Daily Archives: September 8, 2016

The Throne of Glass Coloring Book

By: Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 5 of 5

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

The coloring book is based on various books and novellas in the series of books by Sarah J. Maas. I won’t discuss whether or not this coloring book what is I expected from the books but rather how I feel about it as an adult coloring book in its own right.

The coloring book has 46 different designs from different stories. The designs are by three artists Yvonne Gilbert, John Howe, and Craig Phillips. One of the three artists did not quite match in look and feel with the other two and it gave a slight discordant vibe to the book as I look through it. While I won’t detract in my overall review for that, it was certainly noticeable. Most of the designs are quite beautiful and elegant.

The designs are quite detailed and many of them have intricate and tiny elements to color. What is nice about this book is that the designs are printed on one side of the page with excerpts from the book on the opposing page. That allows me to use any form of coloring medium I choose without worrying about whether or not it will ruin a design on the back of the page.

This is what I found 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.

46 Throne of Glass Designs by three artists

Printed one side of page (with book excerpts on the back of the page)

Paper is heavy weight, white, ever so slightly rough, and perforated

Sewn binding

Designs are printed beyond the perforations and merge into the binding. Nothing essential will be lost if you remove pages at the perforations; however, you can remove several pages in whole by clipping a few threads of the binding.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper.

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

Colored pencils worked really well with the paper. The tiny bit of roughness to the paper allowed pigment to easily adhere to the page. I test both oil and wax based pencils and both worked well. I could layer the same color for deeper pigment, layer multiple colors and blend easily using a blender stick.

I like to use alcohol-based markers with this style of book (printed one side of page) but I use a blotter page of card stock under my working page to keep ink from seeping through. I would suggest either using a blotter page or removing the coloring page from the book beforehand if you use alcohol-based markers.

Halloween Faeries Coloring Book

By: Amy Brown

Rating: 5 of 5

I am having a lot of fun with Amy Brown’s light-hearted book of Halloween faeries. The designs are extremely cute and are easy to color. The artist’s sense of humor is evident from the cauldron on legs to what looks like her take on Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.

The 20 designs are of cute fairies dressed in Halloween clothes and in Halloween settings. There is a nice level of detail to the line drawings without anything too intricate. I’m always looking for cute Halloween coloring books and this one is certainly cute. I own another Amy Brown coloring book so I knew the great quality of artwork to expect.

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.

20 Halloween Designs featuring Faeries by Amy Brown

Printed one side of the page

Paper is thin, white, slightly rough, and non-perforated. It is standard for any books published by CreateSpace.

Glue Bound

Designs do not merge into the binding and there is space to cut pages out if you want to do so.

Book opens fairly flat for coloring if you break or crease the spine.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper rapidly.

Water-based markers bleed through in spots.

Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on the back of the page which show colors easily. India ink pens can seep through in spots if used heavily or in multiple coats.

Colored pencils worked nicely with this thin but slightly rough paper. I tested both oil and wax based pencils and got good color with multiple layers of the same color, good results from layers of different colors and nice blending results using a blending stick. Hard lead pencils easily dent through the page and can damage the page below.

I suggest using a blotter page of card stock or a couple of sheets of heavier weight paper under your working page. It can keep seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.

By: Hanna Karlzon

Rating: 5 of 5

I recently purchased a set of postcards by Hanna Karlzon that I enjoyed so well that I purchased two more of her books immediately. This is the second of the two books that I bought with Summer Nights being the first one. Both books are somewhat similar but have different designs. I am really enjoying coloring Ms. Karlzon’s designs and find them very unique among the books that I have collected. I like them so well that I have also purchased additional books to give as gifts this holiday season.

Because the book is printed two-sided, I’m being very careful with what I use to color in it. I’m currently using Faber-Castell Polychromos because I like the color mix available for these designs. I like the look of the oil-based pencils on the cream colored paper. There are some wet medium that works okay with the paper but, for my taste, I still prefer the look of colored pencils.

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

90+ pages of imaginative and beautiful designs by Hanna Karlzon

Printed on both sides of the page

Paper is heavyweight, cream color, somewhat smooth, and non-perforated

Sewn binding with some glue as well. You can still snips the threads to remove the pages from the book but may have to contend with a tiny bit of glue on a few pages. I personally will not be cutting the book.

Some designs merge into the binding area. It is difficult to color into those bits due to the hardcover. It makes it more of a challenge to tilt the book to get the right angle for coloring

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. If you use these, you will have ink seep through and mar the design on the back of the page.

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

Colored pencils work well with the paper. I was able to blend, layer the same and multiple colors using both oil and wax-based pencils with ease.

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.