Daily Archives: March 27, 2017

Colortronic Animals: A Kaleidoscopic Coloring Challenge

By: Lark Crafts

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my first Colortronic coloring book so I didn’t really know what to expect. The designs are beautifully drawn and the suggested colors are very vibrant and create a stunning project.

I followed the colors suggested for my first project except that I did not use a background color as yet. It was so much fun that I am considering buying two of the book one to follow the colors by and one with which to do my own color choices.
I used Copic markers and then came back and enhanced the colors and some shading with Polychromos pencils. I found that using both gave a depth of color to the project and allowed me to fine tune my color choices for a more balanced looking project.
Apart from the color choices, the animals are drawn realistically without doodles. The designs are detailed but are not overly intricate. I had no problems using any of my medium in the color areas.
The color numbers do show through unless I used an extremely dark or opaque color. I’d love it if the artist/publisher also published the same pictures in a regular line drawn coloring book but I am sold on their style of color by number.
This is what I found while coloring in the book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
29 Beautiful Animal Designs in a Color by Number format
Designs printed on one side of the page with color guide on the binding side of the perforations
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough and micro-perforated
Sewn Binding
Designs do not cross over the perforations. Each design has a framing line at the outer edge.
I could get the book to lay fairly flat for coloring with a little effort.
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 slight and indistinct shadows on the back of the page. 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.

Norman Rockwell Coloring Book

By: Pomegranate

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a beautifully rendered coloring book of line drawings based on artwork by Norman Rockwell. The iconic artwork graced the covers of The Saturday Evening Post. In addition to the the designs, there is a listing of the artwork included, with the date of the original cover designs. Also included (on the inside of the front a back covers) and full color thumbnails of all of the original artwork.

The designs are open and easy to color. There is a good level of detail but they have left a lot of open area to allow you to color and add your own shading and details.
These are the designs included in the book: Gramps at the Plate, Boys Playing Leapfrog, No Swimming, Boy Lifting Weights, Boy Making Football Tackle, Spring, Dog Biting Man, Doctor and Doll, Men Racing to Fire, Springtime: Boy with Rabbit, Couple in Rumbleseat, Little Boy Reaching Grandfather’s Overcoat, Road Line Painter’s Problem, Football Hero, Marble Champion, Boy with Melting Ice Cream Cones, Rosie the Riveter, Girl with Black Eye, The Optician, The Runaway and The Connoisseur.
This is what I experienced in coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
22 line drawing designs rendered from iconic Norman Rockwell illustrated magazine covers from The Saturday Evening Post
Designs are printed on one side of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough to the touch and non-perforated
The designs are bound by two heavyweight staples which can be removed to release all of the page from the book without any loss of design.
Designs do not merge into the binding area
Pages can be cut out if you wish without losing any design elements.
Book easily opens to a flat position for coloring.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper easily.
Water-based markers leave shadows and slight spots of color bleed through on the back of the page
If I use any style of marker, I also make sure to use a blotter under my working page. I like card stock but a couple of sheets of heavyweight paper works well, too.
Gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through the page. Some gel pens require slightly more drying time than usual.
Colored pencils work well with the paper. It has a slight roughness to it that allows good pigment coverage from both oil and wax based pencils. I was able to layer the same and multiple colors well and could blend easily using a pencil style blending stick.