Daily Archives: March 22, 2017

The Little Mermaid: A Coloring Book (Classic Coloring Book)

By: Hans Christian Andersen

Rating: 5 of 5

I really like the designs in this book. I think that the illustrations are really beautiful and imaginative. However, this is the second coloring book by this publisher that seems to give credit to a famous artist (in this case, Edmund Dulac) but is actually illustrated by a team of artists: Sophia O’Connor, Lorna Scobie, Ian Cunliffe and Shutterstock.) The quotes in the book are from the original story by Hans Christian Andersen but the artwork is not the original.

The book even gives bio information to Mr. Dulac (both on the back page and the inside flap of the back cover) which is also very misleading. While I believe it is completely incorrect to imply that Mr. Dulac’s work is included, the designs in the book are quite beautiful. The publisher should correct the misinformation on the product page. I’m not including this issue in my star rating but I wish that they would cease this practice.
The 96 pages of designs are detailed and many contain intricate and small areas to color. You will need small nib pens/markers and sharp pencils for those areas.
Many of the designs spread across two pages with integral portions of some of the designs being lost into the binding area. In my copy of the book, the pages line up very well.
There are 26 pages (13 designs) which are wall-paper, repeating designs. What’s interesting is that most of these designs are so well done, it is hard to see them as wall-paper. For instance, there is a town scene that is beautiful but repeats itself over the two pages. I still love the design so I won’t have any issues coloring it. This is true of the majority of the repeating designs. The few that have more obvious repeats are still great, though much simpler designs.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.
96 pages of detailed and intricate designs based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.
Printed both sides of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly smooth and non-perforated
Designs merge into the binding
There are many designs which spread across two pages
Sewn Binding. You can remove several pages in whole at one time by snipping several threads. I won’t do that as it will disturb the continuity of the design. The book opens easily to a flat position for coloring.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens do not bleed through or leave shadows on the back of the page. Some gel pens require additional drying time.
Colored pencils work okay with this paper. It is slightly smooth which made blending with a blending stick a little more difficult (slightly smeary.) I was able to get good pigment and to layer colors well. I tested both wax and oil based pencils with similar results.

Fantasia Adult Coloring Book – Second US Edition

By: Nicholas F. Chandrawienata

Rating: 5 of 5

I purchased both the first and second edition of the US printing of Fantasia. While I wish the second edition had been printed with designs on one side of the page, in all other ways, the second edition is vastly superior to the first.

The paper quality is superior (heavyweight with good tooth), the spiral binding is wonderful for ease of coloring, the size is increased and there are micro-perforations for easy removal of pages from the book. As I love using markers along with pencils, I will be buying a second copy of this book as markers definitely bleed through to the back of the page (see below for my coloring medium tests.)
The designs are beautiful with outstanding printing on the better quality paper. The black is true and deep and has a slightly glossy look to it.
The artist has a wonderful imagination and superior skill in illustrations. The earlier version was one of my favorites but this book is now at the top of my list of must-color designs. The designs are detailed and intricate with many small areas to color. The artist still allowed plenty of room for blending and shading.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
61 beautiful fantasy designs by Nicholas F. Chandrawienata
Designs printed on both sides of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough and perforated
Spiral Binding for easy open to flat position for coloring.
Designs stop short of the perforations.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page and will disfigure the designs on the back of the page.
Most water-based markers bleed through in spots to the back of the page. Tombow’s brush end dual markers did not bleed through. The spots that bled through would mar the design on the back of the page.
India ink pens and gel pens did not bleed through. Some gel pens require additional drying time.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. It has good tooth 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.

Mass Effect Adult Coloring Book

By: Bioware

Rating: 5 of 5

Attached to this review, I will post a silent, full book flip-through video. I will also attach a few sample photos as well.

Once again, Bioware has teamed up with Dark Horse to release an outstanding coloring book. This time, the book is based on Mass Effect (the previous one was Dragon Age.) The designs are detailed and fun to color. Some of them contain small and intricate areas to color.
The designs include the characters I hoped to see from the game. The illustrations are by a group of artists (Juann Cabal, Ron Chan, Gabriel Guzman, Andres Ponce and Martin Tunica.) While I can see style differences in the designs, I think the illustrations work well together and the coloring book flows well in the story line. Many of the designs are beautiful and are elegantly drawn. The designs are on the right side of the page with the applicable quote on left side of the page.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
45 great illustrations derived from Mass Effect trilogy and Mass Effect Andromeda.
Designs printed on one side of the page with a quote on the back of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough and non-perforated
Glue Binding
Designs merge into the binding area
I could get the book to lay fairly flat for coloring by breaking/creasing the spine.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. If you use this medium, I suggest using a blotter page to keep ink from seeping through. I use card stock but a couple of pages of paper should work as well. It will bleed through to the quote on the back of the page, which doesn’t bother me, but I want to note it if it is an issue for you.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens do not bleed through the page. Some do leave light, colorful shadows on the back of the page.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. It has good tooth 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.