Daily Archives: September 22, 2017

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.