Monthly Archives: September 2016

Animals: A Mindful Coloring Book

By: Georgie Woolridge

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my third coloring book by artist, Georgie Woolridge. I have been enjoying her first two books Birds and Waterlife and now have come full circle with Animals. The designs are quite detailed without being overly intricate or too hard to color. There is an emphasis on doodle style drawings within the animals themselves. The designs are a nice blend of common and unusual animals from around the world. There are a number of animals inspired by a trip the artist took to Australia.

On the back of preceding page (opposite the coloring page), there is a thumbnail of the animal along with information about it so you can familiarize yourself with it while you color. There are also thumbnails of the animals at the end of the book along with the name of the animal and what page it is printed on. I will list the animals in the book at the end of my review.

As with Birds and Waterlife, Animals is beautifully made. The cover has a lovely colored pony with copper metallic accents. The front and back cover have fold out flaps that are decorated with colored samples of designs from the book. The book itself is slightly larger than most coloring books.

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 use for testing and coloring.

37 Animal Designs with lots of doodle and flower details within the line drawings.

Printed on one side of the page (with animal information on the back of the page.)

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

Sewn Binding

Most designs do not run into the binding area

Alcohol-based markers bleed rapidly through the page. I also had feathering (sideways bleeding) with my juicier Copic markers

Water-based markers and India ink pens leave slight shadows on the back of the page.

Gel pens did not bleed through but some of the larger nib pens required additional drying time.

Colored pencils worked well with the paper. I was able to get good pigment from multiple layers of the same color. I was able to layer multiple colors and to blend with a blending stick. Some of my blending was a little smeary probably due to the smooth paper. I tested both oil and wax based pencils.

I will not be removing pages from this book. Instead, I am using the set of three as some of my coffee table books while I am coloring and when I have finished the books as well. I am using a blotter page below the page I am working on to keep ink from seeping through. I generally use card stock for this purpose.

Here are the animals included in this book: Armadillo, Australian Sheepdog, Bactrian Camel, Beagle, Beaver, Bengal Cat, Blackbuck, Blue Dart Frog, Eastern Box Turtle, Galapagos Giant Tortoise, Giraffe, Gold Snub-Nosed Monkey, Highland Cattle, Indian Elephant, Jaguar, Japanese Harlequin Rabbit, Kit Fox, Koala, Lion, Mandrill, Namibian Rock Agama, Panther Chameleon, Pony, Pygmy Goat, Quokka, Red Kangaroo, Red Panda, Red Squirrel, Red-Eyed Tree Frog, Red-Sided Garter Snake, Ring-Tailed Lemur, Sea Otter, Sumatran Orangutan, Thorny Devil, Vicuna, Wolf and Zebra.

Magical Jungle: An Inky Expedition and Coloring Book for Adults

By: Johanna Basford

Rating: 5 of 5

Magical Jungle is a very different coloring book from Johanna Basford. The designs are much less intricate than those of her previous books, especially when compared to the tiny and intricate designs of Lost Ocean. Another big difference is that it seems the artist made a concentrated effort to reduce the amount of elements in designs that cross over two pages (as the book is printed on both sides of the page.) There were still a few but that is so much less than in previous books, it is almost unnoticeable.

The paper in US version of Magical Jungle is ivory. It is not the same color of cream as used in Secret Garden or Enchanted Forest. Nor is it the white color that was used in the first four printings of Lost Ocean. I would have modified my review of that book to mention the ivory color paper starting with the fifth printing but due to a glitch in Amazon’s review system, I am unable to modify my review of Lost Ocean. If you buy a later version of Lost Ocean it now has the same ivory paper as used in Magical Jungle.

The designs are based on the jungle with cartoon style animals and lots and lots of plants and flowers. You should be sure to have a large number of green pencils/pens ready when coloring in this book. My preference turned out to be oil-based pencils for that reason. Between my two sets of oil-based, I have a lot of shades of green.

I also purchased the UK version of this book and found some common areas and some noticeable differences:

First, the paper, while definitely different colors and perhaps weight, were comparable when it came to coloring mediums. I would not choose one over the other thinking I could use a specific medium with better results.

Second, the color of the paper. The US version is ivory and the UK version is white. I will include two photos showing both the color difference and how the two-page designs line up. In those photos, the UK version is on the bottom and the US on the top. The rest of the photos and my colored designs are from the US version as is the video on Amazon.

Third, the UK version has a removable dustcover with a single long designs on the inside. The inside cover is a pea green with a black design printed on it. It does not have inside flaps. The US version has a fixed cover with the front and back having fold out flaps with the same sort of design on the inside. The covers are slightly different colors but still in the ivory family with gold foil accents.

Fourth, the weight of the two are the same (1.23 pounds) with the dustcover on the UK version. Without the dustcover, the UK version is 1.14 pounds. The paper portion of the UK version is 1/16th of an inch thinner than the US version. Between the weight and the slight difference in depth, I think the UK version is a slightly lighter weight paper.

Fifth, the binding is different and this makes for a real difference in how the designs inside line up. The US version is a hybrid glue/sewn binding with multiple stitches. The UK version is sewn binding with only a few stitches. My US version did not line up well but my UK version did line up well. For a couple of designs, there was a noticeable difference but, in general, as few designs spread elements across two pages, it wasn’t a huge factor.

I like both books for different reasons. I like the dustcover and the binding of the UK version but I also like the ivory of the US version. I can’t recommend one over the other. It really comes down to what you prefer for your coloring.

This is what I found as I colored in this book and tested the paper 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.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.

Water-based markers (except for Tombow’s) leave shadows and even spots of color on the back of the page. The brush end of Tombows did not bleed through.

Gel pens and India ink did not bleed through the page.

Colored pencils worked well. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils with good results. I was able to layer the same color for deeper pigment, layer multiple colors and to blend easily with a pencil style blending stick. Pencils did not leave indentations on the back of the page.

By: Nicole J. Percy

Rating: 5 of 5

I’ve been a fan of House Mouse for years. I have a number of items around the house with the sweet little mice on them. I have cross stitched several designs with plans for more (great book is available on Amazon), so when I found this coloring book, it was an immediate purchase for me.

The book has 21 cute designs. The designs are heavy on fur detail and has a bit of shading via dots (think pointillism.) I find the designs are very easy to color and are fun and quick projects that I really enjoy. While there are specific House Mouse characters, I choose to color my mice to my own fashion. Some of the designs are a bit more detailed to color but nothing with intricate or tiny details. Some of the designs seem almost like grayscale coloring because of the use of shading.

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

21 House Mouse Designs from simple to more detailed in nature

Printed one side of the page

Paper is typical of CreateSpace published books. It is thin, white, slightly rough and non-perforated

Glue Bound

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

Alcohol-based markers seep through the paper quickly.

Water-based markers seep through in spots.

Gel pens and India ink pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page. India ink pens can spot through if several coats are applied or if you use the ink heavily.

Colored pencils worked well with this paper. It has a roughness to the texture which grips the pigment well. I used both oil and wax based pencils and was able to get good results from layering the same color, multiple colors, and blending with a blending stick. Hard lead pencils left dents which could read through to the page below.

I use and recommend the use of a blotter page to keep seeping ink and dents from marring the pages below your working page. I like card stock but a couple of pages of heavyweight paper work well, too.

Hello Angel Winter Wonderland Coloring Collection (Hello Angel Coloring Collection)

By: Angelea Van Dam

Rating: 4 of 5

As a quick note, the cover of the book currently showing on Amazon (skater’s boots) is not the cover of the book I received. My cover (as seen in my video) has a montage of skates, gloves, and scarves. It is the same book but obviously the cover on Amazon was a concept photo and not what was actually used in publishing. Both designs are in the book in the smaller, medium size format.

Once again, I love the designs in this book but am less than pleased with the face that the publisher is printing 10 of the designs in less than full size. Admittedly, in this book, they have shrunk the designs less than in others but I wish that they would go back to all full size designs. They have included a thumbnail color sample and some sample colors used in their design for inspiration. It takes up the bottom 1 inches of the page. In the last few book I purchased, it took up a full 3 inches of the page. This information could be printed on a separate page or on the actual color sample page rather than on the coloring page. Because of the shrinking of the designs, I have detracted a star from my rating of this book.

In this book, it makes a big difference. Hello Angel books have intricate and detailed designs. By shrinking them down, it takes them from slightly difficult to challenging. I can’t recommend this book for anyone with vision or fine motor issues because of the complexity of the designs and especially for the tiny size of the designs elements.

The designs are really beautiful. They speak to both winter and to the holiday season. I really appreciate the level of detail this designer has put into her work. I like using colored pencils with really sharp points because of the tiny spaces but it is fun and something that I enjoy. The smaller designs are much more difficult to deal with but, for me, there is a way around it but it is at an additional cost.

A good number of the designs in this book (including those that were reduced in size) are available in full size in two of Design Originals anthology Christmas coloring books this year: Deck and Halls and Merry and Bright. I own all three books and it doesn’t bother me to have the duplications as buying the three books gave me most of the full size designs I wished for in this book.

This is what I found 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 use for testing and coloring.

32 Intricate and Detailed Winter inspired designs 22 Full Size and 10 Medium Size

Printed one side of the page back of page has a softly colored design, journal lines and a quote appropriate to the subject of the coloring book

Paper is medium weight, white, slightly rough and perforated

Glue Binding

Designs stop well before the perforations

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.

Water-based markers bleed through the page in heavy spots.

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

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.

I use a blotter page of card stock or heavyweight paper (two sheets0 to keep seeping ink and dents from marring the pages below. I recommend using a blotter or that you remove pages before coloring.

The Art of Laurel BurchTM Coloring Postcard Book: 20 Iconic Designs

By: Laurel Burch

Rating: 4 of 5

The Art of Laurel Burch Postcard Book is a set of various designs by the late Laurel Burch. I have enjoyed many of her designs in household and wearable goods over the years. Earlier this year, I purchased a coloring book of her designs and was really pleased to pick up this set of postcards as well.

Many of her design themes are included including cats, dogs, horses, and others. As with the coloring book, there weren’t any mermaids which is something that I wish it had. I can only hope that there will be other books or cards in the future with some of the ocean designs in it.

Usually, postcards have a glue binding similar to notepads but in this case, each of the cards is perforated for easy removal from the set. However, this method leaves a rough edge on the perforated side. I much prefer the standard glue binding of other postcard sets as the rough edge gives a really unfinished look to the whole project. The address area is set up for postcard mailing and includes a small thumbnail design which can also be colored.

The cover of the set is done with a beautiful glossy rendition of Ms. Burch’s artwork with elements picked out in gold foil. The set is printed on a medium weight card stock rather than some of the heavyweight card stock I have on other postcard sets.

I found that only alcohol-based markers bled through the paper. Water-based markers, gel pens, and India ink pens did not bleed through. Colored pencils (both oil and wax-based) did well with layering and blending and did not dent through the page.

Colin Thompsons Fantastisches Malbuch

By: ?

Rating: 5 of 5

I have several Ravensburger puzzles by Colin Thompson and enjoy the unusual subjects and intricacies of those. When I saw this coloring book was available albeit in German, I purchased it immediately and then had the long wait for it to be shipped from Europe.

The designs are the same wild and imaginative ones that I have seen in my puzzles just in grayscale rather than in color. Coloring in this book is both a joy and an endeavor as there is simply so much to each and every design. For my first project, I used almost all 120 colors of polychromos and had a blast with it. For some people, the book may seem physically darker than expected but I was able to use grayscale techniques with results that were pleasing to me.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the only the outside and inside of the cover is in German. The designs themselves include English. The designs are done in grayscale have have extremes of both white and black as part of the designs.

The designs are printed on both sides of the page and are mostly spread across two pages with the designs merging up to the binding. I have found that the designs in my book line up well and I didn’t lose any portion of the design into the actual binding area itself. The binding is sewn rather than glued which really helps when I am coloring. I find that sewn bindings are easier it get to lay flat so I can get my pencils in to the parts closest to the fold.

The non-perforated paper is a nice white heavyweight and is ever so slightly rough which gives great tooth for gripping pigment from colored pencils. When I tested my pencils (both wax and oil based), I was able to get great pigment, to layer the same color for deeper tones, layer multiple colors, and to blend easily using my blender stick.

Alcohol and water-based markers all bled through the paper to some degree. India ink pens spotted through to the back of the page. My gel pens did not bleed through but some of the darker colors left an indistinct shadow on the back of the page. I found that colored pencils worked the best and will be what I use in this book exclusively.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Magical Characters and Places Coloring Book

By: HarperCollins Publishers

Rating: 5 of 5

Attached to this review will be a silent flip-through of the entire coloring book so you can make an informed decision as to whether or not it will work for you.

While I (as many others) am eagerly awaiting the release of the movie on which this coloring book is based, I was really pleased to get this book ahead of the movie release. It gives a sense of the vibe of the movie and also allows my imagination to run full rein as, apart from a few clips on-line and the pictures on the inside of the front and back page, I don’t have preconceived notions of what something should look like.

The book is well made and the designs are well done. I appreciate having the handful of small colored pictures (rather than pages of them.) The scenes are set in New York in the 1926. It is an interesting time period as the excess of the roaring 20’s was still in place but, historically speaking, there were foreshadowing of the Great Depression already in place.

The designs are detailed for the most part (though some of the character designs are quite open and free of details.) There are a few designs that have intricate and small areas to color. I’ve already started my first two projects in the book and am looking forward to coloring through the pictures (probably before the movie is released) and will certainly be waiting for the next coloring books in the series to be released.

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

78 Pages of Fantastic Beasts Designs based on the movie

Printed on both sides of the page

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

Binding is hybrid glue/sewn. If you wish to remove pages, you will have to cut them out. I do not plan on doing so as so much important detail will be lost.

Designs merge into the binding area

Many designs spread across two pages. On my copy, the pages line up well.

Book can be opened fairly flat for coloring by breaking the spine, though it is still difficult to color into the binding area

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

Water-based markers did not bleed through; however, Stabilo 88 and Staedler fineliners left the faintest of shadows on the back of the page.

Gel pens and India ink pens did not bleed through or leave shadows. Some gel pens required additional drying time.

Colored pencils worked well with this paper. I got fairly good pigment from both oil and wax-based pencils. Layering the same color for deeper pigment worked well as well as layering multiple colors. Blending with a pencil style blending stick worked pretty well though my Tombow Irojiten did not blend as well as my other pencils (perhaps due to their hardness.)

Night Magic – Gothic and Halloween Coloring Book (Fantasy Coloring by Selina) (Volume 10)

By: Selina Fenech

Rating: 5 of 5

I own a number of Selina Fenech’s coloring books so I am very familiar with her elegant artwork. I also really enjoy Halloween inspired designs and am always looking for new books to add to my collection (especially as there have been very few published compared to other genres.) In Night Magic, Ms. Fenech has provided a number of lovely witches along with Gothic style designs. I would not categorize the book as a Halloween book but rather one that includes Halloween designs.

The designs are detailed and I find them fairly easy to color. While some designs have small details, the designs are not generally intricate with tiny details that are hard to color. I like to work first with my markers and then with my colored pencils as I find that that is the process that works best for me with Ms. Fenech’s coloring books.

Two things I really appreciate about the book are that you get two copies of each design. That makes it easy to share or to try two different colorways or mediums. The second thing I really like is that almost all of the designs have framing lines around them. It gives me a natural stopping point which gives a more finished look at the end and it also saves me ink/pencil as I dont’ have to color to all the edges.

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

25 x 2 Gothic and Halloween-inspired designs

Printed one side of the page

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

Designs do not merge into the binding and there is plenty of room to cut out pages if you choose to do so. Most designs have a framing line around the outer edge

Glue Binding

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.

Water-based markers bleed through in spots.

Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.

Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a pencils style blending stick. Both wax and oil based pencils worked well with the paper. Hard lead pencils can leave dents through the page.

I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.