Steampunk Animals Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)
By: Jeremy Elder
Rating: 5 of 5
The designs in the book and imaginative and are lots of fun to color. The animals are set in backgrounds rather than simply an animals on a page. Each of the animals has machinery built-in which is a must for a steampunk fan.
The designs are detailed but are not intricate and hard to color. There is plenty of room for blending or adding your own details to make the coloring project a more personalized one.
My earlier book by Mr. Elder was released under the Creative Haven line of Dover books and I wish that this one, Steampunk Animals had also been so released. Unfortunately, it was released as a standard Dover Coloring book. The difference is distinctive as this book is printed on both sides of the page, has a slightly different feel to the paper, and is not perforated.
However, the price is also less than a Creative Haven book, so I can and will buy a second copy of this book as I will want to use markers on the pages. If you use only colored pencils, you may be happy with just the one book as-is.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium. I will list my coloring mediums that I use for testing and coloring in the comments section below.
30 Steampunk inspired Animals Designs
Printed on both sides of the page
Paper is medium weight, smooth, white and non-perforated
Staple bound with three heavy duty staples
Designs stop well before the binding area and can be removed in whole from the book by removing the three staples at the binding.
All designs have a framing line around the outer edge to give a natural stopping point for the design and all of the elements within it. I really appreciate this feature in coloring books.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers spot through and/or leave colorful shadows on the back of the page
Gel pens and India ink pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page. India ink pens can bleed through in spots if you apply heavily or use multiple coats.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. Both oil and wax-based pencils provided good pigment, layered well with the same or multiple colors and blended well using a blending stick. Hard lead pencils did not dent through the page.
If you choose to use any medium other than colored pencils, you will probably find bleed through or colorful shadows on the design at the back of your working page. For me, that ruins the design. My choice will be to buy a second book if I want to use markers/gel pens/India ink. I still suggest a blotter page under your working page as it will keep the following pages (other than the one on the back of your working page) from being ruined by seeping ink. I like card stock for this purpose but find that a couple of sheets of heavyweight white paper work well, too.