Daily Archives: July 22, 2016

Adult Coloring Book Treasury 2: 130 Illustrations from 70 Artists

By: Treasury Artists Group

Rating: 5 of 5

Attached to this review will be a silent flip-through video so you can see all of the designs in the book. I apologize for the length (at over 8 minutes) but, as it turns out, it takes a long time to flip through 130 designs.

I have been enjoying the first book in this series and wondered how they could improve on it. Well, they did it by adding an additional 20 designs for about the same value. This is an outstanding coloring book filled with 130 designs by a variety of independent coloring book artists. Some of the artists are familiar to me and some are new. It makes for a great compilation of designs for any colorist.

It is once again fantastic to have the opportunity to try so many different artists in one book. As I finish my coloring projects, I will add them to the photo samples I will include.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium. In the comments section below, I will list the coloring medium I used to test this book and which I usually use for coloring my projects.

130 Designs by 70 different artists

Designs are printed on one side of page

Paper is thin, white, slightly rough and non-perforated

Glue Binding

Designs do not merge into the binding and there is plenty of room to cut pages out if you choose to do so.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper freely

Water-based markers and India ink pens spot through this paper

Gel pens leave shadows of color on back of page

Coloring pencils work well with the paper but also leave shadows on the back of the page. I was able to get great results from both oil and wax based pencils. I was able to layer the same color for deep pigment, layer multiple colors, and blend extremely well using a pencil style blending stick.

I can get the book to lay fairly flat by breaking the spine of the book; however, as with the first book in this series, it is so thick that even laying flat may be too high for me to color comfortably. I will, most likely, be cutting pages out before I color them.

If you don’t plan to cut pages out, I suggest that you use a blotter page below the project you are working on. I use card stock but a couple of sheets of heavyweight paper works well, too.

Beautiful Nature: A Grayscale Adult Coloring Book of Flowers, Plants & Landscapes

By: Nicole Stocker

Rating: 5 of 5

Nicole Stocker’s first grayscale coloring book Beautiful Creatures was my first coloring book in this genre. It was so beautiful and beautifully printed, it set a high standard for grayscale coloring books. I have purchased a number of other grayscale books but none have approach the high quality of Ms. Stocker’s book until now. Of course, this is the second book in her series and it is as gorgeous as the first book.

Where her first book focused on animals, in Beautiful Nature, Ms. Stocker has turned her attention to flowers, plants, and landscapes. I was so very happy to see succulents included as well as some of my favorite flowers (roses, peonies, hydrangea, orchids, and the list simply goes on and on.) The landscapes and plant studies are equally beautiful and will be lovely to color.

Since my first venture into coloring grayscale, I have expanded my skills to include markers as well as colored pencils. I find that both work well with this book. I like to use markers to put a color foundation down and then to add shading and blending with my colored pencils.

Essentially, coloring with soft pencils in this book is simple light colors for light areas, medium for medium, and dark for dark areas. You color the light areas first, then the dark areas. Finally, you come through with the medium colors and blend the picture together. I suggest that you have a blending medium (such as a pencil) at hand when working with this coloring book.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium. In the comments section below, I will list the medium I used for testing and which I usually use for coloring all of my projects.

48 Beautiful Nature grayscale designs with plants, flowers and landscapes

Printed on one side of page

Paper is heavyweight, acid-free, slightly rough, white and perforated

Pages are water-marked on the back with an area for you to sign your projects

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper readily

Water-based markers bleed through in tiny spots with the exception of my Tombows brush end markers which did not bleed through in my tests.

Gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through.

Colored pencils work remarkably well with this paper. I could lay down great color, layer, and blend equally well with both wax and oil based pencils. I did find that soft lead pencils were somewhat easier to work with as they blend more readily.

If you use markers, I suggest that you either remove the pages from the book to color or use a blotter page below your working page to keep ink from seeping through to the page below. I use card stock but a couple of sheets of heavyweight paper work just as well.

Colour My SketchBook 3: Greyscale colouring book (Volume 1)

By: Bennett Klein

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the third grayscale coloring book which I have purchased by Bennett Klein. Each of the books so far have fantastic artwork to work with. The designs in the book are based on Mr. Klein’s original artwork rather than photographs as many grayscale books are. I like both styles but the original artwork in the Sketchbook series is really impressive.

I have been coloring in grayscale since early this year and am learning more techniques and I find that Mr. Klein’s designs are ones where I can utilize what I have learned. I’ve more recently begun using markers as well as pencils in coloring my projects and have been very pleased with the results of the new (to me) process.

With this book, the artist provides a table of contents with the title of each of his pieces of art. I really appreciate that extra touch as many of the titles give context to his intent with the design. Many of the designs feature animals in highly stylized concept. There are whimsical designs and designs that are so highly imaginative they border on the bizarre (and I mean that in a good way!)

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper. In the comments section below, I will list the coloring medium I use for testing and which I use for most of my coloring projects.

25 Hand-drawn sketches in grayscale based on the artwork of Bennett Klein

Designs are printed on one side of white, thin, slightly rough non-perforated paper typical of CreateSpace

Glue Binding

Easy to open to flat position for coloring

Designs do not merge into the binding and there is plenty of room to cut pages out if you choose to do so

Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through the page to some degree. Water-based bleed through in spots while alcohol-based bleed through freely

Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of page. India ink can bleed through if you use multiple layers.

Coloring pencils work well with this paper. Both oil and wax based provide good color when I use multiple layers of the same color. I am easily able to blend (using a pencil style blender stick) and layer multiple colors as well. Hard lead pencils leave dents through the back of the page.

Because of the bleed through and dents, I suggest (and use) a blotter page below my working page. I prefer card stock but several sheets of heavyweight paper work as well.