Immortal Ink: A Tattoo Coloring Book by Tania Maia (Author), El Rose (Author), François Gautier (Author)

July 3, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Immortal Ink: A Tattoo Coloring Book by Tania Maia (Author), El Rose (Author), François Gautier (Author)
Publisher: Plume
Genre: Art, Non-Fiction, Coloring Book
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

More than just a coloring book, Immortal Ink is a true celebration of tattoo art.

Featuring 45 incredible designs from talented tattoo artists, each illustration is as inspiring as it is fun to color. With artwork in eight different styles including Americana, Japanese, blackwork, and steampunk, each daring design offers you the opportunity to unleash your own creativity as you add your choice of stylish color. The accompanying text delves into the history and ethos of each genre and explores the rich and fascinating symbolism behind individual elements used in every spectacular piece.

Beautiful and distinctive, Immortal Ink will celebrate an art form that has captivated us for generations.

A coloring book for adults that’s a wonderful step into the world of tattooing and what’s behind the design.

I hadn’t taken up the fun of coloring in adult coloring books until the last few years. Now I see what the excitement is all about. The art in this book is tattoo art, which is already fantastic, but now it’s up to the person with the colored pencils to add the pop of color. I liked that. I also liked that there’s a description with each design that’s not just a simplistic line about what the image is, but why the art is popular and what it symbolizes. That’s fascinating.

If you’re looking for a coloring book with not only images, but education and a great sense of fantasy, then this is the coloring book for you. Check it out!

Filed Under: Other, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Kaleidomorphia by Kerby Rosanes

February 3, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Kaleidomorphia by Kerby Rosanes
Publisher: Plume
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rated: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snapdragon

The astonishing second compilation of striking images taken from the Morphia series, with colored-in examples Kaleidomorphia is a stunning second compilation of Kerby Rosanes’s most remarkable artwork from his beloved mega-bestselling Morphia series. This collection, just like the first, Colormorphia, features a full-color sixteen-page section that showcases some of the most accomplished completed artworks produced by Kerby’s fans. These pages demonstrate the range of approaches colorists can experiment with when coloring.

The artworks displayed in the color section are included in the black-and-white section of the book, too, giving the reader the opportunity to duplicate the approach should they wish. In addition, there are a variety of images to color featuring the very best from Kerby’s Morphia portfolio.

Kaleidomorphia, offered as a ‘coloring challenge’ is a large coloring book that combines some opening text with many different and diverse images.

The author’s innovative approach to coloring offers the reader/artists (called ‘Colorists’ in the text) samples and discusses how colors and techniques allow for different effects. The opening offers us hints and ideas; from the use of different mediums like acrylics, or the careful selection of a limited palette, to create a certain effect.

This informative opening leads into the most amazing line drawings. The subject matter ranges from animal and scenics to fantasy and the fantastic. The level of detail in each page is astonishing.

To sit and page through slowly, even without coloring, allows one to escape into a quiet dream world, where lines become designs then somehow transform back into the initial subject. Many of the pictures come from a realist’s perspective although some do also have a simpler, or more cartoon-like quality.

I found Kerby Rosanes’s Kaleidomorphia a wonderfully enjoyable diversion and recommend it to all fans of coloring books.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Coloring the Zodiac by Christina Haberkern

January 5, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Coloring the Zodiac by Christina Haberkern
Publisher: Plume
Genre: Non-Fiction, Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

There are twelve signs in the zodiac and twelve ways to celebrate the radiance of the stars, as well as the incredible history and symbolism behind each sign. Illustrator Christina Haberkern shares beautiful, intricate, fun-to-color pages influenced by the latest trends in fonts, design, and pop culture, with more than forty pages to color. The symbol, character, and constellation of each sign will be featured, along with pages of pure celestial, decorative, and pattern designs.

Are you a fan of astrology? Do you sit down and check your horoscope daily? If so, then this is a great coloring book for you. Even if you’re only a casual student of astrology or simply randomly curious, you can still enjoy this fabulous book celebrating all twelve sun signs. There’s something for everyone inside these pages, no matter your artistic abilities.

Coloring the Zodiac gives you a lot of options when deciding what to choose first. For each sign you get several pages with different aspects of the signs. Symbols, images, affirmations, and even quotes from some famous reps for your sign abound in this book. The illustrations are easy enough to color but detailed enough to make your artwork really stand out when it’s complete. The artist does an excellent job of capturing what is truly representative of each sign with her drawings.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I picked up this book. Adult coloring books can be very hit or miss at times. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by what I found in this one. All the drawings called to me, not just those for my sign. I could relate to the pages dedicated to my sign and see my family and friends in the others. Another bonus is that it’d be suitable for younger audiences as well, teens and tweens would have fun coloring in the designs as well as adults. The next time you’re feeling a bit stressed or restless, grab your colored pencils and this book and have fun. I know that’s how I plan to spend some time in the very near future – it’s written in the stars.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Other, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,