Monthly Archives: August 2016

The Aquarium: Marine Portraits to Color

By: Richard Merritt

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the third book by Claire Scully and Richard Merritt. The Aquarium follows in the footsteps of The Menagerie and The Aviary. This latest book is dedicated to marine life, which is at odds with the title. Some of these fish and other marine life are not what I would consider to be in an aquarium (either the small home style or the building dedicated to showing marine life.)

While it is a little disappointing, it isn’t out of line with the rest of the series in style and content. I don’t think the intent was to mislead but rather to have a title consistent in form with the first two books (i.e., places where animals, birds, and/or fish are housed.) On, the other hand, both the product description and the back of the book mention a parrot fish and the book does not contain a design of that fish. This was definitely an error on behalf of the publisher/artist that should have been caught.

The initial line drawings are realistically portrayed but then the inside of the fish and other creatures are lots of doodle style intricate elements. The designs are highly intricate and contained many small and hard to color details. It may not be the best book for those who have vision or fine motor skill issues. For those who like intricate work and marine life, it should be a great book to consider. I will include a full list of the designs included in the comments section below.

The attached cover is beautifully illustrated with coloring and light touches of matte fuchsia and turquoise metallic foil on the front artwork. The paper that is used for this book is a very good quality and would work well if you wish to frame your finished work.

Slight elements of the background design are already colored. While I would have preferred they left that blank, I am okay with the small amount they have colored in this instance. The designs do merge into the binding and you will lose portions of some of the designs if you remove a page at the perforations.

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

31 Marine Life Designs which are very detailed and intricate to color

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is white, heavy weight somewhat smooth, has background slightly pre-colored and is perforated.

Sewn Binding

Book can be opened fairly flat for coloring

Designs merge past the perforations and into the binding area

Alcohol and Water based markers bleed through this paper to some extent (with Tombow brush ends did best with only light spotting to the back of the page.)

India ink left shadows on the back of the page.

Gel pens did not bleed through and did not require extra drying time.

Coloring pencils worked well. Both oil and wax based pencils worked well for good color, layering and blending.

If you use a wet medium with this book, I suggest using a blotter page of card stock or several sheets of paper to keep ink from seeping through the ruining the pages below. You can also simply remove a page from the book before coloring as well.

By: Hanna Karlzon

Rating: 5 of 5

Winter Dreams is my first coloring book by Hanna Karlzon. The book was originally published in Sweden and has now been published in the US. I enjoy seasonal designs, especially those for fall and winter. I lived most of my life in Southern California and did not get to experience a true winter season. Hobbies and crafts such as coloring were my only way of enjoying the idea of snow and winter scenes.

While Winter Dreams is not a Christmas coloring postcard set, there are some designs that evoke the holiday (ornaments and a gingerbread house.) The designs have a lush and ornamental feeling to them. There are some doodle elements but they don’t overwhelm the designs.

Many postcards are sized down designs which are intricate and hard to color. That is not true of this book. It appears that the designs were hand-drawn to this particular scale. The designs are detailed but not intricate. I was able to use my standard coloring medium without having to resort to special small nib pens or ultra sharp hard lead pencils.

This is what I experienced while coloring these postcards and testing the paper with my coloring medium.

20 Winter inspired postcard designs with mailing areas defined on the back of the card

Printed on one side of the card

Paper is heavyweight card stock in smooth ivory

Glue bound but in the style of easy to remove pages such as a notepad

Alcohol-based markers left colorful shadows on the back of the page and had the tiniest bit of spot through. I would put a blotter page of paper under my working page or remove the card from the book to color to keep the designs below safe from the slight possibility of seeping ink

Water-based markers, India ink, and gel pens did not bleed through the card. Gel pens took a little longer to dry than usual.

Colored pencils worked well with this paper. Oil and wax-based pencils worked well with good color, layering, and blending using a pencil style blending stick.

The Splat: Coloring the ’90s (Nickelodeon) (Adult Coloring Book)

By: Random House

Rating: 5 of 5

My kids were growing up in the 90’s and we watched their television shows together. After homework and chores were done, they each got to choose a show to watch and it was pretty much always a show on Nickelodeon. Seeing The Splat coloring book show up was a trip down memory lane for me. Almost all of our favorites are in the book including: Real Monsters, Angry Beavers, CatDog, Hey Arnold, Ren and Stimpy, Rocket Power, Rocko’s Modern Life, Rugrats, and the Wild Thornberrys.

The book includes 47 designs. There seems to have been a team of illustrators as there are several styles. Some of the designs have thicker lines and a more open feel while others have thin lines and are considerably more detailed. I like all of the various styles and levels of detail as it makes the book that much more fun to color.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring mediums. I will list the coloring mediums I used for testing in the comments section below. These are also the materials I use for most of my coloring.

47 Designs based on Nickelodeon cartoon series from the 1990’s

Printed on one side of the page with a quote on the back of the page

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

Glue Bound

Most designs merge into the binding area

Book opens fairly flat for coloring by breaking or creasing the spine heavily.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper. I suggest using a blotter page of card stock or several sheets of paper to keep ink from seeping through to the pages below.

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

Colored pencils work very well with this paper. I got great pigment from oil and wax base pencils. I was able to layer the same color for deeper pigment, layer multiple colors, and blend easily using a pencil style stick blender.

Color the Classics: The Snow Queen: A Frozen Fantasy Coloring Book

By: Jae-Eun Lee

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the fifth storybook coloring book I have purchased by Jae Eun Lee. It may be the last in the series but I have hopes that there will be more books from this talented artist in the coming years.

I had some issues with the very first book in the series (Anne of Green Gables.) I felt that it had too many story pages as opposed to coloring pages but each book since then has had a much better mix. This book has the best mix by far.

I also like the way the artist has included parts of the story into the coloring pages rather than taking up a page by itself. While I prefer the design pages, the story pages have very elaborate designs to color as well.

In The Snow Queen, the mix is 17 story pages and 53 design pages for a total of 70 actual storybook pages. There are also four pages of thumbnails of the images and five other pages (preface, forward, and title pages and a page following the end of the story and thumbnails) which have designs that you can color.

The designs are in the same beautiful and elegant style that I have come to expect from this artist. The lines are flowing and the designs are detailed. They are not overly intricate or difficult to color.

The story portion of the coloring book gives a brief synopsis of the story but it would be best to have a story book to read along with as you color the pictures.

This is what I found as I colored in this book and tested my coloring medium on the paper. I will list, in the comments section below, the coloring medium I used for testing and which I use for most of my coloring projects.

70 pages of Designs and Story Book Illustrations plus extra pages that can be colored as well

Printed on both sides of page

Pages are heavyweight, slightly smooth and non-perforated

Glue Binding

Some Designs merge into the binding

Some Designs spread across two pages

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. If you use this medium, you will ruin the design on the back of the page.

Water-based markers, gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through. Gel pens do require additional drying time.

Colored pencils did well with this paper. I found that for the most part both oil and wax based pencils worked well for good pigment and layering the same or multiple colors. My one issue was that neither were great for blending using a pencil style blending stick. The pigment smeared a bit but not as evenly as I would have hoped. Wax-based pencils did better at blending than did oil-based colors but both were acceptable for my use.

Kickin’ It Old School Coloring Book (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) (Adult Coloring Book)

By: Random House

Rating: 5 of 5

When my late son was a little boy, he loved TMNTs. When I would read to him at bedtime and later, when he was reading to himself, he would invariably choose one of the TMNTs comic books. Because I was the type of parent who got involved with what my kids read and watched, I also became a big fan. When I saw that an adult coloring book was available, I bought it immediately. My grandson is now getting into TMNTs and I will love coloring this book to give to him. I’m getting a second copy to hold onto for him to color in when he gets a little bit older as well.

The coloring book has 47 pages of designs (not including the title page which can also be colored.) It appears like the designs have been done by a group of artists as there are several distinct styles from clean, black lines to an almost pointillism, old-style comic book dot style. The designs are fun and easy to color but some have a lot of black accents. The designs are of both the old-style and the newer style TMNTs.

Another fun part of the book is that on the back of the preceding page (directly opposite the design) is a quote that meshes great with the design you are coloring. After coloring in this book, all I can say is Cowabunga!

This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring mediums. I will list the coloring mediums I used for testing in the comments section below. These are also the materials I use for most of my coloring.

47 Designs (plus title page) of TMNTs fun

Printed on one side of the page with a quote on the back of the page

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

Glue Bound

Most designs merge into the binding area

Book opens fairly flat for coloring by breaking or creasing the spine heavily.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper. I suggest using a blotter page of card stock or several sheets of paper to keep ink from seeping through to the pages below.

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

Colored pencils work very well with this paper. I got great pigment from oil and wax base pencils. I was able to layer the same color for deeper pigment, layer multiple colors, and blend easily using a pencil style stick blender.

Spiritual Refreshment for Women: Everyday Blessings Coloring Book (Color Yourself Inspired)

By: Compiled by Barbour Staff

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a coloring book of 46 different designs by a team of designers (Traci Bixby, Elisa Paganelli, Carol Robinson, Emma Segal, and Nicky Storr) which focuses on Biblical blessings. The translation used for this coloring book is the New Life Version. This puts the quotes into everyday, modern language. The basis of the book is definitely Christian and I appreciate it for that reason as well as the fun and easy to color designs. The book is printed 8 x 10 inches with perforated pages so it should be easy to remove pages for framing should you wish to do so.

The designs are very pretty but for me, the pages with quotes and sayings are what are most important. The book is divided pretty much into thirds with 16 designs with inspirational sayings, 15 designs with Biblical quotes, and 15 stand-alone designs. With the sayings and Bible quotes, the words are very much front and center. They are the focus of the design and the other elements are there to support them.

The designs have a nice level of detail without being intricate. Except for some of the fonts on words, I didn’t need special nibs or pencils to color the design. I will probably leave the tiny spots on the words white rather than try to color them with a tiny nib gel pen or an extra sharp pencil such as Verithins.

For my first projects, I used alcohol-based markers and I plan to also use colored pencils with this book as well. I found that the designs an hour or more to finish but mostly because I was stopping and contemplating the words as I was coloring.

This is what I found as I colored in this book and testing the paper with my various coloring medium. In the comments section below, I will include a list of the coloring medium I use for testing and which I generally use for my coloring projects.

46 Various Designs with a fairly even mix of Sayings, Bible Quotes, and Designs without words

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is medium weight, white, slightly smooth and perforated.

Glue Binding

A few designs cross over the perforations but nothing essential to the design will be lost if you remove a page from the book.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through rapidly on this paper

Water-based markers and India ink pens bleed through in tiny spots with the exception of brush end Tombows which did not bleed through at all.

Gel pens left colorful shadows on the back of the page.

Colored pencils work very well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils and had good results with both. I was able to layer the same color to a deep pigment, layer multiple colors, and blend easily using a pencil style blending stick.

I used a blotter page below my working page to keep ink from seeping into the the page(s). I use card stock for this purpose. You can also remove pages from the book before coloring to keep the rest of the book in good shape.

Hello Angel Owls Wild & Whimsical Coloring Collection (Hello Angel Coloring Collection)

By: Angelea Van Dam

Rating: 4 of 5

This is a coloring book of imaginative and intricate owl designs which incorporate doodle style elements which I purchased at a local bookstore. I own a number of books by Angelea Van Dam and each of them contains the same information at the front of the book about the artist and some of her coloring hints. Additionally, there some beautiful colored sample pages (a few of which I will include in the photos) and the back of each design page has a quote, journal lines and a cute design which previously was in black and white but in newer books are now in color.

Something else that is new about the most recent books by this publisher (Design Originals), including this one, is that some of the design pages have medium rather than full page designs. In this book, it is ten different designs. The bottom of each of these pages has a thumbnail of the colored sample, a colorful sample of some of the colors used in it and some hints on coloring. That portion of the page is perforated so you can remove it if you wish to do so.

I’m torn about this new format. I really like the information included but I miss having the designs in full page format. As these are the same designs we get to see in full page colored samples, I wish that they had reduced the size of the colored sample page and put that information on that page. That way I get the information but still retain the full size designs for coloring. While the smaller size is still good, in some cases, the elements have become a little small and a little more difficult to color.

This is especially true with this designer as even her full page designs are very detailed and intricate. By reducing the size of the design, it made a challenging project into a difficult one. Because of this, I think it would be a difficult book for someone with visual or fine motor issues.

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

32 Owl Designs in doodle format with 22 large designs and 10 medium ones

10 Medium Designs include colored thumbnails and coloring advice on the page (info can be removed at provided perforations)

Printed on one side of the page.

Paper is medium weight, slightly rough, white and is perforated for easy removal. The paper is noted as archival-grade and acid free for 200 years.

Designs stop well before the perforations

Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through the page

Gel pens and India ink pens can spot through to the back of the page with heavy application

Colored pencils work well with the paper. Both oil and wax based pencils provide good color, layer, and blend well. Hard lead pencils can dent through the page.

As I use markers and pencils, I use a blotter page to keep seeping ink and dents from marring the pages below. I recommend this in general or that you remove pages before coloring. I use card stock or several sheets of paper as my blotter page.

By: Compiled by Barbour Staff

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a coloring book of 46 different Scripture designs by a team of designers (Elisa Paganelli, Carol Robinson and Nicky Storr) which focuses on Biblical blessings. The translation used for this coloring book is the King James Version of the Holy Bible and includes quotes from both Old and New Testament. The Scriptures focus on the promises of God.

Each of the pages has the Scripture and cite emphasized with the design surrounding it. The book is printed 8 x 10 inches with perforated pages so it should be easy to remove pages for framing should you wish to do so.

With a number of challenges in my life recently, both physical and emotional, and I have found myself turning to my Christian-based coloring books for both the words I need to read and think about as well as a way to let my brain step away from the issues that confront me. This is a great book for that purpose and each and every design has a word of truth to speak that is intended to build up a Christian’s place of faith.

While most of the designs are fairly easy to color, some of the fonts used for the words include some fairly tiny spots. I will end up leaving most of those white rather than to try to fill them in with tiny nib pens.

This is what I found as I colored in this book and testing the paper with my various coloring medium. In the comments section below, I will include a list of the coloring medium I use for testing and which I generally use for my coloring projects.

46 Scripture based designs with pretty coloring elements

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is medium weight, white, slightly smooth and perforated.

Glue Binding

A few designs cross over the perforations but nothing essential to the design will be lost if you remove a page from the book.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through on this paper

Water-based markers and India ink pens bleed through in spots with the exception of brush end Tombows which did not bleed through at all.

Gel pens left shadows of color on the back of the page.

Colored pencils work very well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils and had good results with both. I was able to layer the same color to a deep pigment, layer multiple colors, and blend easily using a pencil style blending stick.

I used a blotter page below my working page to keep ink from seeping into the the page(s). I use card stock or several sheets of heavy weight paper for this purpose. You can also remove pages from the book before coloring to keep the rest of the book in good shape.

Tangle Magic: A spellbinding colouring book with hidden charms

By: Jessica Palmer

Rating: 5 of 5

Tangle Magic is the third in a series of coloring books by Jessica Palmer. I own the previous two as well as this one. My first observation of this book is that the designs are much more intricate than those of the prior two books. The designs are still quite lovely but they are more difficult to color and most require the use of ultra-fine markers, small nib gel pens or sharp pointed pencils.

The 76 pages of designs (not including the title page) are done in Ms. Palmer’s flowing style. There are also hidden charms on each page some are easy to find and others are a tad more difficult. A key to their location was not provided in this book. There is a page at the front which gives a few examples of what charms may look like. While the book is printed on both sides of the page, most designs are contained to a single page. I counted 11 designs that spread across two pages.

I was happy to find fairy tale characters interspersed through the book. There are other magic related designs that I understood quite easily but there are others that I may have to spend some time thinking about.

Here is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the pages with my coloring medium. I will list, in the comments section below, the coloring medium I used for testing and for most of my coloring projects.

76 pages of Magical and Fairy Tale style intricately drawn designs

Designs are printed on both sides of the page.

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

Sewn Binding (You can remove pages a few at a time by snipping a couple of threads though it is difficult to realign designs printed across two pages once they are out of the book.)

Some designs merge into the binding area

Eleven designs spread across two pages

Book can be made to lay fairly flat due to its special style of book cover/binding.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper. If you use this style of marker, you will mar the design on the backside of your working page.

Water-based markers, gel pens, and India ink pens do not bleed through the paper. Gel pens can require additional drying time.

Colored pencils work well with the paper. Even though it is somewhat smooth, I was still able to layer the same color, multiple colors, an blend easily using a pencil style blending stick. This was true of both oil an wax based pencils.

Home Harvest

By: Patrick Sullivan

Rating: 4 of 5

I love autumn with all of its beautiful colors. I lived most of my life in Southern California and autumn there is just an extension of summer. There are no changing colors, so I have always looked to my crafting and art to bring those tones into my life.

Home Harvest is a nice addition to my coloring books and I am always on the look out for autumn related coloring books (as they are simply few and far between.) This is also my first coloring book by Patrick Sullivan.

The 32 designs (not including title pages) are very much on the simplistic side. I was hoping for more detail but was happy with the book on the whole. The lines are clear, crisp, and broad without any form of intricate coloring. Because of the simplicity of the designs, the projects can be done fairly quickly. You can also spend a lot of time with shading and blending with these designs if you choose to do so.

I’ve finished two designs so far using Prismacolor Premier Soft Core: one with traditional fall colors and the second, as an homage to my years in LA, in the colors that Southern Californians are more likely to associate with the fall months.

As an aside, I have purchased other coloring books by this publisher in the past and all of those were printed double-sided. I’m really happy to see that this book has been printed only on one side of the page. I hope that means that future books from this publisher will follow this format.

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

32 Autumn and Harvest related designs

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is heavyweight, white, somewhat smooth, and perforated

Glue Binding

Some designs cross over the perforations but nothing essential is lost if you remove pages from the book

Book can lay fairly flat if you break the spine by creasing it hard

Alcohol based markers bleed through this paper readily

Water-based markers can bleed through in very tiny spots if multiple coats are used

Gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through the page

Colored pencils worked well with this paper. I tested both wax and oil based pencils. I found that I could get good color, layer the same color and multiple colors, and finally, I could blend easily using a pencil style blending stick. Hard lead pencils did not dent through to the back of the page.

If I use markers of any type with this book, I will either remove the page from the book or put a blotter page under the page I am working on. I generally use card stock but have used several sheets of heavy weight paper as well.