The Official Poldark Coloring Book: A Coloring Adventure in Cornwall
By: Winston Graham
Rating: 5 of 5
I’ve purchased the UK version of this book (which was released in September) and will include a comparison of the US and UK version below. In the photos I include, the US version is the smaller one on top and the UK version is the larger one on the bottom. Otherwise, the photos and video in this review are of the US version only. My rating is based only on the US version and does not add or detract because of comparison to the UK version.
The 46 designs include a lot of character studies which I really appreciate. They also give a hint of the lush beauty of the countryside, homes, and clothing that I appreciate in the series.
The designs are done with a very light hand with an almost sketch-like quality to the drawings. The artist has, in a number of the designs, included lines across the characters faces, etc. for shading purposes. Some people like this and some do not. I’m fairly neutral on the matter but wanted to be sure to mention it.
I really appreciate that this book was printed single sided. So many of the of television/movie/book coloring books are done two-sided which makes it difficult for someone who colors with alcohol-based markers. With the high level of detail in these designs, it shows that a single sided book with great designs and detail can be accomplished and accomplished very well.
When I did a side-by-side comparison of the US and UK versions, two things were immediately evident: 1) the US version is much smaller. It is 8.5 x 8.5 inches. The UK version is 9.75 x 9.75 inches. That doesn’t sound like much but it looks like a lot when seen together. 2) the covers are different. The US version is a cropped image of Ross Poldark which is missing the lower portion of the image. It is black and white with metallic (not foil) gold ink highlights. The UK version has a bigger image which is partially colored and the title is in gold foil highlight. The back of the books are different images with the UK version being partly colored. I did note that while the cover image of the US version is cropped, the images inside are the same they are just smaller.
The other difference I noted was in paper quality. The UK version is a definite medium weight paper. The US version is a much lighter paper. It is what I would call light medium weight as not all wet mediums bled through the paper (see below.)
For my take, I would rather have the UK version as it is larger which makes the intricate elements easier to color, the paper is a brighter white and heavier weight which I prefer and the binding is sewn which makes it somewhat easier to get the book to lay flat and/or to remove pages from the book. It does take several weeks to receive the UK version versus a few days for the US one.
In the end, both books are quite nice and either one is a great coloring book.
Here is what I have experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
46 line drawn designs which are based on series 1 and 2 of Poldark
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is light/medium weight, warm white, slightly rough and non-perforated
Glue Binding
Designs merge into the binding area
Book can be opened fairly flat by breaking the binding but it is still a bit difficult to color into the binding area
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. I use a blotter page of card stock under my working page to keep seeping ink from ruining the page below.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens leave a very light shadow on the back of the page
Colored pencils work very well with this paper. The slight roughness to the page provides excellent tooth for pigment. I was able to layer the same color, multiple colors and blend well (using a blender stick) with both oil and wax based colors.