Daily Archives: June 20, 2016

Keep Calm and Color — Tranquil Trees Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Marica Zottino

Rating: 4 of 5

I was very surprised to see that this new book by Dover Publishing was printed on both sides of the page. Further, the pages are not perforated. Given the success of their Creative Haven and Sparks lines and their new Escapes line, I would have thought they would understand that printing on one side of the page with perforated pages is generally thought to be a good thing. For me, the publishing aspect of this line of books (Keep Calm & Color) is a huge step back. I purchased only one of three new books in this line and will probably not purchase the other two based on how they were printed.

The designs are actually a reprint of a French book from 2015, Ma Pause Nature A Colrier Arbres de Vie by Rustica Editions. That doesn’t bother me as many international artists are now finding US publishing groups to make their books available in the US. For me, that’s a great thing and I have a number of coloring books that fall into that category.

The designs are tree-related but with imaginative twists. Most of the designs are single page designs but there are a number which spread across two pages. Some of the two-page designs don’t line up extremely well in my book. Be prepared there are a lot of leaves in this book. That makes sense as it is about trees but there are lot of them and I wanted to mention it specifically.

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

62 pages of tree-inspired designs

Designs are printed on both sides of the page

10 Designs spread across two pages

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

Glue Bound

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper

Water-based makers bleed through in spots with this paper

Gel pens and India ink artist pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page

Colored pencils work well with this paper. It has a decent amount of texture to it and both wax and oil based pencils lay good nice pigment, layer and blend well. Hard lead pencils can dent/score through to the back of the page.

Sherri Baldy My-Besties TM Halloween Coloring Book BOO!

By: Sherri Ann Baldy

Rating: 5 of 5

I own a few of Sherri Baldy’s coloring books and was really happy to see that she had released one that features Halloween designs. The designs feature her cute little big eye girls in various poses and costumes. There are lots of cute designs and, as with all of her coloring books, she provides you with two copies each of the 25 designs in the book. I really appreciate that as it allows me to explore two color ways with each design or to share a design with a friend. There are pirates, witches, animals and lots of pumpkins with easy to color designs.

I have a lot of fun coloring these see little girls. I like to color these in between more difficult and complex projects. It’s wonderful to have something to color that I can easily finish in an afternoon. My preference for coloring her designs is to use markers and then colored pencils on top for details and shading.

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

25 x 2 Big Eye Girls in Halloween costumes (50 total pages to color)

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is typical for CreateSpace publications 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 some sort. I use card stock but heavyweight paper or several sheets of regular white paper work as well.

Hebrew Illuminations Coloring Book: A Coloring Journey Through the Jewish Holy Days — A Coloring Book for Adults by Adam Rhine

By: Adam Rhine

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a beautiful coloring book of designs by Adam Rhine. The artwork I have seen by Mr. Rhine are exquisite watercolors. The designs in this book have been derived from those designs and are presented as black line drawings on medium weight paper.

These designs are a rendering of the Jewish Holy Days. The designs are printed on the right hand side of the page and, except for the first design which has its explanation directly on the design page, there is a bit of information about the Holy day on the left hand side of the page. The name of the day is written in English and Hebrew (using the English alphabet) and has an excerpt from various sources such as the Torah, Psalms, Proverbs, prayers, etc.

The designs are beautiful to look at as well as to color. There is a lovely level of detail that provides a nice challenge in coloring each one. There is a quote from the artist in the book that I really appreciate and agree with: The act of creation brings us closer to God in ways unique to each of us. What a beautiful way of expressing the joy and inner peace that can be found in creating something such as coloring a beautiful design.

While I am not Jewish, I really appreciate this coloring book as a guide through the Jewish Holy days. I’ve learned about a few of them in Bible studies throughout my life and am very interested to learn about more of them. A small group of family and friends will be using this book as a integral part of our study in the coming weeks and months.

This is what I discovered while coloring in this book:

38 Intricate full page Judaic motifs about the Jewish Holy Days

Designs are printed on one side of the page while information is printed on the opposite side of the page.

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

Glue Bound

Designs do not merge into the binding

Alcohol and water-based markers seep through the paper to varying degrees

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

Gel pens do not seep through the paper

Colored pencils work well with this paper. I was able to get good color, blend and layer well with hard and soft core pencils whether they were oil or wax based.

I was provided a free sample of this book for test and review purposes. I have since bought multiple copies for family and friends to use as noted above.

To The Ocean Deep: The Longest Coloring Book in the World

By: Sarah Yoon

Rating: 5 of 5

I recently finished my first fold-out kind of coloring book (by another publisher) and having enjoyed that one so much, I decided to try out the really long fold-out design by artist Sarah Yoon. This coloring book unfolds in a continuous sheet to a full fifteen feet long.

The ocean background is pre-colored in a light to deep green (it gets darker as you get closer to the bottom.) The actual designs are black lines on white. I found that the pages are a little to maneuver unless you have a really big area in which you color. I found that folding the pages the opposite direction from the way they came also helped keep the fold-out manageable.

The design concept is a long tower that reaches from a ship at the surface of the ocean down to the ocean floor. Above the ship are what looks like cloud cities so you have some fun to color at the top as well. The tower is filled with all sorts of characters and elements it reminds me of some of the crazy cartoon designs I used to see in Mad magazine as a child. There are robots, castles, sea creatures, stairways, trees and more. They make up the pathway to the ocean bottom where a treasure chest awaits you.

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

15 page continuous fold-out cartoon Ocean theme designs

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is heavyweight, lightly smooth, filled background, non-perforated. The final page is glued to the cardboard backing while the other 14 pages fold out.

Cover (front and back) is a lightweight cardboard.

Alcohol-based markers seep through the paper

Water-based markers, India ink artist pens and gel pens did not seep through the paper

Colored pencils worked well with this paper. I was able to get good color, layer, and blend well with both oil and wax based pencils.

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.