iiiiReader Book Reviews

Ultimate Coloring Classic Pin-ups by Gil Elvgren Coloring Book

By: Editors of Thunder Bay Press

Rating: 3 of 5

First of all, I must say I love the artwork of Gil Elvgren. I’m pleased with the choice of designs in this coloring book and with the way the book has been printed. What I have problems with is the inordinate amount of shading/highlighting lines that have been pre-drawn on the designs overall and especially on the skin of the subject of each design. The designs have the appearance of having been converted using a software program (original image to line drawing) without much editing done afterward.

I would have loved this book if those lines had been removed or, at the very least, minimized by using an extremely light gray line. It seems as if an attempt to lighten the lines was done as some of them are a tad lighter; however, it should have been made much lighter. As it is, the designs have the mosaic look I associate with color-by-number artwork. That also would have been okay if a color key had been provided. In some cases, I have difficulty figuring out which line means what is it a shaded area, a highlighted area, or simply the skin tone?
Because I otherwise love the book, I’m going to attempt using opaque medium on this book to cover up those lines. As the paper is fairly heavy and the pages are removable, I think I should be able to try a variety of methods to see if something works. As I generally work with translucent medium, I will have to look into various opaque medium and learn how to use them properly.
The designs are quite detailed (even apart from the shading lines) and the artwork of Mr. Elvgren is beautiful. While most of the backgrounds are white, there are a number of designs which have pre-colored backgrounds.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
47 Designs based on the artwork of Gil Elvgren with very detailed shading/highlighting lines
Designs printed on one side of the page with wording printed on the back of the page.
Paper is heavyweight, white (though some have colored backgrounds), slightly smooth and perforated
Sewn Binding
Some designs merge past the perforations into the binding area. Nothing essential to the design will be lost if you remove a page from the book.
Opens fairly flat for ease of coloring.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. If you use this medium, I suggest using a blotter page to keep ink from seeping through. I use card stock but a couple of pages of paper should work as well.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens do not bleed through the page. Some do leave light, colorful shadows on the back of the page.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based pencils and found that I was able to apply layers of the same color to get rich pigment. I could also layer multiple colors well and I could blend both oil and wax based pencils easily with a pencil style blending stick.

Dragon Age Adult Coloring Book

By: Bioware

Rating: 5 of 5

Attached to this review, I will post a silent, full book flip-through video. I will also attach a few sample photos as well.

This is a gorgeous illustrated coloring book with iconic scenes from Dragon Age. The designs are quite detailed and some contain intricate and small areas to color. You don’t have to be a fan of the series to absolutely enjoy coloring these beautiful designs but fans will almost certainly want to add this book to their collection (we bought two, one for me and one for my husband.)
The designs include the characters I hoped to see from the game. The illustrations are by a group of artists (Pablo Churin, Juan Frigeri, Gabrield Guzman, Fernando Melek and Facundo Percio.) Their styles mesh well and provide a well-thought out and beautifully put together story. The designs are on the front of the page with quotes on the back of the page. The quote applicable to a design is on the opposite facing page to the design (left hand with design on the right hand side.)
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
45 beautifully illustrated Dragon Age inspired Designs
Designs printed on one side of the page with a quote on the back of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough and non-perforated
Glue Binding
Designs merge into the binding area
I could get the book to lay fairly flat for coloring by breaking/creasing the spine.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. If you use this medium, I suggest using a blotter page to keep ink from seeping through. I use card stock but a couple of pages of paper should work as well.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens do not bleed through the page. Some do leave light, colorful shadows on the back of the page.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. It has good tooth and allowed for applying layers of the same color to get rich pigment. I could also layer multiple colors well and I could blend both oil and wax based pencils easily with a pencil style blending stick.

Lang Dreaming In Color Coloring Book by Lisa Kaus (1020102)

By: Lang

Rating: 4 of 5

This is a large format coloring book with 100 designs. The designs are of gardens and plants and have a very sketchbook like quality to them. It is almost as if these were the preliminary sketches to the artist’s final work. Because they are hand-drawn, there are inconsistencies and areas where lines are missing or don’t meet up, etc. The designs are detailed and in some cases intricate.

I am very impressed with the way this book is published. The coloring book has 100 pages and is very well made. I wish most coloring books were made to this level, let alone having so many designs to choose from.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
100 hand-drawn garden designs with a sketchbook feel
Designs are printed on one side of the page
Paper is medium weight, white, slightly rough and perforated
Many designs do cross over the perforations but stop short of the spiral binding. If you remove pages from the book, the edge that you will lose does not contain essential elements of the design.
Spiral Binding with hard covers that help the book lay flat and provide a good coloring table
Alcohol-based markers bled through this paper only slightly. I would still use a blotter of card stock to protect the designs below my working page when using these style of markers.
Water-based markers, gel pens and India ink pens did not bleed through or leave shadows on the back of the page.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. It has a good tooth and allowed for applying layers of the same color to get rich pigment. I could also layer multiple colors well and I could blend both oil and wax based pencils easily with a pencil style blending stick.

Wells Street by Lang Embrace The Day Adult Coloring Book by Lisa Kaus, 7.375 x 9.25 inches (6093003)

By: Wells St. by LANG

Rating: 4 of 5

I picked this book up thinking that it would be different from the other Lang coloring book by Lisa Kaus, Dreaming In Color. Turns out the difference is the size of the designs, the paper used, and possibly some slight differences in cropping. While it is nice to have two sizes of books (this one, Embrace the Day, is the smaller of the two), I would not have bought it if I had known that it did not include different artwork.

The designs are of gardens and plants and have a very sketchbook like quality to them. It is almost as if these were the preliminary sketches to the artist’s final work. Because they are hand-drawn, there are inconsistencies and areas where lines are missing or don’t meet up, etc. The designs are detailed and in some cases intricate.
If I had to make a choice between the two books, I would certainly choose Dreaming In Color due to the size of the book, the spiral binding, the hard cover and the better grade of paper used. That doesn’t detract from my review of this book, just a statement of my preference.
I am very impressed with the way this book is published. The coloring book has 100 pages and is very well made. I wish most coloring books were made to this level, let alone having so many designs to choose from.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
100 hand-drawn garden designs by Lisa Kaus
Designs are printed on one side of the page
Paper is fairly thin, white, slightly rough and perforated
The designs do cross over the perforations and disappear into the binding. However, if you remove pages from the book, you will probably not lose anything essential to the design.
Glue Bound
Book is approximately 9.75 x 7.25 x .5 inches. The unbound corners of the book are slightly rounded.
Book can be opened fairly flat for coloring but you must heavily crease or break the spine to do so.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper readily.
Water-based markers, gel pens and India ink pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page. Heavy use of markers and ink pens can cause them to bleed through in spots.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. It has a good tooth and allowed for applying layers of the same color to get rich pigment. I could also layer multiple colors well and I could blend both oil and wax based pencils easily with a pencil style blending stick. Hard lead pencils can leave dents through the page.
I suggest using a blotter page, such as card stock, below your working page that or remove pages before coloring. This is keep seeping ink and marring dents from damaging the pages below.

Color Me Your Way 5

By: Pamela Smart

Rating: 5 of 5

Color Me Your Way is the fifth book in a series of coloring books by PJC Smart. It is also noted as her fifth year anniversary book as well. The book is absolutely beautiful with a wide variety of animals included in the designs. There are 24 11 x 16 inch illustrations and a page with two card size designs.

The designs are quite detailed with lots of doodle elements within the various animals. This makes for a wonderful coloring experience with lots of opportunity to play with colors and shading. As the book is quite large, the details are clear and are easy to color with a wide variety of coloring elements.
I’m so pleased with the way the book is published the spiral binding makes it easy to lay the book flat and to get to all corners of the design (which have framing lines at the outer edges to finish off all of the elements for a clean look.) By using larger format, the artist can give us large designs without printing cross a binding. It simply makes coloring easier as well as tremendous fun.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
25 pages of detailed animal designs including 24 large format designs and 2 card size designs.
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, lightly smooth and perforated.
Spiral bound
Designs stop well before the perforations and spiral binding. Designs have framing lines at the outer edges
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. I use card stock or heavy weight paper below my working page if I use this type of medium. It keeps ink from seeping through to the next page. You can always remove pages from the book before coloring as well.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and some gel pens leave a very light shadow on the page.
Colored pencils work really well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based pencils and could get good pigment on the page. I was able to layer the same and multiple colors easily. Blending with a pencil style blender worked well, too.