Daily Archives: April 20, 2017

Women of the Ukiyo-e (Dover Fashion Coloring Book)

By: Ming-Ju Sun

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a lovely book of designs based on the Edo period of Japanese history and Ukiyo-e artwork (1615 through 1868.) Each of the designs in the book has the information about the original artist (from whose woodblock prints the line drawings in this book are derived.) It gives the name, date and information about what the design represents. The designs are detailed and some have intricate and small areas to color.

Many of my coloring books by Ming-Ju Sun are in the Creative Haven line. This book is older and is currently out of print. It was released as a standard Dover Coloring book. The difference is distinctive as this book is printed on both sides of the page, has a slightly different feel to the paper, and is not perforated.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium.
30 Japanese art inspired designs based on the Edo period of Ukiyo-e artwork.
Printed on both sides of the page
Paper is medium weight, lightly rough, white and non-perforated
Staple bound with three heavy duty staples
Designs stop well before the binding area and can be removed in whole from the book by removing the three staples at the binding.
All designs have a framing line around the outer edge to give a natural stopping point for the design and all of the elements within it. I really appreciate this feature in coloring books.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers spot through and/or leave colorful shadows on the back of the page
Gel pens and India ink pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page. India ink pens can bleed through in spots if you apply heavily or use multiple coats.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. Both oil and wax-based pencils provided good pigment, layered well with the same or multiple colors and blended well using a blending stick. Hard lead pencils did not dent through the page.
If you choose to use any medium other than colored pencils on the pages of this book, you will probably find bleed through or colorful shadows on the design at the back of your working page.

Color Your Own Guardians of the Galaxy

By: Marvel Comics

Rating: 5 of 5

I will attach a silent video to this review of a page by page flip-through so you can decide for yourself if it suits your needs. I’ll also attach some sample photos of the pages as well.

This is the latest coloring book release based on Marvel comics. The designs in this book are based on the characters of Guardians of the Galaxy comics. As with other coloring books in this series, the designs are printed on one side and the pages are perforated. Also, unlike other comic book coloring books (which are merely black and white versions of actual comics), there are no words printed on these pages. I really like all of the Color Your Own books and this one especially. The characters are the ones that I wanted to see and will be happy to color.
The designs are highly detailed with small and intricate areas to color. The designs are done by a large group of individuals. Interestingly, though there are many different styles represented, the book is still a great cohesive presentation of the series. There is a heavy use of black in the designs which doesn’t bother me but may be an issue for others.
This is what I found while coloring in the book and testing the paper with my coloring medium:
60 designs based on the Guardians of the Galaxy comic series characters
Printed one side of the page
Paper is white, medium weight, slightly rough and perforated
Glue Binding
The designs stop at the perforations
Alcohol and water based markers bleed through the paper to some degree
Gel pens and India ink pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page
Colored pencils work well with the paper. I tested both oil and wax based with good results. I could get good pigment due to the rough tooth of the paper. I could layer the same and multiple colors easily and blend well using a pencil style blending stick. Hard lead pencils can leave dents through the paper.
I use and suggest others use a blotter page behind the working page (if you don’t remove pages from the book to color.) I use card stock but a couple of sheets of heavy weight paper work well, too.