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Sailor Kenshin
June 24th, 2016, 04:52 PM
As with the washi tape craze, I am way behind on coloring books. Pen pals had been mentioning them forever, so finally a light bulb went off in my poor excuse for a brain, and I hopped on the coloring bandwagon.

I have five coloring books, and I haven't touched a one until recently.

Well...I HAD four. Last week we had to run to the dollar store for some cheap plastic garden planters, and at the checkout line I noticed they had coloring books. Hey! A buck! It's got flowers in it! Okay!

Funny how I'm almost afraid to start in on the expensive ones (like that one with the fancy seahorse!) but with the dollar book and my cheapest (aka 'worst') colored pencils I just jumped right in.

What is that about me?

But at least now the ice is broken. In the interests of Science, I ordered a couple of other inexpensive pencil sets (that's right; saving my Prismacolors for the 'seahorse' book).

Immediately took on a second coloring book, this time with a mix of markers and pencil. Can you tell which is which?

http://extras.ourpatioparty.com/files/3614/6678/8545/Completed_Coloring_Book_Flowers_-_Dollar_Store-640p.jpg

http://extras.ourpatioparty.com/files/3114/6678/8547/Completed_Coloring_Book_Flowers_-_Real_Book-640p.jpg

These are the designs I favor: simple, lots of white space. And made of flowers.

One thing I learned: heavy pressure with pencils caused a sort of carbon paper effect on the back side and next page of the dollar store book. I've now inserted a piece of paper in between the pages and hope it will prevent that.

Do you color? And with what, on what?

I had fun re-arranging both my pencils and my markers. By the way, my 'worst' colored pencils are being sent to the cornfield.

migo984
June 24th, 2016, 05:36 PM
Very nice, Sailor. Beautiful colours.


I've been colouring pre-printed books, postcards and other items for about five years and have lots of books and sets of coloured pencils - my weapons of choice :-) I also sometimes use watercolour pens. I'm not keen on markers. I prefer to use top quality soft pencils on even the cheapest books, as I do a lot of layering and blending. Faber Castell Polychromos pencils knock the spots off Prsimacolor; I have both.


If you use coloured pencils you must get a blender pencil too. They give a much more cohesively blended effect.


To stop the problem of the pressure on a page causing the underside image to rub down, or to prevent pressure marks, I use a shitajiki (aka plastic writing board) under the page. I have several; the best one is a softish green one from Japan but I think Nanami Paper sells a similar one. These provide an excellent surface for colouring, as well as writing.


It's a fun and relaxing way to pass time isn't it? :-)


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Sailor Kenshin
June 24th, 2016, 07:36 PM
Love your color palette, migo. And thanks for the tips! Yeah, the marker really bled through even the better quality book.

What book is that? It's the sort of design I like; I don't cotton to the very heavily detailed, thick black lines kind of page.

migo984
June 24th, 2016, 09:21 PM
Love your color palette, migo. And thanks for the tips! Yeah, the marker really bled through even the better quality book.

What book is that? It's the sort of design I like; I don't cotton to the very heavily detailed, thick black lines kind of page.

I agree. I like the finer detailed ones. The page I posted is from Millie Marotta's "Animal Kingdom". It has really good quality, smooth white paper, although I've heard that some later editions had cream, more absorbent soft paper that didn't work so well.

There is such a vast choice of colouring books now I hardly know where to start when I go into a bookshop. There are some lovely flower themed ones - my favourite. A beautiful one is "Joyous Blooms to Color" by Eleri Fowler. Publisher Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-244380-9 (tel:978-0-06-244380-9).

Sailor Kenshin
June 30th, 2016, 11:59 AM
I picked up a set of a dozen Polychromos, after trying (and rejecting!) Sargent and Platinum (I was hoping they were from the pen manufacturer! Dohhh...). Hey, I already had bad pencils from Prang, Crayola, etc. So thanks, Migo....they are different and unusual.

A student set of Prismacolors worked well, though, and a new set of Koh-I-Noor, the people who make Miraculous Rapido-Eze, savior of my icked-up fleabay Osmiroid nibs.

Frank
June 30th, 2016, 11:50 PM
Clairfontaine also markets adult coloring books!
Choose from Birds, Nature, and Mandala (Designs)

254582545925460

Authorized Dealer

Red Harry N. G.
July 1st, 2016, 12:18 PM
Wow, migo984, your colouring is exquisit! Even just looking at your work is calming.

I bought "The Mindfulness Colouring Book" by Emma Farrarons a year ago (not that I consider myself busy, there wasn't much of a choice and I wasn't prepared to spend a lot) but it is still almost empty. I might start spending a couple of minutes each day colouring, I would love to finish it!

Before I bought the book I'd also been drawing my own mandalas and colouring them (with fountain pens!). At the moment I somehow can't find them so I can't share them, though.

migo984
July 2nd, 2016, 08:38 PM
I was given an absolutely gorgeous colouring book last week for my birthday. It's called "Floribunda", and is an extra large size book of 20 designs, printed on top quality thick white card, that I think would be suitable for your choice of any colouring medium.

The designs are really intricate and totally absorbing to work on. I've just finished my first one, and it took me longer than any other design I've coloured before. I just love this book.

Coloured using Faber Castell Polychromos & Tombow Irojiten pencils. The camera has made the colours slightly brighter than they actually are. In reality they are slightly more muted.

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Sailor Kenshin
July 3rd, 2016, 07:33 AM
Beautiful, migo!

I now have an Official Upstairs and Downstairs set of coloring books, with markers and pencils in each location.

VertOlive
December 25th, 2016, 11:07 PM
The innovative and incomparable liturgical artist Daniel Mitsui ( currently working on a Vatican commission) offers free coloring pages on his website. There are also two coloring books which feature his art.

His work features a mix of traditional Japanese style and western medieval art.

frmamede
December 26th, 2016, 03:53 AM
I really like coloring books! I was just about to take some pics and share with you guys, but gave up after seeing Sailor's and Migo's drawings. lol
My colorings are too juvenile in comparison...

migo984
December 26th, 2016, 04:05 AM
I really like coloring books! I was just about to take some pics and share with you guys, but gave up after seeing Sailor's and Migo's drawings. lol
My colorings are too juvenile in comparison...

Oh please do share! I love seeing other people's work. I bet you're much better than you say your are. We are, after all, our own harshest critics :)

frmamede
December 26th, 2016, 04:29 AM
I'll give it a shot, then...
The book is actually very cool. It's full of "mandala" type drawings, representing different cultures of the world!

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Some drawings are too "crowded", and I avoid those. I like the "minimalist" approach, if there is such a thing... lol

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migo984
December 26th, 2016, 01:06 PM
I'll give it a shot, then...
The book is actually very cool. It's full of "mandala" type drawings, representing different cultures of the world!

28839

Some drawings are too "crowded", and I avoid those. I like the "minimalist" approach, if there is such a thing... lol

2884028841

Thanks for showing us your colouring book, Filipe. Really good stuff. :) I agree - those are really cool designs. I especially like the Japanese-style mandala. I'm a big fan of symmetry, so the designs really appeal to me.
What colouring pens/pencils do you use? Are these colouring books easy to get hold of in Brazil?

frmamede
December 26th, 2016, 01:43 PM
Thanks for showing us your colouring book, Filipe. Really good stuff. :) I agree - those are really cool designs. I especially like the Japanese-style mandala. I'm a big fan of symmetry, so the designs really appeal to me.
What colouring pens/pencils do you use? Are these colouring books easy to get hold of in Brazil?

Thanks! :) I've been using the Faber Castell 48 color set, which is kind of nice, I guess (I know little about pencils...)
As to the book, I searched but couldn't find it in Brazil. I got it in 2014, while travelling to Peru... :(

An old bloke
December 26th, 2016, 08:29 PM
My wife and 21 year old granddaughter are into adult colouring books. It is very relaxing for them. The granddaughter got interested when I suggested it might help her reduce her work-induced stress level.

DaveBj
December 27th, 2016, 10:15 AM
It's not my thing, but the Spousal Unit is a colorer, pencils and markers. I got her a butterflies coloring book for Christmas, and our younger son also gave her a coloring book.

sweetnightingale
December 31st, 2016, 07:50 AM
It's been a while since I've been on the forums. I saw this thread and had to jump in. I got on the adult coloring books bandwagon late in 2015 and haven't turned back. :) I have a good number of books in my collection and really enjoy coloring while listening to an audiobook. I use mostly colored pencils but do have some fine liners amd other markers. I'll go through my stash of completed pages and post some here, although mine don't compare to the beautiful work I've seen here. It's very relaxing for sure, and I'm definitely hooked.

naimitsu
January 3rd, 2017, 07:36 AM
I just got the Disney Villains book for Christmas. Once I get a page done, I'll be sure to share :D

sweetnightingale
January 9th, 2017, 09:52 AM
I have that book, too! I've got all the Disney ones in that series and they are nice. Some challenging pages but ones that will be fun to do. :)

snowbear
January 10th, 2017, 05:47 AM
I have a couple of books but haven't had time to do much with them. I'll try to post one of the pages I finished.

migo984
January 10th, 2017, 07:35 AM
Can't wait to see everyone's work! I haven't done any colouring for a while, but here's one where I tried using watercolour brush pens instead of my usual coloured pencils. The book is "Extreme Colouring: Amazing World". It's quite a challenging book, as there is a lot of detail on each large page. But it was fun to do :)

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Sailor Kenshin
January 10th, 2017, 08:13 AM
Amazing, as always!

adhoc
January 11th, 2017, 01:28 AM
These are amazing! My girlfriend loves to colour these colouring books for grown ups. I don't even have the artistic capability to colour within lines, but I love watching these.

naimitsu
February 21st, 2017, 10:39 PM
Pardon the poor lighting. I'll get a better picture when the page is done... But wanted to share my first attempt at colored pencils in 10+ years!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170222/86662e8bc248f125e1f92076ae6d43d9.jpg

jamberrypie
February 22nd, 2017, 09:31 AM
Beautiful coloring! I have several coloring books, but haven't had a chance to start coloring in them yet. I got on the bandwagon because I remember absolutely loving to color in books like that when I was a child. I loved how all of the different colors emerged, eventually transforming the way the original blank picture looked. I have inexpensive coloring pencils that I got from Amazon as well as Prismacolors which I use more sparingly.

KKay
February 22nd, 2017, 11:59 AM
No, I don't have a coloring book. I too adored them as a child though. I even liked those paint by numbers sets. A friend of mine has an adult coloring book. She is doing an excellent job on it too. I've seen them, but just haven't taken the plunge, yet.

naimitsu
February 23rd, 2017, 06:52 AM
No, I don't have a coloring book. I too adored them as a child though. I even liked those paint by numbers sets. A friend of mine has an adult coloring book. She is doing an excellent job on it too. I've seen them, but just haven't taken the plunge, yet.
Oh, you totally should! It's more fun than I remembered.

I actually put the Disney Villains adult coloring book on my amazon wish list on a lark (actually, I have an entire public wish list I call "Silliness" for such things) and my cousin-in-law bought it for me for Christmas. I just got around to getting over my anxiety about ruining the pages and colored something in! Obviously I was happy enough with it to post it :D

My next step is to start fiddling with inks to see how the paper fares. If all goes well, you guys might see a weird mashup of Prismacolors and inks ;)


Beautiful coloring! I have several coloring books, but haven't had a chance to start coloring in them yet. I got on the bandwagon because I remember absolutely loving to color in books like that when I was a child. I loved how all of the different colors emerged, eventually transforming the way the original blank picture looked. I have inexpensive coloring pencils that I got from Amazon as well as Prismacolors which I use more sparingly.
All I colored with while growing up were the off brand/dollar store pencils and crayola, and I hated them. I quickly figured out why when I got my first set of Prismacolors. I couldn't blend as well with the non-Prismacolors, so now I'm kinda stuck.

Though I found at Jo-Ann's the other day that Prismacolor makes a "Scholar" sub-brand that is about half the cost of their normal lineup. I got a set for a friend to go with the coloring book I bought her. I'm thinking of buying a set for myself just to play with.

I think I also have a set of watercolor pencils somewhere... might see if I can find them and see if the paper will handle that as well.

Frank
February 24th, 2017, 10:01 PM
Clairfontaine also markets adult coloring books!
Choose from Birds, Nature, and Mandala (Designs)

254582545925460

Authorized Dealer

Update on this post-

Clairefontaine now has 3 more Coloring Books in this series:
-Design/Flowers/Tattoos (6 Total)

AND COLORED PENCILS! (Box of 12 from Claire!)
Update/availability soon!

Frank

migo984
May 10th, 2017, 12:43 AM
A couple of pages from my RHS Flowers colouring book:

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Sailor Kenshin
May 10th, 2017, 08:10 AM
WOW. It looks like a page from an Audubon book.

In lesser news, I haven't colored in a long while, but just bought a big yet simple, unused Crayola coloring book at a yard sale for a buck. It might spur me onward.

VertOlive
August 12th, 2017, 10:13 PM
OK. The box of Eight Crayola colored pencils is not up to my new Mitsui coloring book. I see the Faber Castell are favored here, but I wonder if anyone can weigh in on how large a selection I should choose. You know, the 20 pencil box vs the 100 plus kit.

I want a nice variety but don't need 18 shades of peach...

Opinions?

LeFreak
August 13th, 2017, 01:15 AM
OK. The box of Eight Crayola colored pencils is not up to my new Mitsui coloring book. I see the Faber Castell are favored here, but I wonder if anyone can weigh in on how large a selection I should choose. You know, the 20 pencil box vs the 100 plus kit.

I want a nice variety but don't need 18 shades of peach...

Opinions?I started with the 36 polychromos set and added the "flesh " tones and a few greens.


Love these pencils! I have six different brands of artist quality pencils, and these are my favorites.

migo984
August 13th, 2017, 02:03 AM
OK. The box of Eight Crayola colored pencils is not up to my new Mitsui coloring book. I see the Faber Castell are favored here, but I wonder if anyone can weigh in on how large a selection I should choose. You know, the 20 pencil box vs the 100 plus kit.

I want a nice variety but don't need 18 shades of peach...

Opinions?

I'd get a set of about 40. Polychromos can easily be layered and blended to achieve mixed colours, so unless you are going to do a lot of CP drawings you don't need every colour. They're sold as open stock too, so you can add individual pencils in the future if you want to.

In the US it is probably easier and cheaper to buy Prismacolor pencils. They're pretty good too. They mix well. The difference is that they are more waxy, so can sometimes form a surface 'bloom' when too many layers are added, or when over-burnished. Polychromos are better at keeping a fine point too.

Fermata
August 13th, 2017, 04:56 AM
OK. The box of Eight Crayola colored pencils is not up to my new Mitsui coloring book. I see the Faber Castell are favored here, but I wonder if anyone can weigh in on how large a selection I should choose. You know, the 20 pencil box vs the 100 plus kit.

I want a nice variety but don't need 18 shades of peach...

Opinions?

I'd get a set of about 40. Polychromos can easily be layered and blended to achieve mixed colours, so unless you are going to do a lot of CP drawings you don't need every colour. They're sold as open stock too, so you can add individual pencils in the future if you want to.

In the US it is probably easier and cheaper to buy Prismacolor pencils. They're pretty good too. They mix well. The difference is that they are more waxy, so can sometimes form a surface 'bloom' when too many layers are added, or when over-burnished. Polychromos are better at keeping a fine point too.

33994

33995


Clearing out the loft of my fathers house and found this box of pencils from the Cumberland Pencil Company, I think that he must have bought them in the 1960s and never used them.

Sorry for the diversion, couldnt think of anywhere else to show them.

migo984
August 13th, 2017, 05:21 AM
OK. The box of Eight Crayola colored pencils is not up to my new Mitsui coloring book. I see the Faber Castell are favored here, but I wonder if anyone can weigh in on how large a selection I should choose. You know, the 20 pencil box vs the 100 plus kit.

I want a nice variety but don't need 18 shades of peach...

Opinions?

I'd get a set of about 40. Polychromos can easily be layered and blended to achieve mixed colours, so unless you are going to do a lot of CP drawings you don't need every colour. They're sold as open stock too, so you can add individual pencils in the future if you want to.

In the US it is probably easier and cheaper to buy Prismacolor pencils. They're pretty good too. They mix well. The difference is that they are more waxy, so can sometimes form a surface 'bloom' when too many layers are added, or when over-burnished. Polychromos are better at keeping a fine point too.

33994

33995


Clearing out the loft of my fathers house and found this box of pencils from the Cumberland Pencil Company, I think that he must have bought them in the 1960s and never used them.

Sorry for the diversion, couldnt think of anywhere else to show them.

Very cool! This is now the Derwent company of course. I'm a fan of their Graphitint pencils.

jodylud
August 13th, 2017, 07:39 AM
I started out with a set of 24 count Prismacolor pencils and gradually increased my collection (with other brands) to well over 120 pencils. This is my grab-n-go box.

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snowbear
August 13th, 2017, 08:36 AM
I got a Prismacolor 24 box a while back, then add a couple of individual pencils every so often as I want/need the colors. I use the colorless blender to mix colors. I also grabbed a 36 box of the Prismacolor watercolor pencils the last time they went on sale at the local art store.

VertOlive
August 13th, 2017, 10:01 AM
Went for the Prismacolor 72. And suddenly "found" two more books: Colorful Dogs and Lost Ocean

Sailor Kenshin
August 13th, 2017, 12:13 PM
Let us know if you ever do those seahorses in Lost Ocean!

Fermata
August 13th, 2017, 12:19 PM
Just been looking for an adult coloring book, I thought they would be landscapes, flowers and stuff that is pretty.

How wrong was I!

I couldnt even get my hat on with some of the subjects.

LeFreak
August 13th, 2017, 02:19 PM
Went for the Prismacolor 72. And suddenly "found" two more books: Colorful Dogs and Lost OceanI'm sure you'll enjoy them. Let us know.!