Daily Archives: October 12, 2016

The Poldark Colouring Book

By: Gwen Burns

Rating: 5 of 5

My husband and I are fans of the Poldark series from BBC One. This coloring book is based on the first two series and shows scenes from each which includes some hint as to plot lines. The coloring book is really well made and the characters are, for the most part, very true to life.

The 46 designs include a lot of character studies which I really appreciate. They also give a hint of the lush beauty of the countryside, homes, and clothing that I appreciate in the series.

The designs are done with a very light hand with an almost sketch-like quality to the drawings. The artist has, in a number of the designs, included lines across the characters faces, etc. for shading purposes. Some people like this and some do not. I’m fairly neutral on the matter but wanted to be sure to mention it.

I really appreciate that this book was printed single sided. So many of the of television/movie/book coloring books are done two-sided which makes it difficult for someone who colors with alcohol-based markers. With the high level of detail in these designs, it shows that a single sided book with great designs and detail can be accomplished and accomplished very well.

This is the UK version of the coloring book. As both my husband and I color, I also pre-ordered the US version and will provide a comparison of both coloring books when I receive that book.

Here is what I have experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.

46 line drawn designs which are based on series 1 and 2 of Poldark

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is medium weight, white, slightly rough and non-perforated

Sewn Binding

Designs merge into the binding area; however, several pages at a time can be removed by snipping a few threads and no portion of the design will be lost

Book can be opened fairly flat by breaking the binding but it is still a bit difficult to color into the binding area

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page

Water-based markers do not bleed through

India ink pens leave a very light shadow on the back of the page

Gel pens do not leak through but require a few minutes more of drying time.

Colored pencils work very well with this paper. The oh, so slight roughness to the page provides excellent tooth for pigment. I was able to layer the same color, multiple colors and blend well with both oil and wax based colors.