Daily Archives: November 8, 2016

Colin Thompson Funtastic 72 Page Adult Colouring Book (Ravensburger)

By: Ravensburger

Rating: 5 of 5

I have this coloring book in the German edition and was really pleased to pick up this UK version as well. The only difference between the two books is that this version is in English and the other was in German (though the illustrations have words in English in both versions.) Apart from that, the books are comparable and either one is a pleasure to own.

I have several Ravensburger puzzles by Colin Thompson and enjoy the unusual subjects and intricacies of those. 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. The designs are done in grayscale and 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 extremely 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.