Blog Archives

Nature Mandalas by Thaneeya McArdle

Thaneeya McArdle has done a number of coloring books for Design Originals.  Nature Mandalas Adult Coloring Book is a very interesting one, with 30 illustrations to color. In the front of the book, the author has included a number of pages on shading and color theory,

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Posted in Mandalas
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What Makes an “Adult” Coloring Book?

What is the difference between coloring books for adults and coloring books for children? Other than the very simple books for children from preschool to about age 5, the major characteristics seem to be in the production of the book itself.

Coloring books for grownups tend (but not always) to have heavier paper,

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Posted in General
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Cityscapes Coloring Books

There are a number of urban landscapes (i.e. “cityscapes” ) coloring books available. I got several of  them and have decided to compare.

Splendid Cities: Color Your Way to Calm – June 9, 2015 by Rosie Goodwin (Artist), Alice Chadwick (Artist) was the first one.

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Posted in Cityscapes
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Johanna Bashford

Johanna Basford is an illustrator who prefers pencil and pens to create incredible black and white drawings. She now has 3 books out and a number of postcards and note cards series based on her books.

Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book was her first book and one of the most amazing sets of illustrations for coloring.

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Posted in Floral / Garden, Jungles
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Wendy Piersall’s Mandalas Coloring Books

Wendy Piersall  is a lifelong writer and artist with over 17 years of professional design experience. She began drawing mandalas for coloring for her Woo! Jr. website for kids and parents, and when Ulysses Press asked her to do a coloring book for adults, she did Coloring Animal Mandalas.

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Posted in Design
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Stress Relieving Patterns

Blue Star Coloring has published a series called Adult Coloring Books: Stress Relieving Patterns  and they are very popular. The first book has 46 illustrations, one per page (so the back is blank), and the paper is medium weight. The designs range from simple to very complex. I recommend placing one or two sheets of blank paper under the page to be colored in case of bleed-through.

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Posted in Design, General, Patterns / Geometric
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