Daily Archives: December 27, 2016

The Curious Carnival: Coloring Book for Grown-ups

By: M.R. Umlas

Rating: 5 of 5

We have recently started taking our grandchildren to the circus when it comes to town. We have all been thrilled by the spectacle of the acts under the big top. This coloring book captures that feeling and gives me the opportunity to both color the designs and to discuss the circus with my grandson.

There are trapeze artists, clowns, animals, fortune-tellers, magicians, jugglers and more. The designs have a lovely hand-drawn quality and represent the images with an old-time vintage (almost steampunk) feel. I’m really pleased with the quality of artwork in this book. The paper is the same thin quality I have come to expect from CreateSpace printed books. While I wish it were better, it is the only choice for self-published artists, so I accept it to get the wide choice of designs.
The designs are quite detailed and include intricate elements with lots of tiny spots to color. I would not recommend this coloring book to anyone with fine motor or vision issues. I would also suggest that, for the intricate areas, use of ultra-fine point markers/pens or really sharp pencils would be best.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
25 Hand-drawn Designs inspired by Carnivals and Circus images
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality by CreateSpace printing: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding and have a framing line around the outer edges.
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.

Adult Coloring Book: Island Dreams: Vacation, Summer and Beach: Dream and Relax with Gorgeous Illustrations

By: Julia Rivers

Rating: 4 of 5

The designs in this book are inspired by islands and the ocean. There are many island scenes, fish, waves, palm trees, etc. Each page has a lot of detail by way of lots of wavy lines. The publishing company (Okami Coloring) has not provided the artists name(s) for the designs. The designs have the appearance of hand-drawn and seem to be the style of one artist.

The designs are quite detailed and include intricate elements with lots of tiny spots to color. I would not recommend this coloring book to anyone with fine motor or vision issues. I would also suggest that, for the intricate areas, use of ultra-fine point markers/pens or really sharp pencils would be best.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
40 Island/Ocean inspired designs with lots of details and wavy lines
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality by CreateSpace printing: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding and have a framing line around the outer edges.
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.

Animals Flowers: Adult Coloring Book Stress Relieving Patterns (animals coloring books for adults relaxation)

By: Sophia Payne

Rating: 4 of 5

This is a slightly smaller than average format coloring book. The designs in it are reduced somewhat on the page as well. This makes for a very detailed and intricate set of illustrations inspired by animals and flowers. Both the range of the animals and the flowers are extensive with the animals ranging from birds to mammals, reptiles and even insects. Each design features an animal set among greenery and flowers. While I wish the designs were done full page, I like the illustrations themselves.

The designs are quite detailed and include intricate elements with lots of tiny spots to color. I would not recommend this coloring book to anyone with fine motor or vision issues. I would also suggest that, for the intricate areas, use of ultra-fine point markers/pens or really sharp pencils would be best.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
24 Animal/Flower inspired designs which are sized rather small on the page
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality by CreateSpace printing: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding. A few have framing lines at the outer edge but most stop without a line.
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.

Silent Night: Adult Coloring Book

By: Phoenix Amulet

Rating: 5 of 5

I am a fan of both Christmas coloring books and coloring books which utilize doodle creatures. This coloring book by Mardel Rubio combines both in a really interesting fusion. The designs are quite traditional, with Santas, snowmen, fireside tree scenes, Christmas trees, angels, and even a nativity or two.

What is interesting to me about the fusion of styles is that I can choose how to emphasize each design. I can choose bring out the doodle creatures by coloring them contrasting colors to the rest of the design. Or I can choose to blend them in by using complimentary colors.
The designs are quite detailed and include intricate elements with lots of tiny spots to color. I would not recommend this coloring book to anyone with fine motor or vision issues. I would also suggest that, for the intricate areas, use of ultra-fine point markers/pens or really sharp pencils would be best.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
23 Traditional Christmas Designs with Doodle creatures
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs merge into the binding area (and extend to all sides of the page)
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.