Guardians of the Enchanted Forest
By: Forest Diver; Published by Storytroll Studios (Julia Rivers)
Rating: 5 of 5
In this second of a series of coloring books by artist Forest Diver, the guardians who are tasked with protecting the creatures of the enchanted forest are explored.
In the first book in the series, we discovered the hidden fantasy creatures who live there. The guardians are stronger and bigger and look more than ready to take on anyone who might wish to cause harm to the hidden spirits.
The book is filled with 32 unique and highly detailed designs based on on the guardians. They are a stronger breed but are every bit as much fun to color. I like strong characters, so having this book rounds out the series for me.
Mr. Diver is a newer artist for me but I am really taken with his style. I have at least one other book that I have purchased with his artwork and look forward to more in the future.
The designs are detailed and, in some cases, have more intricate areas to color. I plan to use highly sharped colored pencils on those areas rather than to find a special nib pen et al.
This is what I found in this coloring book:
32 lovely fantasy creature designs
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality by CreateSpace printing: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding. The designs do not have framing lines but the motifs are all finished within the design page.
Glue Binding
Create Space Paper/Media Quality
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 fairly well with this publisher’s paper provided you don’t press extremely hard while coloring. I find that I can layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and blended easily with a pencil style blending stick. This is true of both oil and wax based pencils. I have also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in this type of 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.
Here are some sample design pages from the coloring book:
In this second of a series of coloring books by artist Forest Diver, the guardians who are tasked with protecting the creatures of the enchanted forest are explored. 
