Artist
- Millie Marotta
Publisher
- Batsford (2014)
- Printed in China
Book Dimensions
- Approximately 9½ inches x 9½ inches (25cm x 25cm)
- There are 88 pages to colour in the book plus the outsides and insides of the front and back covers
Quality of Paper
- High
- Thick paper that allows for a range of coloring media to be used
- The paper is a bright white color
Single or Double Sided Print
- Double-sided print
Intricacy of Designs
- The designs range from moderate to very intricate with a variety of animals, birds and flowers
- There are a small number of pictures that have more open spaces for coloring.
Types of Pictures
- As the title suggests, the pictures are mainly animals, birds, with some flowers and trees
- Many of the animal pictures are drawn in a series of small leaves and flowers shaped in an animal shape
Binding
- Tightly bound which can be laid relatively flat
- Glued and stitched
- No perforated / removable pages
Notable Aspects
- Cover of the book has fold out sections at the front and back which extend the inside of both covers. These have pictures on them which can be colored.
- The outside front and back of the cover can also be colored.
- Some pictures have less detail in them to allow the colorist to add their own details if they want
Pros
- Thicker paper means you can use colored pencils, gel pens and water-based markers without too much fear of bleed through to the back of the page
- Beautiful drawings
- Diverse range of animal pictures
Cons
- There are a few pictures that span two pages and it can be hard to color the picture where the pages join due to the tight binding
- Pictures are printed on both sides of the paper so you do need to be careful with some coloring media.
- Whilst the paper allows for use of a range of coloring media, alcohol based markers eg Sharpies, Bic Mark-its,
Copic markers, and similar types of markers will bleed through to the back of the page. - Gel pens and water-based markers can have faint shadowing on the reverse page.
- Pages are not easily removable ie no perforations
Price Range
- $$ – typically AUD $5.01 – $20.00 / US $3.76 – $15.00 / £2.61 – £10.00 / €3.31 – €13.25
Conclusion / Recommendations
This is a great adult coloring book. I really enjoy the way Millie Marotta draws her pictures, all made up of small leaves and flowers. The brilliant white paper is thicker than average and the line drawings are beautiful.
There is a nice range of different animal pictures to color. I find coloring all the small leaves and flowers extremely relaxing so I love this book.
I have used mainly gel pens and water-based markers so far in this book with a small amount of colored pencils as well. Gel Pens and high end Fineliners such as the Staedtler ® triplus ®and Stabilo ® Point 88 ® fineliners have flowed smoothly across the page as I colored. I have had faint shadowing on the reverse page from the fineliners. There has been no bleed through or shadowing from the gel pens. I have also used some other fineliners and water based markers and have found that they can pull and tear the paper especially if you color over the same spot on the page.
If you have fine motor or vision issues then you might find this book can be challenging due to some of the fine details in many of the drawings. However, if you like animal pictures and coloring small details then you should consider this book.
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