iiiiReader Book Reviews

Color Me Stress-Free: Nearly 100 Coloring Templates to Unplug and Unwind (A Zen Coloring Book)

By: Lacy Mucklow

Rating: 5 of 5

Color Me Stress Free is another fun addition in the “Color Me” coloring book series. Of 77 designs I counted in the book, 17 are what I would categorize as mandalas. The designs in this book are detailed and intricate. Some have small areas to color which may require sharp pencils or pens/markers with ultra-fine points.

The book has seven chapters, which include: Disorganization, Relationships, Finances, Work, Health, Time and Travel and Commuting.
Each chapter has a lead-in which describes the intent of the designs within.
There are color tips at the beginning of the book and there are some fully and some partially colored examples throughout (at the beginning of each chapter. The designs are detailed and some include intricate and small areas to color.
This is what I found while looking through and coloring in this book:
77 Designs for stress-free coloring – Designs by Angela Porter
Designs are printed on one side of the page
Paper is medium weight, white (with color print on the back of the page), slightly rough and non-perforated
Sewn Binding
Designs do not merge into the binding. All designs either have a framing line at the outer edges or have finished edges (such as a mandala.)
The book is thick but could be opened to a fairly flat position without breaking the spine
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens leave shadows on the back of the page
Coloring pencils, both oil and wax-based, worked well with this paper. I was able to layer the same color for deep pigment. I could layer multiple colors and blend easily using a pencil style blending stick.

Adult Coloring Book: Whimsical Patterns: Farmers Market (Volume 3)

By: Francis Keene

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the third coloring book in the Francis Keene coloring book series of called Whimsical Patterns. In this book, artist Evelyne Park has provided 30 designs of Farmer’s Markets and items associated with them. I live very close to a wonderful Farmer’s Market which is in operation from March until October.

During those months, I like to spend my Saturday mornings picking up fresh veggies and fruits and seeing what special treats (such as wonderful rosemary lemon bread, jams and jellies and fresh potted herbs and flowers) I can pick up for that week. This coloring book reminds me of our market, right down to the fun entertainment for children.
I found the designs to be both cute and detailed. A few of them have smaller and more intricate areas to color. The designs are hand-drawn with the charming not quite perfect look that makes my finished projects have a unique and hand-made look. Because it is hand-drawn, the level of ink saturation on the designs from from design to design and even sometimes within a single design.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
30 line drawing designs of both Farmer’s Markets and items associated with them.
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding area. Most of the designs have a framing line at their outer edges.
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 blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
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.

Goldilocks: Grayscale Adult Coloring Book (Beautiful Fairy Tales) (Volume 3)

By: Ruth Sanderson

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a very cute and sweet coloring book of grayscale designs. The designs in the book are based on the illustrations in Ruth Sanderson’s storybook version of Goldilocks. This is the third coloring book in the series of grayscale coloring books by Ms. Sanderson and I hope there will be more in the future.

The designs are both cute and sweet. The story has been changed from the traditional one and allows for more interaction between Goldilocks and the bears.
There are 24 designs in this book and, as Ms. Sanderson has done in the past, there are 12 bonus pages that are duplicates of half of the original designs in the coloring book. These designs have darker grayscale than the first set which makes them a little easier to color for those who are new to the technique.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
24 Grayscale designs plus 12 bonus designs based on the fairy tale Goldilocks for a total of 36 coloring pages
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality used by CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not extend into the binding area. The designs have a framing line at the outer edges
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 blending stick; however, some of the darker areas of the designs had a tendency to smear using this type of blender. I found that liquid forms (Gamsol or mineral spirits) did a better job. This doesn’t bother me as I generally do not use a blender on grayscale designs. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils (like Verithins) leave dents through the paper.
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.

Adult Coloring Book: Whimsical Patterns: Tiny Trailers (Volume 4)

By: Francis Keene

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the fourth coloring book in the Francis Keene series of Whimsical Patterns. In this book, artist Natasha Faltinek has created 30 cute designs of tiny trailers. Some of the designs show the inside and some the outside of trailers. In most, there is only one trailer but some show a series of them. Trailer, in this book, means all manner of vehicles that are on wheels from a traditional trailer to vans to buses.

I found the designs to be both cute and detailed. A few of them have smaller and more intricate areas to color. The designs are hand-drawn and remind me of the current tiny home trend.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
30 line drawing designs of the inside or outside of tiny trailers, plus bonus pages of designs from other books in this series (but not the same artist.)
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding area. There is a framing line at the outer edge of each design.
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 blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
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.

Umberto Brunelleschi Coloring Book

By: Umberto Brunelleschi

Rating: 5 of 5

The line drawings in this coloring book are based on artwork by Umberto Brunelleschi which were originally included in Contes du temps jadis (stories from once upon a time.) The book was published in France in 1912. There is a table of contents for the illustrations which provides the name of the story from which each illustration is derived. The stories are not familiar to me but there is a line at the bottom of the page which puts context to the illustrations.

Brunelleschi was Italian born but moved to Paris at age 21 (1900) to pursue his art career. His work became some of the best known European book illustrations from the art deco period. There is a beauty and a grace to the work which has been captured beautifully by the line drawings in this coloring book. Included (on the inside of the front a back covers) are full color thumbnail reproductions of all of the original artwork.
The designs are open and easy to color. There is a good level of detail but they have left a lot of open area to allow you to color and add your own shading and details.
This is what I experienced in coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
20 line drawing designs derived by Umberto Brunelleschi from his illustrations in Contes du temps jadis
Designs are printed on one side of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough to the touch and non-perforated
The designs are bound by two heavyweight staples which can be removed to release all of the page from the book without any loss of design.
Designs do not merge into the binding area. There are framing lines at the outer edges of each design with a caption below the bottom framing line.
Pages can be cut out if you wish without losing any design elements.
Book easily opens to a flat position for coloring.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper easily.
Water-based markers leave shadows and slight spots of color bleed through on the back of the page
If I use any style of marker, I also make sure to use a blotter under my working page. I like card stock but a couple of sheets of heavyweight paper works well, too.
Gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through the page. Some gel pens require slightly more drying time than usual.
Colored pencils work well with the paper. It has a slight roughness to it that allows good pigment coverage from both oil and wax based pencils. I was able to layer the same and multiple colors well and could blend easily using a pencil style blending stick.

Adult Coloring Book: Nice Little Town (Volume 1)

By: Tatiana Bogema (Stolova)

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really cute coloring book which is filled with 32 pages of designs of a various places in a little town. It has many designs of shops and it has scenes of the outside of homes as well as scenes which look out into the town from the inside of a home. The drawings all appear to be hand-drawn, which is my favorite style.

I also purchased this coloring book in newer, larger version which is 7 x 10 (which you can find here:Adult Coloring Book: Nice Little Town (Volume 1)) . I much prefer the larger format (and even wish it had been done in a standard 8.5 x 11 size book.) This book, because it is smaller, has intricate and difficult areas to color that don’t exist to the same extent in the larger format book.
I bought this smaller version of the book first but would not have done so if the larger one had been available at that time. As it is, I’ll use this one for coloring on the go and/or for testing color combinations that I will use in the larger book.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
32 line drawing designs of a cute and scenic little town (including presentation page). Also included are a couple of sample pages from the artist’s other books.
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding area.
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 blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
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.