iiiiReader Book Reviews

Colin Thompsons Fantastisches Malbuch

By: ?

Rating: 5 of 5

I have several Ravensburger puzzles by Colin Thompson and enjoy the unusual subjects and intricacies of those. When I saw this coloring book was available albeit in German, I purchased it immediately and then had the long wait for it to be shipped from Europe.

The designs are the same wild and imaginative ones that I have seen in my puzzles just in grayscale rather than in color. Coloring in this book is both a joy and an endeavor as there is simply so much to each and every design. For my first project, I used almost all 120 colors of polychromos and had a blast with it. For some people, the book may seem physically darker than expected but I was able to use grayscale techniques with results that were pleasing to me.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the only the outside and inside of the cover is in German. The designs themselves include English. The designs are done in grayscale have have extremes of both white and black as part of the designs.

The designs are printed on both sides of the page and are mostly spread across two pages with the designs merging up to the binding. I have found that the designs in my book line up well and I didn’t lose any portion of the design into the actual binding area itself. The binding is sewn rather than glued which really helps when I am coloring. I find that sewn bindings are easier it get to lay flat so I can get my pencils in to the parts closest to the fold.

The non-perforated paper is a nice white heavyweight and is ever so slightly rough which gives great tooth for gripping pigment from colored pencils. When I tested my pencils (both wax and oil based), I was able to get great pigment, to layer the same color for deeper tones, layer multiple colors, and to blend easily using my blender stick.

Alcohol and water-based markers all bled through the paper to some degree. India ink pens spotted through to the back of the page. My gel pens did not bleed through but some of the darker colors left an indistinct shadow on the back of the page. I found that colored pencils worked the best and will be what I use in this book exclusively.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Magical Characters and Places Coloring Book

By: HarperCollins Publishers

Rating: 5 of 5

Attached to this review will be a silent flip-through of the entire coloring book so you can make an informed decision as to whether or not it will work for you.

While I (as many others) am eagerly awaiting the release of the movie on which this coloring book is based, I was really pleased to get this book ahead of the movie release. It gives a sense of the vibe of the movie and also allows my imagination to run full rein as, apart from a few clips on-line and the pictures on the inside of the front and back page, I don’t have preconceived notions of what something should look like.

The book is well made and the designs are well done. I appreciate having the handful of small colored pictures (rather than pages of them.) The scenes are set in New York in the 1926. It is an interesting time period as the excess of the roaring 20’s was still in place but, historically speaking, there were foreshadowing of the Great Depression already in place.

The designs are detailed for the most part (though some of the character designs are quite open and free of details.) There are a few designs that have intricate and small areas to color. I’ve already started my first two projects in the book and am looking forward to coloring through the pictures (probably before the movie is released) and will certainly be waiting for the next coloring books in the series to be released.

This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my various coloring medium. In the comments section below, I will list the coloring medium I use for testing and for most of my coloring projects:

78 Pages of Fantastic Beasts Designs based on the movie

Printed on both sides of the page

Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly smooth and non-perforated

Binding is hybrid glue/sewn. If you wish to remove pages, you will have to cut them out. I do not plan on doing so as so much important detail will be lost.

Designs merge into the binding area

Many designs spread across two pages. On my copy, the pages line up well.

Book can be opened fairly flat for coloring by breaking the spine, though it is still difficult to color into the binding area

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper rapidly. If you use this medium, you will definitely mar the design on the back of the page.

Water-based markers did not bleed through; however, Stabilo 88 and Staedler fineliners left the faintest of shadows on the back of the page.

Gel pens and India ink pens did not bleed through or leave shadows. Some gel pens required additional drying time.

Colored pencils worked well with this paper. I got fairly good pigment from both oil and wax-based pencils. Layering the same color for deeper pigment worked well as well as layering multiple colors. Blending with a pencil style blending stick worked pretty well though my Tombow Irojiten did not blend as well as my other pencils (perhaps due to their hardness.)

Night Magic – Gothic and Halloween Coloring Book (Fantasy Coloring by Selina) (Volume 10)

By: Selina Fenech

Rating: 5 of 5

I own a number of Selina Fenech’s coloring books so I am very familiar with her elegant artwork. I also really enjoy Halloween inspired designs and am always looking for new books to add to my collection (especially as there have been very few published compared to other genres.) In Night Magic, Ms. Fenech has provided a number of lovely witches along with Gothic style designs. I would not categorize the book as a Halloween book but rather one that includes Halloween designs.

The designs are detailed and I find them fairly easy to color. While some designs have small details, the designs are not generally intricate with tiny details that are hard to color. I like to work first with my markers and then with my colored pencils as I find that that is the process that works best for me with Ms. Fenech’s coloring books.

Two things I really appreciate about the book are that you get two copies of each design. That makes it easy to share or to try two different colorways or mediums. The second thing I really like is that almost all of the designs have framing lines around them. It gives me a natural stopping point which gives a more finished look at the end and it also saves me ink/pencil as I dont’ have to color to all the edges.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:

25 x 2 Gothic and Halloween-inspired designs

Printed one side of the page

Paper is white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated

Designs do not merge into the binding and there is plenty of room to cut out pages if you choose to do so. Most designs have a framing line around the outer edge

Glue Binding

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 well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a pencils style blending stick. Both wax and oil based pencils worked well with the paper. Hard lead pencils can leave dents through the page.

I like to use a blotter when working in the 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.

By: Hanna Karlzon

Rating: 5 of 5

I recently discovered Hanna Karlzon’s amazing coloring books and have purchased those that are currently available. While I am enjoying using colored pencils in her regular coloring books, I have not been able to use the alcohol-based markers I so enjoy. These postcards are printed essentially one-sided so I purchased this set which will allow me to use my markers without damaging a design on the back of the page.

I am really enjoying Ms Karlzon’s imaginative world of flowers, birds, insects and animals that inhabit the pages of these postcards. I hope she considers doing another set of postcards which include some of the lovely people that inhabit her books as well.

While a few of the postcards in this set are sized down from the original designs in the coloring book by the same name (Daydreams) most are cropped down to fit the postcard format rather than reduced in size. That makes it much easier to color without having to resort to smaller size nibs. In the first designs I did in this set, I used alcohol-based markers such as fine and ultra-fine nib Sharpies, Bic Mark-its and the brush end of Copic markers.

This is what I experienced while coloring these postcards and testing the paper with my coloring medium.

20 Daydream designs sized for postcard format with mailing areas defined on the back of the card

Printed on one side of the card

Paper is heavyweight card stock in smooth ivory

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

Alcohol-based markers left colorful shadows on the back of the page and only one had the tiniest bit of spot through. I would put a blotter page of paper under my working page or remove the card from the book to color to keep the designs below safe from the slight possibility of seeping ink

Water-based markers, India ink, and gel pens did not bleed through the card. Gel pens took a little longer to dry than usual.

Colored pencils worked well with this paper. Oil and wax-based pencils worked well with good color, layering, and blending using a pencil style blending stick.

The Night Voyage: A Magical Adventure and Coloring Book (Time Adult Coloring Books)

By: Daria Song

Rating: 5 of 5

I was so looking forward to this coloring book that I also purchased the version printed in Thailand. While I like things about both versions, for me, the US version is the clear winner. Why? Simply put it has more designs to color. I’ll go into some of the differences at toward the end of this review.

The Night Voyage is the story of a young girl and her cat, Phoebe, who go on a night adventure giving away presents to others. Or did they? That is the question left unanswered at the end of this story.

The coloring book is filled with Daria Song’s beautiful artwork and imaginative design concepts. From paper crane airplanes to old-fashioned bicycles to gorgeous air balloons, each page is a wonderful opportunity to color.

In addition to the 64 pages of designs, there are thumbnails of each and a bonus coloring page as well as a card that can be cut out and colored. (with both cutting lines and folding line included.)

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the page with my coloring medium. In the comments section below, I will list the coloring medium I use for testing and coloring.

64 pages of Daria Song designs plus bonus page and card

Printed on both sides of the page

Paper is bright white, very lightly rough, heavyweight and non-perforated

Binding is both glued and sewn not the type that is easy to snip threads to remove pages. I don’t recommend this as so many of the designs spread across two pages

Designs merge into the binding area

Most designs spread across two pages

Separate dust cover which has coloring opportunities on the inside and an attached cover which can be colored as well.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper

Water-based markers, gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through and do not leave shadows on the back of the page. Some gel pens require additional drying time.

Colored pencils worked very well with this paper. I tested oil and wax based pencils. I was able to get good pigment lay down with both types. Layering the same color for deeper color, multiple colors and blending with a blending stick worked well and easily.

US versus Thailand printing:

Both versions have their advantages. The Thailand version was printed on a slightly off white when compared to the US one (thought I originally thought of it was simply white.) It also had colored images and colored cards included with some single page versions of designs which were on two-pages spreads. You can see my review and video of this version from May of this year on Amazon under the name The Present by Daria Song.

For me, the US version was the better of the two but I am happy that I have both. The US version is printed on bright white paper that was able to take all but alcohol-based markers without showing through. There are many pages of designs not included in the Thailand version at all. The detached dust cover, which is different from the original two books by Ms. Song, was a nice new touch with coloring opportunities as well. While the books are approximately the same size and the US version actually has less pages overall, it weighs more which leads me to believe that the paper is thicker.

Vogue Goes Pop: Coloring Book

By: British VOGUE

Rating: 5 of 5

The Pop culture fashion of the 1960’s is the theme for this Vogue coloring book. Iain R. Webb is the illustrator for this book as he was for the prior Vogue coloring book. He does a lovely job of interpreting the actual fashions of the time into line drawings. Along with each fashion is a particulars of the fashion, the designer as well as odd bits of info (such as how it could be ordered, etc.) This information is generally off to the side of one of the fashion designs. The designs range from fairly simple lines to highly detailed with small intricate parts to color.

The fashions of the 1960’s showed a jump from the cute matching outfits with gloves to wild colored mini-skirts and men’s ware for women all the way to the hippie-inspired caftans that were popular as the decade wound to an end. A number of the models have a Twiggy quality to them, with thin almost young boy figures with eyes with heavy fake eyelashes.

While my preferences in fashion coloring books are from the decades before the pop culture period, I appreciate the fashions that I recall seeing when I was a little girl. As an adult, I now appreciate how the fashions of this period reflected the social changes which were occurring at the time. Women were becoming more free to express themselves and to show the expression in how they dressed.

The one issue I had with the prior book is much better in this one. I did not like the squiggly lines that were placed on the models mouths as I prefer to color the lips in my coloring projects my own way. The few that do appear have more of a highlight look to them rather than the caterpillar look I found in the first book.

This is what I found as I colored in this book and tested the paper with my coloring medium. In the comments section below, I will list the coloring medium I used for testing and for coloring.

93 pages of Fashion Designs from the Pop Culture Period

Printed on both sides of the page

Paper is heavyweight, white, smooth and non-perforated

Sewn Binding (you can snip a few threads to remove a few pages at a time if you wish.)

Designs do not merge into the binding area and do not spread across two pages

Coloring book can be opened to fairly flat for coloring by breaking the spine with some effort.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper

Water-based markers, gel pens, and India ink pens do not bleed through and did not leave shadows on the back of the page.

Colored pencils worked well for the most part. I could get good pigment color and layer the same or multiple colors easily. Blending with a blending stick sometimes resulted in a slightly smeary look rather than a clean blend. Using a liquid blender worked better for me. I tested both oil and wax based pencils with similar results.

Letters to Live By: An Inspirational Adult Coloring Book

By: Christian Art Publishers

Rating: 5 of 5

Letters to Live By is a Christian coloring book which goes through the alphabet A to Z with a design for each letter and a design which focuses on a word beginning with that letter and which has a Bible verse and cite(both Old and New Testament.) The ten additional pages at the back include small monogram size letter designs and several postcard size designs as well.

While the designs are licensed by Shutterstock, they are all new to me. The designs are detailed without being too intricate. I think it is a lovely book and one that I will be buying as gifts for family and friends this holiday season as well as enjoying for myself right now.

I plan on opening the book to a random page and then coloring both the letter designs and the associated page in tandem. I like to feel that I am being led to the pages that I need at a particular time when I am working with my Christian coloring books. There is always something I need to learn or to be reminded of on a daily basis.

The scripture translations used in this coloring book are as follows: Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Holy Bible, New International Version NIV, Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Holy Bible, Contemporary English Version, and the New King James Version.

This is what I have found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper. I will include a list of my coloring medium that I use for testing and coloring in the comments section below.

52 Full Size Letter and Letter Inspired Christian Designs plus 10 additional pages of designs

Printed one side of the page

Paper is heavyweight, white, somewhat smooth and perforated

Sewn Binding

Some Designs merge past the perforations and into the binding area. Nothing essential to the designs are lost into the binding.

Bonus pages do not include cutting lines but have perforations at the binding area

Book can be opened fairly flat for coloring if you break the spine with some force.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. I suggest either removing these pages from the book before coloring or using a blotter page under your working page. I use card stock but a couple pages of heavyweight paper work well, too.

Water-based markers, gel pens, and India Ink pens do not bleed through the page. Some gel pens require additional drying time.

Colored pencils work well with this paper. I got good results with both oil and wax based pencils. I found that I could get good pigment, layer the same or multiple colors and blend easily using a pencil style blending stick.

Pierre the Maze Detective and The Great Coloring Adventure

By: IC4DESIGN

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really fun coloring book for anyone who likes to solve puzzles or mazes. There are 15 two-page maze designs which detailed and intricate elements to color. I’ve often worked puzzles with this style of tiny detail and have worked a few mazes so this coloring book is one that appeals to me on a variety of my hobbies.

The mazes included are: Pierre’s Garage, The Museum, The Town Makes Merry, Open-Air Cafe, Downtown, Balloon Festival, The Castle in the South, The Forest Village, The Haunted Mansion, The Forgotten Town, To the Sea, The Harbor Town, The Mine Cart Course, The Mysterious Market, and The Giant Maze Town. Also included are pages which show the answers (note, I did not include those pages in my video of the coloring book.)

The point of the book is to find the person to guide through the maze. You color that person blue and the end point in red. You can color on your way or go back after solving the maze and color the page. My plan is to color the pages after I solve a maze one at a time.

The only thing I wish I could change about these mazes are the big blurb boxes which show the starting point. For a regular maze, this may make sense. For a coloring book, I wish that they had put a simple small circle (pencil eraser size) near the starting point or simply pre-colored the person you are to guide. That way, the entire maze is available to color and does not have a big instruction box (some approximately 4 x 3 inches) blocking parts of it. Just a thought for any future publications of this sort.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:

15 Two-page Maze Coloring Designs

Printed on both sides of the page

Paper is heavyweight, white with green borders, slightly smooth and non-perforated.

Larger format book at 13 by 10 inches

Sewn Binding

Designs merge into the binding. My book is extremely well lined up with no loss of elements into the binding area.

The book opens fairly easily to a flat position for coloring.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the pages. I don’t recommend this medium for this book as they will bleed through and mar the designs on the back of the page.

Water-based markers, gel pens, and India ink pens did not bleed through or leave any form of shadows on the back of the page. Some gel pens required additional drying time.

Colored pencils work well with this paper. I was able to get good pigment, layer the same or multiple colors, and blend easily with a blender stick.

Because of the extreme detail in this coloring book, I don’t recommend it do anyone who has vision or fine motor skill issues.

Deck the Halls Holiday Coloring Book

By: Thaneeya McArdle

Rating: 5 of 5

Deck the Halls is the one of the two holiday coloring books by Designs Originals this year. The other book is called Merry and Bright Both books are collections from a variety of artists who publish books from Designs Originals. The designs are fun and festive and have a focus mostly on Christmas but there are a few that are holiday season generic. The designs range from chalk-style (with black backgrounds) to detailed and intricate to the fun and funky designs of Thaneeya McArdle.

While the designs in the book seem to have been included in prior or future publications from the single artists, it appears that there are no duplications between the two collaborative books. Something different about these books are that there are no full size color sample pages though the back inside cover has nine small colored samples. I think this helps keep the book so affordable.

While I own a number of the books that these are pulled from, a huge plus for me is that this book contains the full size version of some of the pages which are provided in medium size in the original books. I really dislike the smaller design pages and am happy to get these designs in a more easy to color size in this book. It has actually convinced me to buy at least one other book as I won’t be missing out on larger designs since they are included in these two.

The artists in Deck the Halls include: Thaneeya McArdle, Robin Pickens, Angelea Van Dam, Valerie McKeehan and Jenny Newland.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium. In the comments section below, I will list the coloring medium I use for testing and coloring.

32 Full Size Christmas/Holiday Designs from a variety of artists

Printed one side of the page back of page has journal lines and a quote

Paper is medium weight, white (though some are printed with black background), slightly rough and perforated

Glue Binding

Designs stop well before the perforations

Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through the page

Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on the back of the page and can spot through as well depending on how heavily they are applied.

Colored pencils work well with the paper. Both oil and wax based pencils provide good color, layer the same or multiple colors well, and blend easily using a blending stick. Hard lead pencils can dent through the page.

I like to use a blotter page below my working page to keep seeping ink and dents from marring the pages below. I use card stock but two sheets of heavyweight paper work well, too. You can also simply remove pages before coloring to keep the rest of the book in good condition as well.

Merry & Bright Holiday Coloring Book

By: Thaneeya McArdle

Rating: 5 of 5

Merry and Bright is the one of the two holiday coloring books by Designs Originals this year. Both books are collections from a variety of artists who publish books from Designs Originals. The artists include: Thaneeya McArdle, Angelea Van Dam, Robin Pickens, Valerie McKeehan, William Vanderdasson and Jenny Newland.

Most (if not all) of the designs seem to have been published in each artist’s own holiday books in the past or those about to be published. I own a few of those books but have no problems with the duplication of the designs, especially as this great holiday coloring book is very affordable. Some of the designs are full size compared to medium size in their original books so I am pleased with that change.

The designs are a really nice mix with lots of Christmas and holiday spirit. They range from cute line drawings to chalk-board style designs to detailed and intricate designs. It gives the colorist a really diverse group of designs to choose from and a good number of artists to try.

This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium. In the comments section below, I will list the coloring medium I use for testing and coloring.

32 Full Size Christmas/Holiday Designs from a variety of artists

Printed one side of the page back of page has journal lines and a quote

Paper is medium weight, white (though some are printed with black background), slightly rough and perforated

Glue Binding

Designs stop well before the perforations

Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through the page

Gel pens and India ink pens can spot through to the back of the page

Colored pencils work well with the paper. Both oil and wax based pencils provide good color, layer, and blend well. Hard lead pencils can dent through the page.

I use a blotter page of card stock or heavyweight paper (two sheets0 to keep seeping ink and dents from marring the pages below. I recommend using a blotter or that you remove pages before coloring.