Mythical Mermaids – Fantasy Adult Coloring Book (Fantasy Coloring by Selina) (Volume 8)
By: Selina Fenech
Rating: 5 of 5
Mythical Mermaids the latest fantasy coloring book by Selina Fenech. She is one of my favorite fantasy designers and this is my first book by her that is devoted to mermaids (though she does have an earlier coloring book with a similar subject.) The designs are of primarily mermaids though there are some mermen and a man or two who has been saved from a watery grave by a beautiful mermaid. Some of the designs include more than one mermaid but most of them focus on a single beautiful female.
Once again with Ms. Fenech’s books, I’m really happy that the book contains two of each design because it gives me the opportunity to explore each in different colorways. I generally go towards light and clean looking lines in my coloring but having a second copy of each design gives me an opportunity to try different techniques and darker colors and heavier shading.
The mermaids are all gorgeous, of course. There is a hint of nudity but all of the female parts are well covered by hair and whatnot. The mermen are without shirts but that doesn’t really matter in any case. There are no children in this book and most of the poses are highly romanticized while stressing the female form of the subject.
For my first two projects, I chose to use alcohol-based markers. I have been using pencils to shade but for these two, I tried using my markers for shading as well.
I will provide a more detailed description of the physical book below but here is a quick overview of what I found:
25 x 2 Mermaid Fantasy Designs
Printed on one side of page
Paper is white, thin, slightly rough (tooth) and non-perforated
Designs do not merge into the binding and there is plenty of room to remove pages if you wish to do so.
Glue Binding
Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through the paper (though water-based is more spotty compared to alcohol-based)
India ink pens and gel pens leave shadows on color on back of the page. Gel pens left dents on the back of the page.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I was able to put down good color, layer, and blend well with both wax and oil based pencils. Hard lead left dents on the back of the page.
I recommend a blotter page below your working page to keep ink and dents from marring the page below.
The artist has placed a frame around the majority of the designs in this coloring book. There are three that do not have the lines but for the most part have finished elements on the outer edges of the design. I really appreciate when an artist includes this thoughtful touch. It makes it easier for me to complete the project with a finished look and saves me time, trouble, and especially ink.