Daily Archives: December 8, 2016

World of Cats: Adult Coloring Book

By: Cindy Elsharouni

Rating: 5 of 5

I own several coloring books by Cindy Elsharouni which generally have designs of horses and some of dogs. This is the first coloring book I have by this artist which is devoted to cats.

I have a soft spot for cats as I have owned many over the years and was involved with rescue efforts for a number of years as well. Now that all of my cats have passed on, I get my vicarious enjoyment through coloring designs that remind me of them.
There are a variety of breeds in this book I noted American Shorthair, Siamese, Scottish Fold, Persian, and many more. It is lovely to see so much choice to color in one book. Most of the designs of cats are done realistically but there are a few which have various elements added to their body/face so that you can experiment with fun colors.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
42 Cat Designs in Various Breeds (45 including title and intro pages)
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
Most designs do not merge into the binding; however, two designs have slight elements which do merge into the binding.
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 blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
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.

Invasion of the Doodle Aliens – Adult Coloring Book: Fun and Relaxation with Aliens from Outer Space

By: Okami Books

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my first coloring book by artist Pedro De Elizalde. I own several other books by Okami Books which seems to be a publisher for a variety of artists. I’m pleased to find such a diverse publisher and will be looking for new releases by this company in the future.

The 40 designs in this book are of doodle creatures. If you are at all familiar with the Doodle books by Zifflin, you may possibly recognize the genre of sketch which involves these little creatures.
In this book, the creatures are overwhelming all in their path. Invasion is a good word for what is going on. From the man sitting and watching a movie (eating popcorn) and covered in the little creatures to the waves being filled with them swimming and surfing to the hand which is (painfully) inundated by ferocious aliens, the little guys are everywhere. It should make great fun to play with various color while coloring each of them.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
40 Designs of Doodle Creatures in an overwhelming invasion
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding.
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 blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
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.