by Barbara Sobczyńska
on 1 January 2017
Style: single page illustrations
Pages: 64
Format: Soft cover
A unique coloring book for colorists around the world including native Cracovians to discover the world of legendary dragons and the charms of Krakow. It is one of the most beautiful Polish cities represented in the drawings which are accompanied by anecdotes of famous places and monuments of Krakow.
Smoki nad Krakowem Coloring Book Video Review
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Dragons Above Krakow Coloring Book Review
Barbara Sobczyńska’s name may be familiar to readers as she has illustrated a couple of coloring books that I have already reviewed – Koty (featuring cats) and Szczeniaki (featuring dogs). I guess if I had thought about it, I would have hoped that the next book following the cute animal theme would be bunnies! Luckily, I didn’t need to think about it because a lovely reader, Joanna alerted me that Barbara’s third coloring book was about dragons!
In Dragons above Krakow Barbara has moved into the fantasy art niche but has managed to combine it with her unique style of drawing and humour.
Cover & Layout
The soft cover features two churches against a dark sky with cute dragons above the city square. The cover is partially colored and you can see that the text of the book has been provided in both Polish and English.
On the back cover there are 9 partially colored images from the book to give y ou an idea of the art work within.
Dragons Above Krakow is approximately A4 sized.
Ancillary Pages
Two cute dragons adorn the title page at the front of the book. This is the best place to test out your mediums and see how they perform with the paper and your coloring style.
Layout
Illustrations have been printed on one side of the white trade stock paper. Each image is contained within a border which ensures that images do not abut the spine.
On the reverse of each picture, text in both Polish and English, tells you about the area featured. I have to confess that I found this information so interesting that I forgot I was filming at one stage and settled in to read all about Poland (a lot of editing has been done on the video to remove my reading time)
Coloring Book Images and Illustrations
Barbara has a unique way of drawing her pages. They are both humourous and sometimes cartoon like yet realistic as well. It is a difficult style to mix together, but just like in her previous books she has managed it.
The Illustrations in this book featuring gorgeous winged dragons of different sizes and shapes throughout various well known landmarks of Krakow. For the tourist, Barbara has included a commentary of the importance of the scene which makes this book part tour guide and part coloring book. I feel I have learnt more about Poland than I ever knew just leafing through the book.
Line art in this book features thick heavy, dull black lines but a lot of smaller lines stippling and texture marks on each page. These add depth and produce an effect that creates an image full of depth and meaning.
Art work appears to be hand drawn and as such the lines can appear sketchy in some drawings and have various line weights. Some of the illustrations may not be as crisp as others. You may also find that some of the imagery in the far distance of a scene for example, may have open elements. These are the sort of pictures that benefit from color washes in some of the detailed areas to create a “painterly” effect.
Barbara’s dragons are adorable and they are the star of the show.
Colorists will find a multitude of elements to practice their skills on in this book, dragons en masse, stone work, metal, distant towns, clothing, animals and effects for smoke, fire and mist.
You will also notice a lot of fun in the pictures with dragons heating up their tea with just a puff, taking a selfie or having a snooze with their toy.
As well as the dragons you will also notice a lot of pigeons in the book.
Please click on an image to view more detail
[foogallery id=”10920″]Detail Level
Where to buy
| Amazon UK | Book Depository |
Happy coloring x
Lea
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