iiiiReader Book Reviews

This is a coloring book of vampires. Unlike volume 1 (which was mostly females) there is a really nice mix of both female and male vampires in this second coloring book in the series. Once again, many of the vampires have a touch of “manga” style to them though the book is not manga in natures. Some of the figures are drawn with a sexy look and attitude while others are simply well-done vampire portraits. Some of the designs have a hint of manga style but I would not characterize the book as that. Word of warning, both volume 1 and 2 have the same title. Look for the later publishing date and the cover that shows on my video for this specific book.

The designs are extremely detailed and have many intricate and small areas to color. The designs have a beautiful and flowing style with areas to provide shading and blending if you wish to do so.

While you can have access to .PDFs when you purchase this book, my review is based on the book as it is received from Amazon. That way you will know what the pages look like and how they accept color. I like that the publisher provides the digital version as well so you can choose the paper you wish to use and/or to color the pictures as many times as you choose.

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This is a lovely book of female Angel designs. There are 25 different designs but you are given 2 copies of each to total 50 coloring pages. The angels are posed against backgrounds rather than a simple figure. Some are full face and others are in profile. The dress is quite different with some in traditional long gowns and others in slightly more revealing two piece dresses or sleeveless gowns.

The designs are quite detailed and will take hours to finish. They are not what I consider intricate as the elements to color do not require special small nib pens/markers. I am able to use a wide variety of coloring medium on these designs.

While you can have access to .PDFs when you purchase this book, my review is based on the book as it is received from Amazon. That way you will know what the pages look like and how they accept color. I like that the publisher provides the digital version as well so you can choose the paper you wish to use and/or to color the pictures as many times as you choose.

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This is my third in the series of Christian coloring cards by this publisher. The 44 cards are inspired by the coloring pages in their previous coloring book “A Garland of Grace”. While the cards are similar to the book, the designs have been reduced, cropped, and/or slightly reworked to fit the new format of a smaller card. All of the cards have quotes and cites to the Proverbs.

For me, the Proverbs are one of the first books in the Bible I search out when I am trying to learn how I should be living my life. There are life lessons to be learned from each quote and sometimes I find them easy and sometimes I find it more difficult even though I know they are right.

While I cannot find translation information on the cards, the coloring book from which they are derived listed the following Bible translations used for the verses are: Holy Bible, New International Version NIV, Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Holy Bible, Contemporary English Version, and Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
The cards are 3 1/8 x 4 1/8 inches. Eight of the cards are in horizontal format and the rest are vertical. The color is very light ivory (almost a warm white), the texture is slightly smooth on the design side and extremely smooth (probably with a coating) on the reverse blank side. They are a great size for on the go.

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This is a re-print of a coloring book originally published by Okami books. Okami seems to have morphed into Storytroll Studios publishing under the name Julia Rivers. The artist of this book is Forest Diver. I had not purchased the original book, so this is the only copy I have. I mention it so you don’t buy a second book by mistake.

The book is filled with 40 unique and highly detailed designs based on lovely woodland fantasy creatures. The designs simply flow on the page. I’m hard put to find a straight line among them. The creatures stand next to or seem to become part of the landscape around them.

Mr. Diver is a new artist for me but I am really taken with his style. I’ve bought the second book in this series as well as another one which he created.

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.

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I own one or two other coloring books by Edwina McNamee. Her designs are generally cute and have an overarching theme, though she does have some coloring books which are in the “sweary” theme. As a matter of personal preference, I don’t buy or color that style. In this case of this book, she has created a land of cute little animals and creatures called Dreamlings.

You will find both “real” style animals as well as mythical ones. They seems to live in this wonderful forest which has trees and plants and flowers and lots and lots of mushrooms. I am much taken with a design of fairies which have mushroom caps on their heads! I was so taken with this book, I have now bought the second in the series as well.

The designs are detailed but not overly so. They will make for a nice time spent coloring. The designs are not intricate nor difficult to color and do not need speciality pens, pencils in order to do so.

The designs are printed twice – once with black lines on white paper and the second time as white designs printed on black paper. The change in the paper tone gives each design a very different look which I personally appreciate.

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This is a coloring book filled with 35 designs in Angela Porter’s imaginative style. It reminds me a great deal of her “Entangled Landscapes” but with much less intricate designs. The designs range from landscapes and seascapes to flowers to simply fun patterns.

This series of books is being marketed to tweens but I think Ms. Porter’s books in this line are equally good for adults. I like them not only for myself but also for anyone who might have been unable (or unwilling) to attempt her much more intricate designs. The designs are still fairly detailed but are larger and easier to color. Notwithstanding that, they are instantly recognizable as Ms. Porter’s style.

An extra fun part of coloring the designs in this book are the hidden pictures (really more elements) that you can look for on the various pages. There are eight different style of elements in this book, which are: ladybugs, hearts, cat heads, stars, candies, buttons, music notes and raindrops.) Some are larger and some are smaller. What especially like is that they are not as obtrusive as I have found with a few other hidden picture designs.

At the time I am writing this review, the product description is for that of the Tropical Rainforest rather than for this book. It also mentions 44 designs. There are only 35 so hopefully the publisher will get these errors fixed in the future.

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