Daily Archives: February 2, 2017

The Inklings Coloring Book

By: James A. Owen

Rating: 5 of 5

This coloring book contains 15 very detailed and intricate designs. The blurb on the back of the books says that the designs are based on the works of the group known as The Inklings. What I found was that the majority of the designs were of the actual members of the group.

There are some designs which are based on works and the Bandersnatch makes his way (in one way or another) into each of the designs of the members. It’s kind of fun to search for how Bandersnatch was incorporated.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium:
15 Designs inspired by The Inklings and their works
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is white, medium/heavy weight, slightly rough and non-perforated
Stapled binding (book can be taken completely apart by removing two staples.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens did not bleed but did leave slight shadows on the back of the page.
Colored pencils worked very well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based pencils with good results. I was able to get good, deep pigment. I could layer easily (both same and different colors.) Blending was also excellent using a pencil style blending stick.

HBO’s Game of Thrones Coloring Book

By: HBO

Rating: 4 of 5

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

This is a beautiful coloring book based on the HBO series. There are a total of 35 designs (many of them are two page spread designs.) It is in a much larger format than most other coloring books at 11.5 x 11.75 inches. The designs are by artists Allan Jefferson and Adriana Melo and are based on photographs from the series. The styles of the two artists mesh well making it a very seamless looking book of elegant and well-drawn illustrations.
The subjects of the designs are noted on the far left and right margins, so if you don’t recall who/what, it is there to remind you. The designs themselves are quite detailed and have many intricate and small areas to color. Because of this detail and intricacy, it is not a book that I would recommend to anyone with fine motor or vision issues.
The book has the same lush elegance I have found in the cinematography of the series. Both my husband and I have our own copies so we can each enjoy coloring the wide variety of designs. I think it is an excellent coloring book for fans of the series while at the same time equally great for others who don’t watch the series but like the fantasy aspect and the elegant artwork.
What I didn’t like was how many of the designs spread across two pages. In my book, a number of those pages didn’t line up very well. I still really like the book but that issue keeps me from loving it.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium:
35 Game of Thrones inspired designs from the HBO series
22 of those designs spread across two pages and have elements which cross into the binding
Printed on both sides of the page
Paper is white, heavyweight, slightly rough and non-perforated
Sewn binding (several pages can be removed at a time by snipping the threads.)
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens did not bleed through nor did I have discernible shadows on the back of the page.
Colored pencils worked very well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based pencils with good results. I was able to get good, deep pigment. I could layer easily (both same and different colors.) Blending was also excellent using a pencil style blending stick.