Daily Archives: March 6, 2017

Art Masterpieces to Color: 60 Great Paintings from Botticelli to Picasso (Dover Art Coloring Book)

By: Marty Noble

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a wonderful coloring book large with 60 designs which are based on a wide variety of art masterpieces. There is a wide range of artists with each design listing the artist, the name of the painting, and the date it was painted (bottom of the page.)

The designs are listed in alphabetical order according to the name of the artist with Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s A Coign of Vantage 1895 first and Grant Wood’s American Gothic 1930 being last.
At the back of the book, there is an alphabetical listing of the artists and interesting information about each of them.
The rendering of the designs by Marty Noble is beautifully done. Most of the designs are detailed while only a few of them have intricate and small areas to color. What I really appreciate about Ms. Noble is that she generally leaves plenty of room for shading and highlighting if you choose to try those.
This is what I saw while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.
60 designs derived from Masterpiece artworks line drawings by Marty Noble
The designs are printed one side of the page
Paper is the usual Creative Haven quality: white, medium weight, slightly rough and has perforated pages.
Glue Binding but with perforated pages so removing a page is fairly simple.
The designs stop well before the perforations
Thumbnail prints of the original 60 art works are on the inside flap of the covers and the back of the book.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers bleed through in spots and show colorful shadows on the back of the page
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page. India ink pens can bleed through when I apply more than one layer of ink.
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. I was able to get good color, layer the same color and multiple colors and blend easily using a pencil style blender. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils with similar results. Hard lead pencils, like Verithins, leave dents on the back of the page.
I suggest either removing pages from the book to color or using a blotter page under your working page. I like card stock as it keeps ink from seeping through and damaging the pages below.

The Glory of the Messiah: An Adult Coloring Book

By: Susan Perlman

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a wonderful coloring book for Christians or those who are curious about Jesus and his role as the Messiah. There are 21 detailed designs which are the coloring depiction of the verses which are opposite them in the book. The verses show the Old Testament prophesy and then the verse in the New Testament which shows how Jesus fulfilled the prophesy. These are just 21 of many other such prophesies.

In addition to the verses, there is a Hebrew word regarding the prophesy as well as the English translation. The verses are from the Tree of Life Bible translation. The author, Susan Perlman, and artist, Shelley Skoropinski, were both raised in Jewish homes and found the Messiah later in life. Ms. Perlman was one of the original members of Jews for Jesus which is a group that I have heard of and appreciated for most of my Christian life.
The designs are detailed without being overly intricate. I really like the format of the book which allows me to dwell on the prophesies as I color the design which shows a visual representation of that prophesy.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
21 Hand-drawn pages representing prophesies and fulfillment of The Messiah. Book is presented in horizontal format.
Designs are printed on one side of the page with prophesy verses, etc. printed on the back of the page
Paper is medium weight, white, slightly smooth and non-perforated
Glue binding.
Design stop well before the binding. Each design has a framing line at the outer edge for a natural and more finished looking stopping point.
Alcohol-based markers bled through this paper. I use a blotter of card stock to protect the designs below my working page when using these style of markers.
Water-based markers, gel pens and India ink pens did not bleed through. Some do leave the slightest of shadows on the back of the page.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. While slightly smooth to the touch, it still has enough tooth to get a good color pigment and allowed for applying layers of the same color to get rich pigment. I could also layer multiple colors well and I could blend both oil and wax based pencils easily with a pencil style blending stick.

Chibi Animals: A Cute Coloring Book with Fun, Simple, and Adorable Animal Drawings (Perfect for Beginners and Animal Lovers)

By: Jade Summer

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a cute coloring book of 25 cute animals designs. There are 50 pages to color as you are provided with two copies of each design. The designs are detailed but not overly intricate. While a few spots have areas that might be difficult for crayons to color, all other nib sizes should be used with ease. I especially like the zebra and the panda but all 25 designs are adorable.

While you can have access to .PDFs when you purchase this book, my review is based on the book as it is received from Amazon. That way you will know what the pages look like and how they accept color. I like that the publisher provides the digital version as well so you can choose the paper you wish to use and/or to color the pictures as many times as you choose.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium:
25 x 2 each Chibi Animal Designs for a total of 50 coloring pages
Designs are printed on one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated. The back of the page is printed black.
The designs do not merge into the binding. There is a heavy framing line at the outer edges of the design to give the project a more finished look, especially for framing.
Glue Binding (there is room to cut the pages out if you choose to do so.)
Though you cannot see the bleed-through easily due to the back of the page being printed in black, I recommend the use of a blotter page when working in this 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.
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.