Daily Archives: May 10, 2017

Cinderella: Grayscale Adult Coloring Book (Beautiful Fairy Tales) (Volume 2)

By: Ruth Sanderson

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really elegant set of grayscale designs. The designs are based on the illustrations in Ruth Sanderson’s storybook version of Cinderella. As this is the second grayscale coloring book based on one of Ms. Sanderson’s illustrated storybooks, I am looking forward to seeing more of the tales brought to coloring books in the future.

The beautiful designs are extremely detailed and have small and intricate spots to color.
There are 24 designs in this book and, what is very interesting, is that there are 12 bonus pages that are duplicates of half of the original designs in the coloring book. This is fun to try different techniques or colors on (or to give away to friends if you are so inclined.)
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
24 Grayscale designs plus 12 bonus designs based on the fairy tale Cinderella for a total of 36 coloring pages
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. 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; however, some of the darker areas of the designs had a tendency to smear using this type of blender. I found that liquid forms (Gamsol or mineral spirits) did a better job. This doesn’t bother me as I generally do not use a blender on grayscale designs. 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.

I Don’t Know What They Are. I Just Draw These Things!: An Adult Coloring Book of Otherworldly Creations

By: Fred Von Tobel

Rating: 5 of 5

I like to color unique and different styles of fantasy. This is a coloring book that fits that description to a T. The designs are imaginative and include many fantasy creatures, a few scantily clad (or less) females and more. Some of the creatures border on the grotesque but never cross the line to downright ugly. Some of them are even cute in their strangeness. That the artist has a great sense of humor is evident not only in his designs but also in both his dedication statements and the after statement about the artist.

The designs (which appear to be hand-drawn) are detailed but not what I consider intricate and small to color. There is a heavy use of black in some of the designs both for shading and as a pre-filled in color. The lines are a thicker black than many other coloring books.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
31 line drawing fantasy designs by Fred Von Tobel
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. The designs have a dark black 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; however, some of the black areas of the designs had a tendency to smear using this type of blender. I found that liquid forms (Gamsol or mineral spirits) did a better job. 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.