Reviewers art

Scroll down to the reviews area on this Balance coloring book and click on the images that reviewers added. Some really good pretty art there.

Prang are okay. Flair are better for writing and sketching than coloring. You'll find that slightly better pens and pencils are really a lot nicer to use than the cheapest ones, especially if you're coloring these detailed pictures. If you can add $10, or even $5, you'll get much better quality. Also, look for coupons and sales at art supply or graphic design places. There are also a lot of graphic design markers which are great because they don't make lines where colors overlap, but which generally aren't great for coloring with. They're too wet and too big.

I just bought two from Amazon along with colored pencils. I am going to give one to a friend who will be having a mastectomy soon. I hope she will like to color to chase away the blues or keep her mind busy.

If you are on Facebook there is a group following Angie Grace.

Coloring with Angie

People show some of their "creations" there and chat about best pens, pencils, etc.

I'm sure there are others but I haven't looked for any of them yet.

I love coloring and the resources you all have here. Making something pretty. I agree with Raven that Amazon reviews will tell you which coloring books have paper that bleeds if you use liquid color. I can think of many good reasons to color. Helps stiff fingers, works your brain, self appreciation and pride. Lowers BP as you set aside your troubles and do a quiet, maybe private, activity. That's what it has done for me.

The Angie Grace Facebook group has some beautiful examples of their projects. I am trying to decide which Angie Grace book I want first they are all so pretty. I like that they are on heavy frame quality paper with only one picture per page. I read the suggestion to keep a sheet of wax paper or something under the one you are working on to assure no bleed through. Walgreens apparently has a clearance sale on the various pens and pencils etc right now, I just might need to take a ride over there. Reading the information at the group page and the reviews provides some helpful tips and techniques and general information.

For flamingo - your a gem and a fantastick quilter. I know what your saying in your post. As for coloring, I tend to sit together with my 18 year old daughter and we will talk and color, and make comments like, "it's time to stop coloring and get something done." I imagine as I get older, I'll be coloring more, if my eyes can take the tiny lines! Or I might do textiles like you mentioned.

I'm wondering is there might be a coloring book for my 50 year old son. He was an art major for a while in college, but I was thinking about one for his wife and one for him, more on the masculine colors and designs.

Glenda many people on that facebook group for the Angie Grace books are men. Those pictures are definitely not for any specific sex they are just beautiful drawings. But there are some that are of animals. Check out this site it lists all of her books in categories. I think there would be something for everyone. The beauty is you choose your own color palette, he could choose more masculine colors. Art is for everyone!

books

by the way if anyone wants to give it a try here is a link to several free pages you can download and print from her books. See how you like it. Of course the printer paper will not be the best quality.

sample art pages to print

Wonderful, Raven. I downloaded two which did not have such tiny spaces. I just got back from looking at the books at Michaels and was surprised at how tiny some of the coloring spaces are, smaller than I'm interested in.

Raven, are you getting one of her books?

I'm thinking of ordering Angie's Patterns or one of the books for crayons and wide tip markers. Orders go through Amazon.

My sister and I used to color all the time. I love to color. I would spend hours coloring with my kids when they were young. Even as they got into elementary school and older, it's amazing the conversations you can have over a coloring book.

I color now with my great nieces and nephews on occasion. They don't live close so I only see them a few times a year. I love spending the time with them. That is we color when they aren't soaking me with their water cannons, haha. I love those kids.

I printed out several of the free ones on the heaviest paper I have. I have lots of pens already so I started on one today. They do have some very small spaces. And with my hands the way they are, let's just say not everything is in the lines lol. I hope to get better. After doing these free ones I will decide which book to buy.

I did one this afternoon with a few crayons and one colored pencil. It was on computer printer paper, so the color didn't take real well, and I was limited in colors. I learned some things, though! I think I might like colored pencils more than crayons. If crayons, I want that big 64-size box!! Have fun, Raven.

Socks, I printed some online pictures and I used 65# paper, bright white. They look great and the colors really pop.

Glenda, an art major might only need a blank sketchbook and some pens/pencils, but if he's at all interested in design or design history, there are a lot of Dover coloring books that are appropriate for men and of potential interest to an artist.

Here are some very nice Secret Garden pictures to print Secret Garden

I think I am going to try the first one.

Lots more to chose from here coloring pages

Glenda, you may feel like I do: too many choices! There were several Dovers I liked, especially one called Medieval Tapestries. Maybe you could get an easier one and a more complicated one for your DS/DIL.

pllog--Those Dover books are priced right. I did notice they are printed on both sides.

Realizing people can do whatever they want, when you have something you want white, do you leave it or try to soften it with some faint color like grey?

Also, if you have a large background to color all the same, do you do that first?

I first started buying these colouring books over 20 years ago back when they were called "art books" I would buy them for my Mom to colour because it would keep her occupied and doing something with her hands. I was also doing stamping at the time and making cards so I had invested in an expensive set of watercolour pencils and soft coloured pencils which I still have and use. 2 of my adult nieces really like these new colouring books, Laura contacted me the other night to have me chose between the Secret Garden or Enchanted Forest because she wanted to order me one. We used to have fun colouring when they were kids. Meagen is a freelance graphic artist in Toronto and she likes them as well, helps her to practice with colour. I am not surprised these books are so popular. Oven the years when I have gifted them to friends they were well received and enjoyed. Here is a tip I learned a long time ago. You can use as eraser to soften or remove the colour on your page if you find you don't like it but "stick tack" the stuff teachers used to hang paper and posters on the classroom walls works even better to lift colour off the paper.

what is better, crayons, colored pencils, markers, watercolors? Is there a good or better colored pencil anyone can recommend? Or are they all about the same?

JoAnn- it just depends on what medium you like and are comfortable with using.

I prefer using colored pencils personally. Artist grade like prismacolor are going to give rich color and the ability to shade.

Prang are decent too, better than crayola or rose art.

Currently I am using a selection of the colored sharpies and the Bic mark its fine point. I like the Bic best.

I personally don't want books with pictures on both sides. Due to bleed through and mark through. I need to get some watercolor pencils and maybe some gel markers. The group on Facebook has great suggestions for products and techniques. Including using erasers and blender tools for shading.

My picture is coming along well, I need more colors though.

For white space, white is a color so is black, you can just leave it white or shade it to give dimensions. They discussed a shapeable eraser / blender that you can squeeze squeeze into shape to get into the space you need. I have never seen one of those.

Raven- I'm not sure if this is what they are using

But it is called a kneaded eraser. It is used with charcoal so you might look in that section of an art supply store.

Yes that is what it was called!

OK don't judge me too hard, this is my first attempt. I might have too much white space what do you think?

I like it ! And I would fill it in myself but it looks nice either way.

My dd and I prefer to use fine tipped markers that don't ink out so far. Its a bold and solid look.

Wonderful, Raven. I wonder if the background should be done first or last. If you did a background, what color could you do that wouldn't wash out some of your other colors? You might lose some of the contrast between your colors and the white.

Raven, that's lovely, and I like the white!

Socks, a good stategy for background is to use a medium that doesn't show abutment lines and starts and stops. Primacolor markers do that well, among others, because they're designed for it. It doesn't matter so much in a tight figure like Raven's but when you have a lot of background it does. You can also use watercolors with a mostly dry brush to make the rest of the colors pop more. Start next to the outlines with a more controlled point, tip, or brush, then work your way into the center. This makes it much less likely that you'll bleed into your pattern. Same thing for large areas of foreground.

Whites depend on the effect you want. If you want them to be "in" the picture, you can use white pens and pencils, as well as ever so pale tints of every color. Grays are great for shadows, but they can look dingy when substituted for white. If you look at actual shadows, you'll see that a lot of them are blue, green or red. If you want paler than you have, try applying with an ever so slightly damp Q-Tip. Make sure to look at the color on the Q-Tip often, because the cotton will migrate. The Q-Tip brand, with the paper sticks, are best, IMO, because the cotton is thicker and doesn't shed easily. You can also twirl it into a point, or squash it flat, or whatever. If you want to get really fancy, you can moisten your Q-Tip with thinner. :) Just make sure it matches the medium you're using. You don't want to mix chemicals willynilly.

BTW, white is actually a very pale tint of black. You can see this if you go into a windowless closet or bathroom with a true black paper/swatch, and shine a bright white light on it. White is reflected back, same as for a white paper. Black absorbs a lot more light, so less is reflected, but it's the same full spectrum.

Here's my first one. It looks sketchy, all I had was my grandkids crayons and a red pencil. The paper and crayons didn't like each other! I thoroughly enjoyed and learned some things. Today I got a box of Prang and some images from the internet plus a carousel horse book.

Thanks for all the helpful info, plllog.

I was just reading above. That is a wonderful idea about giving a person in the hospital some of these.

Oh that's pretty. I have crayons I forgot about so I can try that. I picked up a package of colored pencils at Walgreens and a couple of gel pens on clearance.

I had a pile of colored pencils but got some more today at Walmart. It was a 24 pack of the CraZArt brand, only $1.97. I tested them against my good ones and they are about the same, maybe not quite as soft but you see no difference in them when drawing. I don't know how they will do for sharpening but so far I got a good deal. I also picked up so think line markers at Dollar Tree. They work great for a Buck! Thanks for starting this thread.

The box of pencils I got are by Crayola and have good colors but I discovered I don't like using pencils as much as I liked the bic mark its. All the coloring strokes and pressure with the pencils wears my hands and wrists out pretty quickly so I can not do as much at a time. I have not tried the gel pens yet or the crayons but my guess is the crayons will be similar to the pencils. I don't like the look of the pencils as well either. I have a lot to try and a lot to learn!

very good prices JoAnn! Right now with the back to school stuff out there will be a lot of clearance items soon. That is what I found at Walgreens a clearance area.

An update. I love the gel pens. I picked up a few more today and a book at hobby lobby with the 40 %off coupon. I like the glitter and metallic ones too the gel pens glide on so smoothly. They are my favorite so far. I did pick up one of those kneaded erasers for the pencils. Jo Ann fabric has a good selection of the gels and coupons on the website.

Today at the flea market i found a thin wooden artist box filled with colored pencils chalks markers erasers sharpener an much more. All for $1.00 ! You know I bought it. It must have been my lucky day

What a find, JoAnn!

I would have snatched it up so fast! Way to go. Great find.

Coloring is... not for me. But I do understand how a lot of people would like it and find it relaxing. For me, it's frustrating. Didn't like it as a kid and like it less now. Never been an artist. Wish I had some talent in that way though, but not all of us do.

Of course coloring isn't for everyone! For many it's appealing for the process, not necessarily for the product. Anyone can enjoy it because one does not need artistic ability, anyone can color. I probably color as well as any elementary school kid! But I don't care, it's fun to put on some music, NPR, or just quiet and color.

I'm on my third project, and when I'm out and about, I notice colors and designs more, colors in peoples print clothing for example.

(Not trying to sell you on it, Cynic.)

Its actually a bit frustrating to me also. I am too concerned about shading, contours and all the artsy stuff. I pick a project apart before I can get started. I'm like that with everything, I have to know all the details first. Right now I am in the detail stage. I started a adult coloring book page on pinterest, I picked out some of my favorite pictures and now all I do is print them off. My head is spinning staring at the computer for too long.

If you can see it, here is the page I made. Adult coloring pages

My favorite things are beachy stuff, shells or buildings.

Oh, and Glenda, I found a ton of "manly" type pictures for your son or Grandson to color. There are lots of cars, animals and outdoor stuff for them.

OK, JoAnn...there's something in this for everyone. Some people like to color, some people just like to collect. You are a collector, you enjoy the images as they are. Actual coloring is optional! Thanks for the look at your page. You've found some good ones there.

Glenda, I saw something for your son too. If you go to Amazon and search "Dover Medieval"--books come up about knights, armor, jousts/tournaments, castles, etc.

Wow Jo Ann that is a lot of pages. The book I bought is Crazy Paisley, I love Paisley.

I don't think it out much, just start coloring. I will go through the picture with one color and do everything I think looks good in that color, then I grab a new color and do all the stuff I like for that color etc. Then I do it again till I think I am done. I don't really try to make a work of art, far from it with my hands lol. Just enjoy the act, and the colors and I do think it is helping my hands.

Angie Grace is my choice. For those of you who are on FB there are many groups for coloring adults. Nothing to brighten your day more than seeing what everyone has done. Much like the quilting site on here everyone shows their work and well, it is beautiful. I like the companionship these women give to each other. Whether you want to do it or not the comments are endearing.

Raven, I color like you do, having fun picking colors and trying to stay in the lines! I went to an art store yesterday and got some gel pens (one sparkly!) and enjoyed trying something different. You are right--If you press with colored pencils, it can fatigue the hand, so it's good to stop and stretch occasionally. Same as knitting.

Maggie, I just got Angie Grace's sampler, but I've enjoyed some freebies I've snagged online too. Do you know of any forums not connected with FB? I would enjoy seeing others' work. There is a paper arts forum here, but unless lots of coloring people know of it, there wouldn't be much traffic.

socks. I only know what is on FB which I assume you aren't on. I hope they start something on here. It is very helpful to find better pencils and other supplies that don't hurt your hands. Or use gel or watercolors. I'm like raven, I can't use my hands very much. I can keep a look out for you, socks. This whole idea has sprung up in a big way.

For those who have trouble with pencils but want a dry medium, first off try better pencils. I know paying more is a drag, but artists' pencils are often much softer, and aquarelles are softer yet. Also try chalk pastels. They make holders, which make them a lot easier to grip, though there is the bother of changing the chalk. It might be worth getting a few holders if you like the chalk, so you can have several going at once. You don't need any pressure to get a light coloration from chalks. Fresh oil pastels also color much more easily than wax crayons, with no pressure needed, and there are also holders for them, but they take a little more technique and need to dry or they'll transfer a lot of color to anything heavy put on top.

I did a new piece yesterday using crayons, I like how it turned out. Unfortunately my crayons are Crazart brand which are extremely cheap and it shows. I already had those which I had for a previous project. I might get a better quality crayon. I agree I am sure that the more expensive special pencils would be much easier to use. I will consider getting better tools if I think this hobby will last. So far I am enjoying it. I too wish we had a place we could discuss it more and show our work for comments and suggestions. I don't do FB but I have read that Angie Grace group and enjoy the pictures. Maybe we could ask for one as a sub forum for KT, like some have the conversation sub forums. We could have a sub forum KT Hobbies discussions,or something like that. That way it could include all varieties of our hobbies from art, photography, writing, animals, what ever your hobby is.

It's lovely!

There's already a Paper Arts forum that hasn't been used forever. It really was more referring to art made of paper and making paper, but had stamping too. Coloring is similar. Why not use that?

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/paper

OTOH, we have Casey's daily photography thread, and an occasional quilt thread, and I don't see why there can't be a few coloring threads in KT too.

That is nice, so pretty. You paid a lot of attention to color choices to get good contrast. How did you color such small spaces using crayons? Thank you for sharing.

I got a set of 36 Prang for $10.50 locally and also picked up 2-3 gel pens which are a lot easier on the hand. I agree with you, not sure if this will be a lifetime hobby so I don't want to invest much but for the moment it's fun. I'll post a picture or two when the computer is on

True, plllog. We could go to paper arts. Or we could have a thread here for adult coloring people to share their work.

Finished this one last night.