iiiiReader Book Reviews

Fantasy Coloring Adventure: A Magical World of Fantasy Creatures, Enchanted Animals, and Whimsical Scenes

By: Jade Summer

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a new Fantasy/Fairy Tale theme coloring book by Jade Summer. This is a coloring book of 40 different designs (note there are no duplicates included as in previous Jade Summer coloring books.)

These designs detailed and some have intricate and small areas to color. The theme of fantasy is stretched to include fairy tales as well. There are mermaids, witches, wizards, fairies, dragons, castles, princes and princesses and many more.
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.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium:
40 Different Fantasy/Fairy Tale inspired designs.
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated. The back of the page is printed black.
The designs do not merge into the binding. There is a heavy framing line at the outer edges of the design to give the project a more finished look, especially for framing. There is a slight shadowing effect to the framing line which gives the image an almost 3D effect.
Glue Binding (there is room to cut the pages out if you choose to do so.)
Though you cannot see the bleed-through easily due to the back of the page being printed in black, I recommend the use of a blotter page when working in this 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.
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 blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.

Beautiful Birds and Treetop Treasures (A Millie Marotta Adult Coloring Book)

By: Millie Marotta

Rating: 5 of 5

I own all of Millie Marotta’s previous animal theme coloring books and some of her postcard books as well. In Beautiful Birds Ms. Marotta has focusing first and foremost on various Birds but does include an interesting number of other animals which favor living in trees. At the end of the book, there is a listing of the birds and animals (in page order) with both their common name and their Latin name.

As with all of her coloring books, the designs are detailed without being intricate. The illustrations are beautifully done. There are a number of designs that cross over the binding and, in my copy, they line up well but it is difficult to get into the binding area to color. Some of the designs are done twice on the left side with lots of detail and then again on the right side (facing each other) with limited detail. That way, you can do a lot more blending and shading work, making the design your own.
The book is in the larger square format at 9 7/8 x 9 7/8 x .5 inches as are the other books in Ms. Marotta’s series. The book cover is very pretty. It has touches of color and gold foil on the front of the cover. You could certainly color the remainder of the design if you so choose. The inside of the covers are plain white and very slick to the touch.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium:
Designs are printed on both sides of the page
Some designs merge into the binding and some spread across the binding for a two-page design.
Paper is white, heavyweight, slight rough and non-perforated.
Sewn Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper easily.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens leave extremely light shadows on the back of the page, especially dark and very bright colors.
My coloring pencils did the best of the various medium, with the exception of Pablo and Irojiten pencils. Most pencils went on well and blended well. I tested both oil and wax based pencils and could layer and blend easily using a blender stick. The Pablo and the Irojiten did well with everything but blending with a stick. I found that wet blending medium worked better for those two brands.

Creative Haven Audubon Birds Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Patricia J. Wynne

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a coloring book of line drawings based on the realistic and scientifically accurate bird artwork of John James Audubon (1785-1851). There is a wonderful level of detail included in the designs rendered by illustrator Patricia J. Wynne.

I have many coloring book which have doodle style birds, so I am thrilled to now have one that is realistically rendered and includes many types of birds, such as: the white pelican, titmouse, great horned owl, condor and more. There are also images of several extinct species including the great auk, Carolina parakeet and passenger pigeon.
The drawings are detailed and some have intricate and small areas to color. That is to be expected in designs which so realistically represent nature.
I noticed that the feel of the paper is slightly smoother than some of the Creative Haven books I have received recently. It also appears to be slightly thinner as I can vaguely see some of the from the design below.
I’ve noticed that the paper seems to change quite frequently on these books. Because of that, if you buy one of these books, it may be slightly smooth or slightly rough depending on when and where it was printed. Colored pencils still work well with the slightly smoother paper (see below.)
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.
31 line drawing designs which are based on the bird artwork of John James Audubon
The designs are printed one side of the page
Paper is the usual Creative Haven quality: white, medium weight, slightly smooth and has perforated pages.
Glue Binding but with perforated pages so removing a page is fairly simple.
The designs stop well before the perforations. The designs have a variety of styles of framing lines at their outer edges.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers bleed through in spots (somewhat heavier than with previous paper in the Creative Have line) and show colorful shadows on the back of the page
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page. India ink pens can bleed through when I apply more than one layer of ink.
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. I was able to get good pigment (color) lay down, layer the same color and multiple colors and to blend easily using a pencil style blender. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils with similar results. Hard lead pencils, like Verithins, leave dents on the back of the page.
I suggest either removing pages from the book to color or using a blotter page under your working page. I like card stock as it keeps ink from seeping through and damaging the pages below.

Posh Adult Coloring Book: Inspired by Nature (Posh Coloring Books)

By: Marjolein Bastin

Rating: 5 of 5

Attached to this review will be my silent video which will show all of the pages of the book, both the designs and the photos. I will also upload a few pages in photos as well.

This is a beautiful book of designs based on artwork by Marjolein Bastin. The book is published by Posh (who also publish the Thomas Kinkade coloring books) and this one follows the same format as the Kinkade, that is, a line drawing to the right and a matte color photo of the design to the left. The size of the book is the same (smaller than most coloring books) as is the texture of the paper. What is different is that the line drawings are in a variety of colors from yellow to green to blue to purple and more. Each design is done in a single color. The line work is delicately done and somewhat difficult to see and the colored lines do not seem to show through when I am coloring in the book.
I have loved Marjolein Bastin’s artwork for years. I buy her calendars, gift cards, and other household decorated items. I have loved cross stitching her designs, many of which seem to be represented in this book. It is a real thrill to be able to color designs based on her nature work.
The designs are beautiful but lack details so that my finished projects will look quite different from the originals. However, I do get to enjoy Ms. Bastin’s exquisite nature studies while I am coloring. I plan to purchase a second copy of this book to keep just for the colored designs. My coloring medium generally shows through and mars the photo images, so I will want the second book just to enjoy a book of her work.
I could wish for (at least) two other books in the future. I would love to see a book of Vera Mouse designs and I also would love to see a larger format book of grayscale coloring based on Ms. Bastin’s work. That would be a great way of getting all the detail in a coloring book which is inherently difficult with a coloring book of line drawings.
The designs are printed on the right hand side of with the photo of the actual painting on the left hand side (i.e., opposite each other in the book.)
Here is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my medium:
63 Marjolein Bastin nature designs with 63 color photos as well
Designs printed on one side of the page with a photo on the back of the page.
Paper is bright white, very slightly rough, non-perforated and medium weight. Line drawings are printed in a wide variety of colors (one color per design.)
Designs stop before the binding area and do not leave elements dangling unfinished
Sewn Binding
Pages can be cut out without loss of designs or binding threads shipped to remove more than one page at a time. I don’t plan to do so as I want to keep the continuity of the colored picture and design together.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper
Water-based markers leave shadows of color (with some spotting through) on the back of the page except for the brush end of Tombows which did not leak through.
India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page
Gel pens do not bleed through
Colored pencils work well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based pencils and was able to get good results from both. I got good pigment (especially with multiple layers of the same color.) I was able to layer different colors and to blend easily using a blending stick.
If you decide to use markers, you will probably have some amount of bleed-through onto the back of the page. I recommend using a heavyweight sheet of paper or card stock below your working page. That will keep ink from damaging the next design below but they will mar the colored picture on the back of the page.