Monthly Archives: July 2017

Despicable Me 3: The Deluxe Coloring Book

By: Insight Editions

Rating: 4 of 5

I will attach a silent flip-through video of the full book to this review. I will also include a few photo samples of pages so you can determine if this book will work for you or not.

I was a bit disappointed at the number of wall-paper and simplistic designs (one page has just a few musical notes shown on it) which were included in this book; however, the majority of pages are still quite fun to color. Because it is printed on both sides of the page, I am pretty much limited to using colored pencils as other wet medium either bleeds through or leaves shadows at the back of the book.
In addition to the 62 pages of line drawings, there are full color images at the back of the book from some of the scenes from the movie. This can help with color choices as you color in the book.
I’ve not yet seen the third movie, so the plot line of the coloring book is new to me. I would have loved to have seen a book that covered all three movies rather than one that is limited to just the current release. As it is, I like the book but had it been filled with images from all three (with more detailed pictures and less wall-paper style repeating images), I really could have loved it.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
62 pages of line drawings based on the Despicable Me 3 movie with additional full color pictures at the back of the book
Designs are printed on both sides of the page.
Paper is medium weight, off-white, slightly rough and non-perforated.
Some designs merge into the binding and a few designs spread across two pages.
Glue Binding.
Book can be opened fairly flat by creasing or breaking the spine.
Alcohol and water-based markers and India ink pens all bleed through the paper to some degree.
Gel pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page.
Colored pencils work well with the 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.

Prima Marketing 655350591052 Prima Princesses Coloring Book

By: Prima Marketing

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my first coloring book by artist Faii Sosaikum and I am really so impressed with not only the beautiful designs but also with the outstanding quality of the publishing of this book. There are 24 coloring pages which includes 19 different princesses with flowers, two full page floral designs and three pages of bookmarks (four per page for a total of 12 bookmarks.) I really appreciate that the binding is at the top of the page so no one has to color/paint over the bump of the binding.

The designs are generally of a woman (princess) with flowers intertwined in her hair or about her. There is a nice level of detail with plenty of room for blending and special effects should you wish to do so with your projects. The women are all beautiful and the images have a nice bit of shading already in place. The line drawings are done in shades of gray on an ivory heavyweight and lightly textured watercolor paper.
I used Copic markers and Polychromos colored pencils for my first project. I was pleased to see that both work well with this paper.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my various coloring medium:
24 design pages including princesses, flowers and bookmarkers
Printed one side of the page
Paper is heavyweight, ivory, slightly textured, and non-perforated
Glue binding at the top of the page. The binding is similar to notepads and pages can be removed in whole by carefully pulling the page away from the binding.
Some designs reach up to the binding but I had no difficulty in coloring into that area.
The book opens fairly easily to a flat position for coloring/painting.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through ever so lightly. Some colors did not bleed through at all.
Water-based markers and other water-based medium, gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through the paper.
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. Both wax and oil based pencils lay down good color, layer (same and different colors) and blend well using a pencil style blending stick. I was also able to get great results using liquid blending medium as well.
Even though very few types of coloring medium bled through the fantastic paper in this book, I still used a blotter page of card stock below my working page just in case to keep ink from marring the pages below.

Creative Haven Fantasy Fashions Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Ming-Ju Sun

Rating: 5 of 5

I love coloring Ming-Ju Sun’s fashion design coloring books. Whether it be historical in nature or fantasy, such as this, her fashion designs are beautiful and a fun challenge to color. This is a set of all new designs and, to me, there is a distinct modern Asian flair to many of the drawings. The fantasy in these designs are in cut and texture of the intricacy of the fashion prints rather than in some other-worldly sense of fantasy. These are the dresses you might see as an experimental fashion on a runway or being worn by a known trend-setter.

The designs are detailed and most have small and intricate details to color. These intricate areas are generally the detail within the clothing. I’ve found that sharp point pencils and ultra-fine point (or brush end) markers work well for these areas. Each fashion design is surrounded by some form of background (generally flowers) to give a more balanced look to the page.
This is what I experienced when coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
31 beautiful and intricate fantasy fashion designs by Ming-Ju Sun
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is medium weight, white, lightly rough and perforated
Glue bound but pages can be removed easily at perforations.
Designs stop before the perforations. There is a framing line at the outer edges of each design for a more finished look. Some portions of the design extend slightly beyond the framing line for an almost 3D effect.
The book opens fairly flat by creasing/breaking the spine.
Alcohol and water based markers bleed through to some degree
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. Both wax and oil based pencils lay down good color, layer (same and different colors) and blend well using a pencil style blending stick. Hard lead pencils leave dents on the back of the page.
I remove pages or use a blotter page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper to keep ink and dents from marring the pages below.

Adult Coloring Book: Nice Little Town (Volume 1)

By: Tatiana Bogema (Stolova)

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really cute coloring book which is filled with 32 pages of designs of a various places in a little town. It has many designs of shops and it has scenes of the outside of homes as well as scenes which look out into the town from the inside of a home. The drawings all appear to be hand-drawn, which is my favorite style. I decided to do the Hat Shop for my first project and enjoyed using my Polychromos pencils to finish the design.

I also purchased this coloring book in the original version, which was a much smaller book (but contains the same number of designs). That smaller book, because of its size, was intricate and more difficult to color. This book is larger, though still not full size. It is approximately 7 x 10 inches and that makes a world of difference in the intricacy of the details. Each design is still detailed but not nearly as intricate. I actually wish this artist would done the book in standard 8.5 x 11 inches but this is a vast improvement. I still like the smaller book for coloring on the go, but will only use my sharp point pencils with it.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
32 line drawing designs of a cute and scenic little town (including presentation page). Also included are a couple of sample pages from the artist’s other books.
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge 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 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.

Creative Haven Creative Kittens Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Marjorie Sarnat

Rating: 5 of 5

I own a number of Marjorie Sarnat’s coloring books the first of which was her cute Creative Cats. I’ve gone through a couple of copies of that book and was longing for more cute cat designs from Ms. Sarnat. Creative Kittens is an adorable follow-on to the Cats book. It shows a variety of kittens in cute and playful poses.

It reminds me of the four kittens my husband and I rescued and adopted (we also caught their feral mama and neutered and released her back around our house. The kittens were so playful and fun and I get the same feeling from this coloring book.
As with all of Ms. Sarnat’s coloring books, there is a high level of detail. While there are some small areas to color, I don’t consider the designs to be intricate and hard to color.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.
31 Cute and fun to color kitten designs by Majorie Sarnat
The designs are printed one side of the page
Paper is the usual Creative Haven quality: white, medium weight, slightly rough and has perforated pages.
Glue Binding but with perforated pages so removing a page is fairly simple.
The designs stop well before the perforations and each of the designs has a framing line at the outer edge.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers bleed through in spots and show colorful shadows on the back of the page
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page. India ink pens can bleed through when I apply more than one layer of ink.
Coloring pencils work well with this paper and even better than many of the more recent Creative Haven coloring books I have bought. I was able to get good pigment (color) lay down, layer the same color and multiple colors and to blend easily using a pencil style blender. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils with similar results. Hard lead pencils, like Verithins, leave dents on the back of the page.
I suggest either removing pages from the book to color or using a blotter page under your working page. I like card stock as it keeps ink from seeping through and damaging the pages below.

Creative Haven Unicorns Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Marty Noble

Rating: 5 of 5

I really enjoy Marty Noble’s coloring book designs and am pleased that she has come out with one with unicorns. While the coloring book is based on a single subject, her treatment makes for a wide variety of designs. Some are flowing and elegant while others have a more stylized look to them. In most designs there is a single unicorn but there are others which involve a beautiful maiden or several unicorns. There are even rectangular shaped unicorn mandalas. Ms. Nobel’s unique style is recognizable in each of these designs.

The designs are detailed (including backgrounds and/or framing.) A few of the designs have small and intricate areas to color. On the whole, I don’t think it is a difficult book to color in due to small shapes. The designs present a nice challenge and have plenty of room to try blending and shading techniques as well as embellishments to the original design(s).
This is what I experienced when coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
31 beautiful and elegant unicorn designs by Marty Noble
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is medium weight, white, lightly rough and perforated
Glue bound but pages can be removed easily at perforations.
Designs stop before the perforations. There is a framing line at the outer edges of each design for a more finished look.
The book opens fairly flat by creasing/breaking the spine.
Alcohol and water based markers bleed through to some degree
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. Both wax and oil based pencils lay down good color, layer (same and different colors) and blend well using a pencil style blending stick. Hard lead pencils leave dents on the back of the page.
I remove pages or use a blotter page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper to keep ink and dents from marring the pages below.

Edward Gorey: Coloring Book

By: Edward Gorey

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a well made hardback book of 25 pen and ink designs by artist Edward Gorey. The designs range from stand-alone designs to those which were used as illustrations in various books. At the front of the book, there is a full listing of the included designs (1 through 25). For those who are familiar with Mr. Gorey’s work, humorous and sometimes slightly macabre tone is no surprise. He illustrated for many famous authors with his distinctive crosshatched drawings which rely heavily on the use of black.

I was thrilled to find this coloring book. I have been enjoying using The Ghastlies quilting fabric line which is also based on Mr. Gorey’s work and have been wishing for a coloring book as well. Because of his crosshatch style, the designs in this book are quite different from those one usually finds in a coloring book.
Because of the heavy use of black in these designs, I will be treating them, for the most part, as if they were done in grayscale. My preferred method of doing grayscale is to use alcohol-based markers as a basecoat and then to add shading and details with colored pencils. However, I will be careful in using colored pencils as these sometimes give an off-color when placed on top of black.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and using my coloring medium to test the pages:
25 Designs based on the pen and ink, crosshatched artwork of Edward Gorey
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly smooth, and non-perforated
Sewn binding with a thin glossy hard back cover
The book opens flat easily.
There is enough room to remove a page if you wish to do so.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper quite readily
Water-based markers can spot through. The exception was my Tombow brush ends did not spot through even with dark and bright colors.
Gel pens and India ink pens did not bleed through but some gel pens took much longer to dry than usual.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based in several brands. I was able to get light pigment as well as heavy (with multiple layers) and to layer colors and blend well using a pencil style blending stick. My hard lead pencils were good color as well with crisp lines and did not dent through the page.