iiiiReader Book Reviews

Women of the Ukiyo-e (Dover Fashion Coloring Book)

By: Ming-Ju Sun

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a lovely book of designs based on the Edo period of Japanese history and Ukiyo-e artwork (1615 through 1868.) Each of the designs in the book has the information about the original artist (from whose woodblock prints the line drawings in this book are derived.) It gives the name, date and information about what the design represents. The designs are detailed and some have intricate and small areas to color.

Many of my coloring books by Ming-Ju Sun are in the Creative Haven line. This book is older and is currently out of print. It was released as a standard Dover Coloring book. The difference is distinctive as this book is printed on both sides of the page, has a slightly different feel to the paper, and is not perforated.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium.
30 Japanese art inspired designs based on the Edo period of Ukiyo-e artwork.
Printed on both sides of the page
Paper is medium weight, lightly rough, white and non-perforated
Staple bound with three heavy duty staples
Designs stop well before the binding area and can be removed in whole from the book by removing the three staples at the binding.
All designs have a framing line around the outer edge to give a natural stopping point for the design and all of the elements within it. I really appreciate this feature in coloring books.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers spot through and/or leave colorful shadows on the back of the page
Gel pens and India ink pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page. India ink pens can bleed through in spots if you apply heavily or use multiple coats.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. Both oil and wax-based pencils provided good pigment, layered well with the same or multiple colors and blended well using a blending stick. Hard lead pencils did not dent through the page.
If you choose to use any medium other than colored pencils on the pages of this book, you will probably find bleed through or colorful shadows on the design at the back of your working page.

Color Your Own Guardians of the Galaxy

By: Marvel Comics

Rating: 5 of 5

I will attach a silent video to this review of a page by page flip-through so you can decide for yourself if it suits your needs. I’ll also attach some sample photos of the pages as well.

This is the latest coloring book release based on Marvel comics. The designs in this book are based on the characters of Guardians of the Galaxy comics. As with other coloring books in this series, the designs are printed on one side and the pages are perforated. Also, unlike other comic book coloring books (which are merely black and white versions of actual comics), there are no words printed on these pages. I really like all of the Color Your Own books and this one especially. The characters are the ones that I wanted to see and will be happy to color.
The designs are highly detailed with small and intricate areas to color. The designs are done by a large group of individuals. Interestingly, though there are many different styles represented, the book is still a great cohesive presentation of the series. There is a heavy use of black in the designs which doesn’t bother me but may be an issue for others.
This is what I found while coloring in the book and testing the paper with my coloring medium:
60 designs based on the Guardians of the Galaxy comic series characters
Printed one side of the page
Paper is white, medium weight, slightly rough and perforated
Glue Binding
The designs stop at the perforations
Alcohol and water based markers bleed through the paper to some degree
Gel pens and India ink pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page
Colored pencils work well with the paper. I tested both oil and wax based with good results. I could get good pigment due to the rough tooth of the paper. I could layer the same and multiple colors easily and blend well using a pencil style blending stick. Hard lead pencils can leave dents through the paper.
I use and suggest others use a blotter page behind the working page (if you don’t remove pages from the book to color.) I use card stock but a couple of sheets of heavy weight paper work well, too.

Fairy Tales Coloring Book: Published in Sweden as “Sagolikt”

By: Emelie Oberg

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my first coloring book by Emelie Lidehall Oberg. The designs cover a wide range of subjects. While there may be some fairy tales designs included, for the most part, the designs appear to be a range of both fantasy and still life (flowers, dresses, etc.) The artist has a unique design style with her creatures all having cute round eyes. Her people have round cheeks and predominate eyelids. They are quite different from other designers and make for a fun coloring experience.

The designs are detailed but are not too intricate and do not have tiny little spots to try to color. Because the book is printed two-sided, I’m being very careful with what I use to color in it. I am avoiding using my alcohol-based markers as those bleed through the page (you can see what my test results were with various medium below.)
The cover is card stock rather than the hardcover I associate with this publisher. The cover is light ivory/antique white with green and pink elements as well as gold metallic accents. The front and back attached covers have a flap and there are designs on the interior which can be colored.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium.
90+ pages stylized designs
Printed on both sides of the page; no two-page spread designs
Paper is heavyweight, ivory color, somewhat smooth, and non-perforated.
Sewn binding which can easily be snipped to remove a number of pages at a time.
Most designs merge into the binding area. I can open the book fairly flat for coloring by breaking the spine.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. If you use these, you will have ink seep through and mar the design on the back of the page.
Water-based markers, gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through the page.
Colored pencils work well with the paper. I was able to blend, layer the same and multiple colors using both oil and wax-based pencils with ease.

Vampires: A Vampire Coloring Book with Mythical Fantasy Women, Sexy Gothic Fashion, and Victorian Romance Scenes (Coloring Books for Adults)

By: Jade Summer

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a coloring book of mostly female vampires. There are a few males but the focus is generally on the women. The vampires range from elegant to rather scantily clad pin-up style vampires and the designs range from romantic to battles scenes. Some of the designs have a hint of manga style but I would not characterize the book as that.

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. There are 20 designs in this book which is less than most others but as the publishing company (Jade Summer) has provided two copies of each design, it is still a good value.
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:
20 x 2 each Vampire inspired designs for a total of 40 coloring pages
Designs are printed on one side of the page
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.
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.

Twilight Garden Coloring Book: Published in Sweden as “Blomstermandala” (Gsp- Trade)

By: Maria Trolle

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my first coloring book by Maria Trolle. It is by the same publishers who publish Hanna Karlzon’s books. It is the same beautiful quality publishing with a hardcover and thick cream pages. Ms. Trolle’s designs focus on the garden with lots of flowers and animals.

While most of the designs are done with black lines on cream background, there are a few designs which are cream elements on a black background. It makes for a lovely change of pace right in the same coloring book. While the designs in the book are detailed, I would not categorize them as intricate or having areas with extremely small spots to color.
Because the book is printed two-sided, I’m being very careful with what I use to color in it. I am avoiding using my alcohol-based markers as those bleed through the page (you can see what my test results were with various medium below.)
I’ve also found that it is a tad difficult to color into the binding area on designs which either cross over (two-page designs) or have elements that merge into the binding. Eighteen of the designs spread across two pages and a couple of the single page designs merge into the border so I don’t have issues with the majority of the designs in the book.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium.
90+ pages of lovely garden designs by Maria Trolle
Printed on both sides of the page
Paper is heavyweight, cream color, somewhat smooth, and non-perforated. A few of the designs have black backgrounds printed on cream paper.
Sewn binding which can easily be snipped to remove a number of pages at a time. The binding is the stay-flat style which allows you to open the book somewhat flat without breaking the outer spine. It is still rather difficult to get the book to open flat and takes some effort.
Some designs merge into the binding area, especially those which spread across two pages.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. If you use these, you will have ink seep through and mar the design on the back of the page.
Water-based markers, gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through the page.
Colored pencils work well with the paper. I was able to blend, layer the same and multiple colors using both oil and wax-based pencils with ease.

Carnival Escape: Go Wild in this Colorful Parade

By: Jade Gedeon

Rating: 5 of 5

I own two other coloring books by Jade Gedeon with the Carnival Escape being the third to add to my collection. The quality of the coloring book is the same as the previous two, with high quality cream tone paper with a distinctly rough touch. The carnival that this book celebrates is from Trinidad, which is a northern island off the coast of South America. It is held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and is a fun and wild celebration before Lent begins. The designs contain detailed and very intricate areas for coloring.

In this new book Ms. Gedeon brings Carnival to a coloring book. The majority of the designs are of individuals in wild costumes. Other pages show elements of costumes such as masks and headdresses. It would have been nice to include some landscape scenes which is something I missed since they were so predominate in her first two books.
The paper is a cream tone and is heavyweight watercolor paper. There are five double page fold-out designs. All of the pages are perforated for easy removal from the book. As with the first two books, I found once again that all of my coloring medium worked well with this paper. I did find that if my alcohol-based Copic markers that were extremely full and wet, there was a slight tendency for feathering.
This is what I experienced in coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper. As I don’t use watercolors as a medium, I don’t test them. My understanding is that the paper in Ms. Gedeon’s books work well with various watercolor mediums.
Fun Carnival Celebration designs
Printed on one side of the page with five double page fold-out designs
Paper is thick watercolor paper in cream, rough texture and all pages are perforated for easy removal.
Sewn Binding
Designs stop short of perforations
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page and can feather side-to-side if the marker is juicy
Water-based markers, India ink pens, and gel pens do not bleed through the paper.
Colored pencils work well with the page though, due to the texture, it takes several layers to get a deep pigment. Both oil and wax based pencils worked equally well. I was able to get good color, layer different colors easily and blend extremely easily using a pencil style blender stick.

Colour My SketchBook 4: GreyScale Colouring Book

By: Bennett Klein

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the fourth grayscale coloring book in the series by Bennett Klein. The designs in the book are based on Mr. Klein’s original artwork rather than photographs as many grayscale books are. While I like both styles in the genre, I am always impressed by the quality and imagination of Mr. Klein’s work.

With this book, the artist provides a table of contents with the title of each of his pieces of art. The designs are detailed and intricate in nature. Many of them include highly stylized animals and unusual takes on elegant women. They range from whimsical to more than a little bizarre. I always color the designs with tongue firmly in cheek as I think the most unusual of the designs merge comedy and elegance in a wonderful way.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
25 Hand-drawn sketches in grayscale based on the artwork of Bennett Klein
Designs are printed on one side of white, thin, slightly rough non-perforated paper typical of CreateSpace
Glue Binding
Easy to open to flat position for coloring
Designs do not merge into the binding and there is plenty of room to cut pages out if you choose to do so
Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through the page to some degree. Water-based bleed through in spots while alcohol-based bleed through freely
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of page. India ink can bleed through if you use multiple layers.
Colored pencils work well with this paper. Both oil and wax based provide good color when I use multiple layers of the same color. I am easily able to blend (using a pencil style blender stick) and layer multiple colors as well. I generally prefer wet blenders for grayscale designs as I have found that some designs with smear with a blender pencil. Hard lead pencils leave dents through the back of the page.
Because of the bleed through and dents, I use a blotter page below my working page. I prefer card stock but several sheets of heavyweight paper work as well.

The Wizard of Oz Coloring Book

By: Charles Santore

Rating: 4 of 5

I will include a full and silent flip-through of the coloring book so you can determine if it will work for you. I’ll also upload a couple of sample photos.

This is another entry in the Classic Coloring books featuring the artwork of Charles Santore. The story is by L. Frank Baum and the illustrations are by Charles Santore. Along with the story and the designs, there are thumbnail color pictures from the storybook on the inside front and back covers. I really appreciate that as I can decide to follow the original colors or go my own way.
The book is a larger than standard format. The designs are mostly done in grayscale with a small amount of line drawings in most of the designs. That means that there is a heavy use of gray in the designs. It is meant to be colored over with lighter shades and provides shading which shows through the coloring medium.
It is set up in storybook style, with the text on the left hand side (back of preceding page) and the illustration to the right. Some mediums will bleed through the page or leave shadows of color (see below), which will interfere with the text.
This is what I found while coloring in the book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
24 Wizard of Oz inspired designs by Charles Santore
Designs printed on one side of the page with storybook text on the back.
Paper is white, every so slightly rough to touch, medium weight and non-perforated
Glue Bound
Designs stop short of the binding and almost all have a framing line at the outer edges
Book opens easily to flat position for ease of coloring.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page
Water-based markers and India ink markers leave a slight colorful shadow on the back of the page.
Gel pens do not bleed through an left an indistinct shadow on the back of the page.
Colored pencils did well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I was easily able to get good pigment with multiple layers of the same color. I also was able to layer multiple colors and blend well using a blender stick.