Monthly Archives: September 2017

Creative Haven Lovable Cats and Dogs Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Ruth Soffer

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a very cute coloring book for cat and dog lovers. The designs are of cats and dogs together or separately. It makes for a nice variety of designs. The drawings have a nice level of detail with good backgrounds as well. A number of animal books I own are of just the animal without any form of background. In these designs, the backgrounds are both inside and outside.

The animals have a nice level of detail as well but leave plenty of room for adding your own finishing touches. You can choose make them a single color or to change it up a bit and make them multiple colors. I like the freedom this provides while I am coloring the designs.

What I did miss was the framing line that most Creative Haven coloring books have on the outer edges of the designs. It made it more difficult to have a nicely finished project. Otherwise, I really liked the designs in the book.

I decided to do a design of a kitten and a puppy snuggling in sleep as my first project. I had fun using my oil-based pencils and adding fur to the animals. I’ll post a photo of my first project as well as samples from the book.

This is what I saw while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium. I will list, in the comments section below, the coloring medium I use for testing and for coloring.

31 Cat and Dog designs some with cats and dogs together and some where they are shown separately.

The designs are printed one side of the page

Paper is the usual Creative Haven quality: white, medium weight, slightly smooth and has perforated pages.

Glue Binding but with perforated pages so removing a page is fairly simple.

The designs stop well before the perforations

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. I was able to get good color, layer the same color and multiple colors and 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.

Adult Coloring Book: Nice Little Town Christmas

By: Tatiana Bogema (Stolova)

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the third coloring book in a new series of Nice Little Town by Tanya Bogema (Stolova). In this book, it is Christmas time in the Nice Little Town. There are scenes from both inside and outside of the house. Christmas trees, snowmen, children frolicking in the snow, cats (including one attacking the tree just like at my house), elves and even Santa are among the designs included.

This coloring book (unlike the two prior volumes) is presented in standard format size at 8.5 x 11 inches. It makes it much easier to color as the details are not quite as small. The designs are detailed and some contain a few small elements but for the most part, I don’t consider it intricate or difficult to color. I hope the designer starts using this larger format for all of her new books.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
34 line drawing designs of Christmas in a scenic little town (including title and 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.

Johanna Basford 2017-2018 16-Month Coloring Weekly Planner Calendar

By: Johanna Basford

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the first weekly coloring engagement calendar I have purchased by Johanna Basford. Compared to other coloring calendars, the paper is equal to or even slightly better. However, the paper is not of the quality of the coloring books. It is more of what I consider medium weight as most mediums either bleed or show through but coloring pencils do not dent through. It is of much better quality than coloring books by CreateSpace, for instance.

The designs in the book are sized appropriately for the book. In some cases, that makes for small and intricate areas to color (especially some of the designs from the already small and intricate Lost Ocean.) Some of the designs are portions of the original designs and thus can be sized up in scale. Most will be easy to color but some will take extra small nib pens and sharp pencils.
The designs are on the left side of the page with the calendar on the right. I like this as I will be coloring each weekly page during the appropriate week. That way if my medium leaks through, it will be marring the week that has just passed. I will still use a piece of card stock (cut to size) under the page so that markers, etc. don’t leak through to the design I colored the prior week.
The page color is slightly ivory and the binding is spiral. The pages are not perforated but you can remove them by cutting them out as the designs do not cross over the spiral area.
I found that both water and alcohol-based markers bled through the page. India ink pens and gel pens left distinctive colorful shadows on the back of the page. My oil and wax based pencils worked well without denting through the page. I was able to layer and blend (using a pencil style blending stick) with ease.

Creative Haven Wondrous Nature Mandalas: A Coloring Book with a Hidden Picture Twist (Adult Coloring)

By: Jo Taylor

Rating: 4 of 5

This is a coloring book of circular format mandalas with a hidden picture twist. I generally don’t care for hidden objects as they have little to do with the design. I found that to be true in this case as there were little teacups, acorns, keys, etc. hidden throughout the designs. I colored over them if they were part of another object or colored them if they were stand-alone. Others may find it fun to look for and highlight the hidden objects as they color.

The designs are based on plants and animals rather than the usual patterns I find in mandalas. The designs are a mix of detailed designs and others that are fairly open and easy to color. I chose to do a design based on leaves for my first project. With autumn upon us, I went with colors I associate with the season. I’ll post a photo of my first project as well as samples from the book.

The book includes a key at the front of the book that shows you the hidden images and the designs on which they are hidden. At the back of the book, there are several pages of solutions which show you were the hidden objects are on the design.

This is what I found while coloring in this book and using my coloring medium to test the paper. I will list, in the comments section below, the coloring medium I use for testing and for coloring.

28 Nature inspired Designs with hidden images to find

Printed one side of the page

Paper is typical of Creative Haven: white, medium weight, slightly smooth and has perforated pages.

Glue Binding but you can easily remove pages one by one at the perforations

The designs stop well before the perforations

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper

Water-based markers bleed through in spots and leave 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 if you apply heavily or with with multiple layers.

Coloring pencils work well with this paper. I was able to use both wax and oil based pencils equally well. They lay down good color, layer the same color and multiple colors and blend easily using a blending stick. Hard lead pencils leave dents on the back of the page.

I either use a blotter page under my working page or I remove pages from the book to color. I like card stock for my blotter page but a couple of sheets of heavyweight paper works as well.

Warwick Goble’s Fairy Tales: A Vintage Grayscale Adult Coloring Book (Vintage Grayscale Adult Coloring Books) (Volume 2)

By: Ligia Ortega

Rating: 5 of 5

This coloring book contains 37 grayscale designs based on Warwick Goble’s Fairy Tales illustrations. The artist’s original designs have been converted and restored in grayscale format by Ligia Ortega. This is my first coloring book by Ms. Oretga and I am very impressed with how well the grayscale has been presented.

The artwork is beautiful and delicate in nature. The figures of the females are elegant and their clothing, for the most part, is richly ornamented. Each design speaks beautifully to the story it represents and should be wonderful to color.
The designs are done in lighter tones which allows more ability to add my own shading but is generally a slightly more advanced form of grayscale coloring. My preferred method is to use a base coat of alcohol-based markers with colored pencil over for details and shading.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
37 Grayscale designs based on the artwork of Warwick Goble plus bonus designs from other coloring books by Ligia Ortega.
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.
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly
Water-based markers bleed through in spots and can pill the paper if too many layers are attempted.
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.

Mary Engelbreit’s Color ME Christmas Book of Postcards

By: Mary Engelbreit

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a cute set of Christmas post cards, gift tags and even ornaments to color based on the artwork of Mary Engelbreit. There are ten postcards, fifteen gift tags and ten cut-out ornaments. Some of the really cute Christmas designs I most appreciate are in this book.

The postcards are preset to be used as such (with mailing address lines, etc. on the back of the card) and the gift tags and ornaments are printed on both sides of the page so there isn’t a colored side and a blank side you can color both or fill in names, etc. You will have to cut these items out of the page but there is a heavy black outer line that will make this a fairy easy task.
A number of the designs are scaled down in size to fit the smaller postcard size format. Because of that there are a number which have intricate and small areas to color. I will be using fairly sharp pencils and ultra-fine or brush markers and small nib gel pens to color much of the designs. Because some of the designs are quite intricate, the set may prove challenging for those who have issues with vision and fine motor skills.
I was so happy that I could use markers without worry of bleed-through. I don’t use most of my postcards as such. Instead, I will mount them on folded blank note cards or frame them as gifts.
This is what I found while coloring in this set of cards and testing my coloring medium on the card stock.
Fun Christmas designs based on the artwork of Mary Engelbreit in postcard size format
Printed on one side of card stock
Card stock is white, heavyweight and slightly rough
Glue binding (in the sense of a notepad where pages can easily be removed in whole.
Back is printed for use as applicable for postcards, gift tags or ornaments.
Alcohol-based markers, water-based markers, gel pens, and India ink artist pens do not bleed through this card stock.
Colored pencils worked well. Both wax and oil based pencils provided good color, layered, and blended well using a pencil style blending stick. Hard lead pencils provide deep and crisp color.

Star Trek: The Original Series Adult Coloring Book – Where No Man Has Gone Before

By: CBS

Rating: 5 of 5

I am a long-time fan of the Star Trek franchise. My first experience, as with many others, was with the original television series. Though it didn’t last for very long, it has left an indelible mark on society. This coloring book really takes me back into the series with both the illustrations and the quotes.

There are 45 designs in the coloring book which are, this time, based on the second and third seasons of the show. The designs are done by a team of illustrators which is something that I have noticed is common in Dark Horse coloring books.
In this case, the illustration team is made up of: Juann Cabal, Will Conrad, Gabriel Guzman and Derlis Santacruz. Interestingly, only one of the artists from volume one (Gabriel Guzman) has illustrations in the book. As with volume one of this series, there are subtle differences in style between the various artists, but I think that the illustrations work well together.
The designs are detailed and a few have intricate and small spots to color. The designs are printed on one side of the page with the applicable quote on the opposite facing page.
This is what I found while coloring in this coloring book and testing the paper with my coloring mediums.
45 Designs based on episodes and scenes from Star Trek seasons two and three of the original series.
Designs printed on one side of page with quotes and Stardates (as applicable) printed on the back of the page
Paper is white, heavy weight, somewhat smooth, and non-perforated
Hybrid glue and sewn binding (lots of small stitches). These are near impossible to snip to remove pages. I suggest cutting pages out instead if you so choose.
Designs merge into the binding area. Cutting out pages will result in some loss of design.
I was able to get the book to open fairly flat with some effort by breaking/creasing the spine.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens do not bleed through but do leave shadows on the back of the page.
Colored pencils worked well with the paper. I could layer well for deeper pigment and blending easily using a blender stick. Hard lead pencils did not leave dents through the page.
I suggest the use of a blotter page with alcohol-based medium. I like card stock but a couple of pages of heavy weight paper will work as well.