Daily Archives: March 24, 2017

Helter Skelter Doodles

By: Phoenix Amulet

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a book of doodle creature designs. The creatures make up part of a larger image (such as flowing in a woman’s hair) or are gathered around and/or in something such as smoke from a chimney or campfire or flowing out of a shell. This style of design is a lot of fun to color as the little creatures and other elements allow you to play with color within a larger image.

The designs are detailed and contain small and intricate areas to color. I’m a fan of the doodle creature genre and this is a fun book to add to my coloring time. While the title may evoke some darker images, I think that it is meant in the sense of the British amusement park ride a rollicking and fun time of coloring.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
30 Interesting and Unusual Doodle Creature Designs
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality used by CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not extend into the binding area.
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 (like Verithins) 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.

Pirates and Mermaids Adult Coloring Book

By: Jon Silvergreen

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a wonderful book of 25 different designs depicting pirates and mermaids. There are 2 copies of each design provided for a total of 50 coloring pages. There is also a short story written on the backs of the pages really just quick blurbs which explain the coloring design on the facing page to the words.

The designs are extremely well done and are quite detailed. This is my first coloring book of Jon Silvergreen’s designs and I hope that it will not be the last. The designs are elegantly drawn and provide a great opportunity for coloring. There are some small and intricate areas to color but nothing too extreme.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
25 x 2 each (total of 50 pages) Pirate and Mermaid designs
Designs are printed one side of the page with a short story blurb written on the back of the first 25 design pages.
Paper white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not extend into the binding area. Some of the designs have a framing line at 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 (like Verithins) 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.