Monthly Archives: September 2017

Norse Mythology

By: Jade Summer

Rating: 5 of 5

Zendoodle Coloring Presents Mermaids in Paradise: An Artist’s Coloring Book

By: Denyse Klette

Rating: 5 of 5

I admit to being a fan of Denyse Klette’s artwork before finding her coloring books. I loved the first coloring book, Fairies in Dreamland and looked forward to and preordered this book. My only issue with the book (besides wishing the pages were perforated) is that the title might more accurately have been Mermaid and Friends in Paradise. While most of the designs include mermaids or mermaid related items, a good number are of the cute little pig from the prior book, birds, fish and other assorted sea creatures (really cute octopus.) As there are 64 designs in this book, the fact that the designs are not all of mermaids doesn’t trouble me too much.

The book has 64 design pages (including the title and presentation pages which have designs on them as well.) Ms. Klette’s signature style female form is long and thin with beautiful big eyes. Her mermaids such this to perfection (though I did like that a couple of the mermaids were a little more curvy.) Her animal creatures are cute and fun with great expressions.
I love that she worked in a Princess and the Pea image into this book as in the last one (this time a mermaid sleeping in an oversize shell with a kind of large pearl below. I especially like the last design in the book which is of a mermaid holding a cute little fairy in her hand it brings the two coloring books together in a great way.
The designs are detailed and some are quite intricate with lots of tiny details to color. To color some of the tiny detail, I will need to use extra fine nib pens or extremely sharp pointed pencils. Otherwise, regular color medium works great.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium.
64 Cute and Fun Mermaid and Friends Designs by Denyse Klette (includes title and presentation page.)
Printed one side of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough and non-perforated
Glue Bound
Most designs merge into the binding area; however, nothing integral to the design is lost
I can get the book to lay fairly flat with some effort (it is a thick book); however, coloring into the binding area will take some maneuvering (how I wish this book had perforated pages!)
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly
Water-based markers and India ink pens leave shadows (some showing the color) on the back of the page
Gel pens do not bleed through but some larger nib pens required additional drying time. I suggest testing your pens to be sure they won’t accidentally smear.
Colored pencils did well with this paper. I tested various types of oil and wax-based pencils and they all performed well with multiple layers of the same color for deeper pigment, multiple layers of different colors, and blended easily with a blender stick.
I am using and suggest the use of a blotter page under your working page. I use card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper. This will keep seeping ink from getting to the pages below.

Creative Haven Let There Be Love Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Alexandra Cowell

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a lovely coloring book of hand-drawn, rather sketchy looking designs that celebrate Love of all kinds. There are lots of hearts and flowers, words explaining the type of love shown in the design, and even couples (mostly animals). I especially like the baby carriage design as it is so darn cute. There are also pages of multiple designs that are presented in small blocks. I like the look and the unique quality of that presentation. It gives me a small project (i.e., a block) to finish in a short amount of time. I can usually finish one during a small break in work.

I found the designs to be both detailed and intricate. There are many tiny spaces to color in most of the designs. I used primarily ultra-fine point markers and gel pens on my first project and will certainly be continuing to use these mediums as I color my way through the book. I’ll post a photo of my first project as well as samples from the book.

The designs have a lovely sketch look to them. The hand-drawn quality is especially interesting to me. I like many computer generated and computer drawn designs as well but I am drawn to handwork first and foremost.

This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper. I will list, in the comments section below, the coloring medium I use for testing and for most of my coloring projects.

31 Detailed Sketch style designs with Love as the emphasis.

Designs are printed one side of the page

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

Glue Binding with perforations so you can remove them one at a time.

The designs stop well before the perforations

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper

Water-based markers bleed through with colorful spots and 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. I was able to get good color and to get deeper pigment by layering the same color. I found that I could layer multiple colors and blend easily using a blending stick. Hard lead pencils leave dents on the back of the page.

I generally prefer to use a blotter page under my working page to keep ink from seeping through but you can also 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.

Adult Coloring Book: Nice Little Town (Volume 2)

By: Tatiana Bogema (Stolova)

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the second coloring book in a new series of Nice Little Town by Tanya Bogema (Stolova). I love her style and the fun and cute scenes that she portrays in this little town. This is Volume 2 and it picks up where Volume 1 left off. While there are still cute scenes that look from the interior of a house to the town outside, I found that there was more of a focus on outside scenes in this book. From cats frolicking to a lovely lighthouse by the sea, each design is cute and will be fun to color. In the 7 x 10 inch version of this book, the designs are detailed and have a few small and intricate areas to color.

This is the larger of the two versions of this coloring book (at 7 x 10 inches.) It is also slightly more expense but I think it is well worth the additional cost. I purchased the small version of volume 1 and found it made coloring a more difficult because of the tiny spots. It seems like both versions are being sold on this same page, so be sure to order the size you are interested in.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
32 line drawing designs of a scenic little town (including title page) continues from Volume 1. 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.

Picturing Heaven: 40 Hope-Filled Devotions with Coloring Pages

By: Randy Alcorn

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a lovely Scripture-based coloring book with Devotionals by Randy Alcorn and illustrations by Lizzie Preston. The subject of the book is Heaven. What will Heaven look like and be like according to the Scriptures? The Scriptures and devotionals are on the left side of the open pages and the design for coloring is on the right side. The Bible translations used in the book are listed in the front and are fairly extensive.

I found that most of the designs were representations of the study on the facing page. Perhaps all of them are and a few were too subtle for me to grasp. In any case, I enjoy Ms. Preston’s work and will enjoy coloring this book.
The revelation to me are the devotionals by Mr. Alcorn. I had not read his books but will certainly pick them up. He has a wonderful way of keeping right to the heart of the subject both quickly and eloquently. Each study looks at and discusses a single subject regarding Heaven. Some subjects include: Eternal Freedom from Sorrow, At Last, We’ll Have Time for Everything, Will We Reunite with Our Favorite Pets?, Our Greatest Joy Made Greater, No More Pain, Tears, or Death and much more. I plan to make each devotional a Bible Study lesson for myself. As there are 40 in the book, at the rate of one per week, the book will last close to a year.
The only one nit that I have with the book is the pre-printed flat gold tone on each of the designs. No matter what coloring medium I use, I will not be able to match the color or the texture of the printed color. I will probably use whatever medium I choose for the rest of the design and go over the pre-printed color to make it my own. However, it would have been much better to not have it to deal with.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
40 illustrations by Lizzie Preston based on Picturing Heaven Devotionals by Randy Alcorn.
Designs printed on one side of the page (with Scriptures and Devotionals printed on opposite facing page.)
Paper is heavyweight, white, lightly smooth, and non-perforated. Each design has pre-printed goldtone elements.
Sewn Binding
Designs do run into the binding area.
Book opens fairly flat for coloring if you crease the spine.
Alcohol-based markers bleed rapidly through the page. If you use these, you will mar the wording on the back of the page. I suggest using card stock or several sheets of paper as a blotter to keep ink from seeping through to the next design.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens did not bleed through. Some of the larger nib gel pens required additional drying time.
Colored pencils worked well with the paper. I was able to get good pigment from multiple layers of the same color. I was able to layer multiple colors and to blend with a blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils.
While you can remove pages by either cutting them out of snipping binding threads, I will not be removing pages from this book as I want to keep the studies and illustrations together.

Creative Haven Grumpy Cat Vs. The World Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Diego Jourdan Pereira

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my second coloring book of Grumpy Cat designs. In this book, Grumpy Cat takes a whirl-wind trip around the world and shows up in various costumes from countries with a floating element that pertains to that country (for example, floating Eiffel Towers are on the French Grumpy Cat design.) The designs have a lot of gray and black included. There are small elements to color or, as I did, use a single color to put a large swathe over a bunch of the tiny elements and leave the intricate detail simply as patterning below the color.

I choose to do the cowboy grumpy cat which seemed to be the one that represented the USA. I had fun with the hotdogs floating around in space. I used a variety of markers to finish the design. I’ll post a photo of my first project as well as samples from the book.

This is what I experienced 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 Grumpy Cat designs representing countries around the world

The designs are printed one side of the page

Paper is what I have come to expect from Creative Haven: white, medium weight, slightly smooth and has perforated pages.

Glue Binding but you can remove pages at the perforation easily

The designs stop well before the perforations with most having a framing line around the outer edge

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper

Water-based markers bleed through in spots 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 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 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.

Santa’s Christmas: Grayscale Adult Coloring Book

By: Ruth Sanderson

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a wonderful Christmas-inspired grayscale coloring book with 24 unique designs. The designs are based mostly on Ruth Sanderson’s The Night Before Christmas illustrated book. There are a few additional images as well. The designs are so well done, I looked for the regular storybook and was unable to find it but I will continue to look.

The grayscale in Ms. Sanderson’s books are very well done. She also gives hints on how-to do grayscale at the beginning of her book. While the product description says that this book is not suitable for markers, I have found that I can use alcohol-based markers provided I use a blotter (see below) though some water-based markers if you continue to layer with them.
The story the designs tell follows Santa from his workshop to his visit and to his flying away. You can almost hear him shouting Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night as you flip through the final pages.
There are 24 designs in this book and, as Ms. Sanderson has done in the past, there are 12 bonus pages that are duplicates of half of the original designs in the coloring book. In previous books, the grayscale in the bonus area was done in a darker format; however, in this book, the images appear to be the same as the originals.
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 mostly on The Night Before Christmas plus designs from Lenox collector’s plates.
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 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.

Norse Mythology: An Adult Coloring Book with Fun, Beautiful, and Relaxing Coloring Pages

By: Jade Summer

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really interesting coloring book of Norse Mythology designs. Usually, Jade Summer books are focused on females; however, in this book, there is a full range of mythological characters including many men and some creatures.

The designs have a very realistic look to them rather than a comic character type feel. The names of each character is included in the design. It is incorporated so well, it becomes part of the design and creates almost a storybook type feel to the entire book. There is a definite use of shading and cross hatching throughout which give the designs an almost sketch-like feel but leaves them still fairly easy to color.
The designs are quite detailed and will take time to finish. While the designs have backgrounds, some are much more elaborate than others. The overall designs are not what I consider intricate as the elements to color do not require special small nib pens/markers. I am able to use a wide variety of coloring medium on these designs.
While you can have access to .PDFs when you purchase this book, my review is based on the book as it is received from Amazon. That way you will know what the pages look like and how they accept color. I like that the publisher provides the digital version as well so you can choose the paper you wish to use and/or to color the pictures as many times as you choose.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium:
30 unique designs (2 copies of each) based on Norse Mythology
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated. The back of the page is printed black.
The designs do not merge into the binding. There is a heavy framing line at the outer edges of the design to give the project a more finished look, especially for framing. There is a slight shadowing effect to the framing line which gives the image an almost 3D effect.
Glue Binding (there is room to cut the pages out if you choose to do so.)
Though you cannot see the bleed-through easily due to the back of the page being printed in black, I recommend the use of a blotter page when working in this 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.
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.

Color My Art: Japanese Girl: Grayscale & Underpainting Coloring Book

By: Ikuko

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a lovely set of designs based on the artwork of Ikuko. The designs are grayscale images of young Japanese girls. The girls are mostly dressed in traditional costumes though there are a couple which have modern outfits. I had never seen this artist’s work before so the beauty of the designs was new to me.

There are 22 unique designs in this book and there is a duplicate set of 22. While the images are the same, the first set of designs are printed grayscale on white paper and the second set is printed grayscale on black paper. The designs are moderately detailed and should be fairly easy for anyone who is familiar with coloring grayscale images.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
22 Unique and original Grayscale designs of Japanese girls based on the artwork of Ikuko. There are two sets of the designs for a total of 44 coloring pages.
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality used by CreateSpace: thin, slightly rough and non-perforated. One set of designs is printed on white paper while the second set is printed on black paper.
Some designs extend into the binding but most do not.
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.