Daily Archives: May 26, 2017

Angels Coloring Book (Dover Coloring Books)

By: Marty Noble

Rating: 5 of 5

This is an older Dover coloring book, Angels by Marty Noble. As with other Dover published coloring books (as opposed to the Creative Haven line by Dover), these designs are printed on both sides of the page.

The angels designs in this coloring book are both graceful and elegant. They are all female I would have loved to see a few male angels, such as Gabriel and Michael portrayed by Ms. Noble. Some of the designs are reminiscent of famous works of art and may have been inspired by them. However, there is no attribution stating so.
The designs are all of angels in a variety of detailed backgrounds. They are well centered on the page with a framing line at the outer edges. The designs are detailed and, while a few of them include some intricate elements, the designs are not what I consider intricate with masses of small and difficult elements to color.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium.
30 Elegant and graceful angel designs
Printed on both sides of the page
Paper is medium weight, slightly 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.
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.

Mythologica: Beasts to Color

By: Richard Merritt

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a beautifully drawn book of 31 mythological creatures. The publishing of the book is also well done. The range of creatures included is fairly extensive and, at the end of this review, I will provide a full list of the mythological creatures included. The creatures represent myths and stories from a wide variety of cultures.

The initial line drawings are realistically portrayed but then the inside of the mythological creatures are many doodle style intricate elements. The designs are detailed and highly intricate with many small and hard to color details. It may not be the best book for those who have vision or fine motor skill issues.
The attached cover is beautifully illustrated with coloring and light touches of purple and blue metallic foil on the front artwork. The paper that is used for this book is a very good quality and would work well if you wish to frame your finished work.
Slight elements of the background design are already colored. While my personal preference would have been to have left these blank, I am okay with the small amount they have colored in this instance. The designs do merge into the binding and you will lose portions of some of the designs if you remove a page at the perforations but nothing essential to the integrity of the design.
This is what I found in coloring and testing in this book:
31 Mythological inspired designs which are very detailed and intricate to color
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is white, heavy weight slightly rough, has background elements slightly pre-colored and is perforated.
Sewn Binding
Book can be opened fairly flat for coloring
Most designs merge past the perforations and into the binding area; however, these portions are not integral to the overall design.
Alcohol and Water based markers bleed through this paper to some extent (Tombow brush ends did best with only light spotting to the back of the page.)
India ink left shadows on the back of the page.
Gel pens did not bleed through and did not require extra drying time.
Coloring pencils worked well. Both oil and wax based pencils worked well for providing good pigment. I was able to layer the same color for deeper tones, layer multiple colors and to blend easily using a pencil style blending stick.
If you use a wet medium with this book, I suggest using a blotter page of card stock or several sheets of paper to keep ink from seeping through the ruining the pages below. You can also simply remove a page from the book before coloring as well.
Designs in this book include: Minotaur, European Dragon, Jackalope, Basilisk, Gorgon, Cockatrice, Yeti, Pegasus, Ogre, Kraken, Gnome, Hydra, Harpy, Qilin, Kitsune, Unicorn, White Stag, Sphinx, Goblin, Griffon, Faun, Phoenix, Chinese Dragon, Mermaid, Troll, Werewolf, Fairy, Manticore, Centaur, Sea Serpent and Cerberus.

Dinomon – Invasion of the Dinosaur Doodles: Adult Coloring Book – Color and Relax in the World of the Dinomon

By: Okami Books

Rating: 5 of 5

I really enjoy coloring doodle creature designs. I have some that are elegant and some that are a tad bizarre but up until now, I’ve never seen so many designs that are simply so fun and cute.

The designs in this coloring book feature dinosaurs in a myriad of unlikely situations. They range from dinosaurs who walk the earth, fly in the sky or swim in the deep. The designs feature both small and large dinosaurs along with lots of other doodle elements and creatures.
The designs are detailed but not what I consider intricate and difficult to color. What I like about these styles of designs is the freedom to use whatever colors you wish to emphasize (or the reverse) the elements that speak to you.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
40 Dinosaur inspired 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. Some of the designs 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 darker and thicker lines 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 with these particular 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.