzzles, the progression to the find me book was easy. The coloring book is absolutely in the same vein. I’ve already purchased three copies for the Waldo fans in my family and will be picking up more of these to give out as holiday gifts this years.

In this coloring book, you have lots of designs that spread across two pages where you can find Waldo as well as his 27 lost pencils and look for many other items along the way. There are checklists for all designs (but not a key with answers) at the back of the book. The designs are very detailed, intricate and many have tiny spots to color. I am sure to pull out my tiny nib gel pens, ultra-fine water-based markers as well as my sharpest pencils while coloring in this book. I did note that some backgrounds, colors, and/or frames have pre-filled in color.

This is what I found while beginning to color (these will take a while to complete!) and testing my various coloring medium on this book.

27 Designs (26 spread across two pages)

Printed on both sides of the page with some color and backgrounds already filled-in

Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough, non-perforated

Designs merge into the binding area

Glue Bound I don’t recommend trying to remove the pages from the pages from the book.

Can be forced flat for coloring by breaking the spine.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper.

Water-based markers do not bleed through.

India ink pens leave shadows on the back of the page.

Gel pens do not bleed through and do not need extra drying time.

Colored pencils worked well. I was able to get good color, blending and layering with both wax and oil based pencils.

Classic Coloring: Jane Austen (Adult Coloring Book): 55 Removable Coloring Plates

By: Abrams Noterie

Rating: 5 of 5

I’ve been a fan of Jane Austen’s work since I first read Pride and Prejudice at age nine. Of course, most of the nuances of the story went completely over my head at that time but I have read and re-read all of her works many times over even writing essays about them both in high school and college. When I discovered a coloring book that covered many of her works, I ordered it immediately.

The coloring book is a smaller format with a hinged cover and a hard cardboard back, so it is perfect for taking on the go. The pages are held in place with a glue binding similar to a note pad and are easily removed in full if you wish to do so. I’m debating this as I would probably like to keep the book together.

The designs include quotes from both Ms. Austen’s novels and from the author herself. Some of the quotes make up the coloring on the page and some are merely there to describe the design. The designs are on the front of the page and on some of them, there is a description and quote that more fully describes the design on the front. The books are: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey. Also are one design based on Sanditon a few quotes from letters by Ms. Austen, and one design based on Juvenilia.

The quote designs are fairly easy to color. The other designs include detailed and intricate parts which might require ultra-fine nibs to color properly.

This is what I found while coloring in and testing the paper of this book with my various coloring medium:

55 Designs based on the works by Jane Austen

Printed on one side of the page with quotes on the back of some pages

Paper is heavyweight, almost light weight card stock. The paper is white, somewhat smooth and, while non-perforated, are easily detachable from the glue binding

Glue bound similar to a notepad with a hinged cover and a hard cardboard backing

Designs stop either before or at the binding and removing them from the book will not cause of the loss of any of the design

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper slightly. I still suggest a blotter be used below the working page to stop ink from seeping further into the book. I cut down a piece of chipboard and keep it with the book.

Water-based markers, gel pens, and India ink pens did not bleed through the paper.

Colored pencils worked well. I was able to use both oil and wax based pencils to get a light color, deep pigment, multiple layers, and blending. Hard lead pencils did not dent through the page.

The Manga Artist’s Coloring Book: Girls!: Fun Female Characters to Color (Drawing with Christopher Hart)

By: Christopher Hart

Rating: 5 of 5

I have purchased a couple of Manga style coloring books and generally, the girl is the only thing on the page. Christopher Hart has published many how-to draw books on Manga and his expertise shows in the great designs.

In this new book, Mr. Hart has set his girls in with design elements in the background. Sometimes flowers, sometimes jewels, buttons, leaves and other various elements. Its fun to have more to color and to have the cute manga girls in the foreground. For those who enjoy manga or even just like coloring sweet looking girls, this should be a really fun coloring book.

Most of the designs are of the sweet younger style of girl while a couple are a bit more mature (in the sense of age and not of anything that might be considered inappropriate.) The designs are detailed but not overly intricate. The backgrounds are the most detailed part of the design as the elements are smaller and somewhat repetitive.

This is what I found while coloring in this book and while testing my various coloring medium on the paper:

47 Manga Girl Designs with backgrounds

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is heavy weight, white, smooth and non-perforated

Sewn Binding

Almost all designs merge into the binding area but the area is background and you will not lose any essential portion of the design if you want to cut pages out. If you want to remove pages, I suggest removing several pages at a time by clipping the binding threads. This way, the designs can be removed in total without any loss at all.

Book can be opened fairly flat for coloring by breaking the spine I still had switch the angle of the book several times to color the last bits and pieces near the binding.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper

Water-based markers were mixed. Most did not bleed through but I found that Stabilo 88 markers did bleed through when I used dark colors.

Gel pens and India ink pens did not bleed through the paper

Coloring pencils worked okay. I was able to get good color and layered well. Blending was only okay with both oil and wax based pencils having a slightly waxy appearance when I used a blending pencil.

Amazing Coloring Book. Grayscale: For Grown-Ups, Adult Relaxation

By: Alena Lazareva

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my second grayscale coloring book by this artist and my third coloring book overall. I enjoy coloring her designs and especially her grayscale which is based on her original artwork. In this book, the designs are a much wider variety and include: fantasy, mushrooms, pin-up girls, fairies, and more.

I really appreciate getting a look at some of her other subjects, such as animals. Also, the fantasy designs are quite elaborate and some include more than one individual to color. The pin-up girls are cute and are slightly risque but nothing offensive.

I do my grayscale coloring as a mix of both alcohol-based markers and colored pencils. As yet, I don’t use water-based markers India ink or gel pens but I imagine that you could do so, so I included them in my testing of the paper in this book.

Here is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium:

32 Grayscale Designs in a variety of subjects

Printed on one side of the page

Typical Create Space paper white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated

Glue Bound

Designs do not merge into the binding area

Alcohol and water based markers all bleed through the page though alcohol bleed through more fully and quickly while water based spot through.

Gel pens and India ink pens leave colorful shadows at the back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you use repeated layers or try to blend several colors.

Colored pencils work well with this paper. Both oil and wax based could be used with a light or firm hand. I use a light hand and get good pigment color by repeated layers and use of my blending pencils. Layering and blending work well with this paper. My hard lead pencils like Verithins dent or score through to the back of the page.

I use and recommend the use of a blotter page of either heavy weight paper or several sheets of regular white paper.