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Net Galley
Daily Archives: June 21, 2016
Great artwork and improved paper but the UK version is still slightly better for my use
Imagimorphia: An Extreme Coloring and Search Challenge
By: Kerby Rosanes
Rating: 4 of 5
I will attach a silent flip-through video to this review. The book in the video and in the photos are only of the US version of this book except photos where I show both books. In those cases, the UK version is at the top and the US version is at the bottom.
I purchased both the UK and the US version of this book. I reviewed the UK version on Amazon on April 23rd of this year. As I noted at that time, I really enjoy Kerby Rosanes artwork which includes an unusual look at design and I have a really fun time coloring all the little odds and ends that make up the full design. I found that I actually liked Imagimorphia even more than Animorphia which was difficult to do as I so enjoyed his first book in this series. It still has a good number of animals in it but it expands beyond them into other design concepts as well.
So, the designs are great, as expected, but what about the publishing quality of the US published book? The UK version was published in exactly the same fashion as the UK version of Animorphia. I was dreading that might be the case with the US version as well. What actually arrived was a coloring book printed on a much heavier weight of paper than the US Animorphia book. It actually weighs slightly more than the UK version either a slightly heavier paper or the slightly larger size of book or a combination of both of these. The US version weighs in at 1.07 lbs. and the UK version weighs in at 1.03 lbs. The US version measures at 10 x 10 x 3/8 inches and the UK version is 9 7/8 x 9 7/8 x 3/8 inches.
That is good and a great improvement since the last book but there are some more subtle differences in the publishing that still makes me prefer the UK version. If I didn’t have access to the UK version, I would have been okay with the US one but I still would have been a little bit unhappy with a couple of issues. The two most important of these are the binding and the texture of the paper.
The UK version has a sewn binding and the US is glue bound. The UK version has the design right into the binding and the US has a white strip (when you can get the book to fully open which is impossible for me on some of the pages.) Where this is most evident and least desirable is on two-page spread designs. Right in the middle of the design is a quarter inch strip of nothingness. I have no problem getting the pages to open on the UK version because they are sewn rather than glued. I did have to break the spine with a heavy crease, but I was able to get at all of the design without at white strip.
The texture of the paper is important for me as I use colored pencils for my work (due to the double-sided printing and the leak-through of markers.) The US version of the book is very smooth almost slick. The UK version of the book has a slightly smooth but with enough tooth for colored pencils. My pencils had more of a smeary type of look with the US version.
Other small differences include color of paper and print. The UK is brighter white with darker print. The US is softer white with slightly lighter print. The covers are different in texture and color. The UK is matte black with glossy highlights on the designs and title. The US is a softer matte and there are no glossy highlights.
The designs are all the same though there is a slight switch up of pages in the title and bookplate pages between the two versions.
Here is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my various coloring medium.
43 Different Designs in a variety of subjects
Designs are printed on both sides of heavyweight soft white extremely smooth non-perforated paper
Most designs spread across two pages
Two page designs have a white strip running down both sides of the page at the binding
Glue Binding
Had difficulty getting the book to open flat for coloring
Alcohol-based markers bleed through
Most water-based markers bleed through spotty (exception was the brush end of my Tombows which did not bleed through)
India ink pens left shadows on the back of the page.
Gel pens did not leak through the paper.
Coloring pencils do not do as well with this paper. The paper is extremely smooth and did not provide good tooth (or grip) for the color to adhere evenly. Both my wax and oil-based pencils provided a kind of smeary uneven color.
Posted in Adult Color Books
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Great Fun coloring youthful versions of the Marvel superheros and super villains printed on one side of perforated pages
Color Your Own Young Marvel by Skottie Young
By: Skottie Young
Rating: 5 of 5
This coloring book is simply excellent fun. For anyone who enjoys Marvel Comics, the designs in this book can bring a smile to your face. Who would think that the good guys and the bad guys were such adorable youngsters.
As soon as the coloring book arrived, my husband and I started a bit of a tug-of-war over it. I won but we are ordering a copy for him as well. I’m hoping to see more of this type of comic coloring book in the future. The printing and publishing of the book is spot on with one sided printing and perforated pages.
I plan on doing some designs in the traditional colors of garb associated with each character but then I want to play a bit with color and give them my version of their costume. My only problem with the book was deciding which character(s) to start with. I definitely did not start with the first page and go from there. I looked for something fun and found Deadpool. He was fun and easy to color with alcohol-based markers with a little colored pencil accent as well.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my color medium on the paper:
59 Young Marvel character designs in a slightly smaller format
Designs are printed on one side of the page
Paper is medium weight, white, slightly rough, and perforated
Glue bound but you can easily remove pages at the perforations
Design may cross over the perforations by a tad but nothing of importance will be lost if you remove a page from the book.
Easy to get at all corners of the design (though many designs reach extend border of the page on three sides.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers, India ink pens, and gel pens all leave colorful shadows on the back of the page.
Colored pencils work well with this paper. I was able to get good color, blend, and layer well with both wax and oil based pencils. Hard lead pencils can dent through the page.
I recommend either removing the page from the book to color or putting a safety blotter page under the page you are working on. That will keep the pages below safe from seeping ink or dents.
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31 Winter Scenes with tiny
Creative Haven Winter Wonderland Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)
By: Teresa Goodridge
Rating: 4 of 5
I like the concept of this coloring book. Where it falls down a tad for me is in the actual execution of some of the designs. For instance, in a number of designs, the faces of people turn into black blobs because too much detail was put into too small a spot. At best, I may be able to use a flesh tone marker on those spots; at worst, I’ll have to leave them as-is. This is a problem that is repeated in other elements throughout the designs. While I can work with it, I think it is important to note for those who cannot or prefer not to work with tiny details in their coloring.
What I do take exception to is that the sample artwork on the cover and on the inside of the front and back cover are of the artist’s actual painting and not of a colored design from the book. The closest the book comes to an actual sample is the partially colored design on the back of the book and that looks suspiciously like it has been done using a digital paint program rather than actual coloring by hand. Based on the coloring books I have purchased in this past by Creative Haven, this is a big departure from their usual way of presenting coloring books.
The designs have a much more cartoon feel to them than the original painted artwork. I think that may have played into the use of the painting instead of an actual colored sample. When I pre-ordered my copy, there was no Look Inside available so I was purchasing based on the cover art. The Look Inside now shows images that are consistent with how the book is actually printed.
The designs are winter scenes with snow falling in most designs. My plan is to try to color around the snow and then use white gel pen if needed. The scenes show houses, children, horses, skaters, and much more that we associate with winter. While it is not a holiday book, there are some designs that are definitely associated with Christmas. As I love to color Christmas designs, I am sure to enjoy the challenge of coloring these in particular.
This is what I found when coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
31 Winter Scene Designs with lots of snowfall
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is standard for Creative Haven: medium weight, white, lightly rough and perforated
Glue bound but pages can be removed easily at perforations
Designs stop before the perforations
Alcohol and water based markers bleed through to some degree
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. Both wax and oil based pencils lay down good color, layer and blend well. Hard lead pencils leave dents on the back of the page.
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31 Mandala style window designs with special effects printed on one side of the page
Creative Haven Rose Windows Coloring Book: Create Illuminated Stained Glass Special Effects (Adult Coloring)
By: Joel S. Avren
Rating: 4 of 5
This is a coloring book that purports to give the colorist the ability to have a stained glass look to their coloring if they use wax crayons. I tried wax crayons as well as wax-based colored pencils, oil-based colored pencils, alcohol-based markers and water-based markers. While I did like the effect that I got with the wax crayons as well as I did the different effect that I got from alcohol-based markers, I can’t say that it looked like a stained glass window.
Using wax crayons gave the finished design a glossy look as well as a translucence. Using alcohol-based markers were translucent but not glossy. The other mediums worked okay as well but while some colors were translucent, others did not. Perhaps that was due to a color having a deeper pigment than others.
Other than not agreeing with the whole stained glass concept of the book, I liked the designs. They appear to be more of a gray scale design than one with special effects. I did note that all of the designs presented a moir pattern when I recorded the video and, to a lesser extent, when I took sample photos. Because of that, I assume that there is some sort of special print method being used to enhance the stained glass effect once the designs are colored.
I found that I liked coloring the designs in the book even though I didn’t feel that the end result looked like an illuminated window. The designs were easy to color if with mostly open areas to fill in. Because of the heavy dark grays, I’m not sure that someone with vision issues would find it as easy as I did.
This is what I found out about the book while coloring in it and testing various coloring medium:
31 Mandala style stained glass window type designs
Printed in heavy gray/black tones on one side of the page
Paper is medium weight, white, lightly rough and perforated as usual for Creative Haven coloring books
Glue bound but pages can be removed easily at perforations
Designs stop before the perforations
Alcohol and water based markers bleed through to some degree
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page
Coloring pencils work well with this standard Creative Haven paper. Both wax and oil based pencils lay down good color, layer and blend well. Hard lead pencils leave dents on the back of the page.
Posted in Adult Color Books
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