20 Square Postcards based on the artwork of Fantastic Cities – printed on card stock with address/stamp area on back

Fantastic Cities: 20 Postcards to Color

By: Steve McDonald

Rating: 5 of 5

I own all three coloring books by Steve McDonald and was happy to find that he had come out with a set of postcards based on his first coloring book Fantastic Cities. In this set of postcards, there are 20 designs from the book but the designs have been sized and cropped to fit the postcards. The designs are very detailed and have many intricate and small spots to color. This set of postcards are a fun challenge but I am using my smallest nib pens and markers as well as my very sharp point pencils to color in it. Because of the small areas to color, this may not be the best choice for anyone who has visual or fine motor issues.

I really appreciate that Mr. McDonald kept to the square format of his books in sizing the artwork for the postcards. It also makes the set of cards very different from others. I’m not sure if regular postal rates will apply because of the change in size ( 6 x 6 inches) but for coloring purposes, I really enjoy it.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this set and testing my coloring medium on the card stock.

20 Fantastic Cities designs sized and cropped to fit postcards

Designs printed on one side of card stock with address/stamp areas on the back of the card

Paper is slightly rough white card stock

Glue bound but in the style of easy to remove pages such as a notepad

Alcohol-based markers had slight bleed-through but did not get to the paper I had below. I would still use a sheet of paper as a blotter below my working page or remove the cards before coloring when using this medium.

Water-based markers, gel pens, and India ink pens did not bleed through. Gel pens required a little extra drying time.

Colored pencils worked really well with these cards. Most postcards are smooth but this card stock had enough tooth to get good pigment, layering, and blending with ease. Both oil and wax-based pencils worked equally well.