Beautiful Angels Coloring Book Review

Marjorie Sarnat is one of my favorite coloring book artists. The first coloring book that I fell in love with was her Creative Cats. The gorgeous cats with their patterned bodies stole my heart and made me a fan for life.

Marjorie has illustrated a large number of books for the Creative Haven brand ranging from cute animals, fashion and textile design. Her illustrative style is quite distinctive with a patterned effect on the focal point of the art work. When colored, this produces an effect that is similar to tapestry or applique, depending on how the colorist chooses to color it. This makes her art work quite whimsical and sweet and fun to color.

In 2018 Marjorie is publishing a number of coloring books with varying themes. These coloring books reflect her whimsical illustrative style, but appear to be less patterned than previous publications. The books that will be published this year are Beautiful Angels (the subject of this review), [easyazon_link identifier=”0486818586″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ cart=”n” popups=”n”]Fanciful Sea Life[/easyazon_link] (an ocean themed book) [easyazon_link identifier=”0486821641″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ cart=”n” popups=”n”]African Glamour[/easyazon_link] (an African themed fashion book in collaboration with African American fashion designer Cia Slater) and my personal favorite [easyazon_link identifier=”0486824217″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ cart=”n” popups=”n”]Magical Fairies[/easyazon_link].

Cover & Layout

Creative Haven always have a consistent layout with their coloring books. A glossy soft cover features colored art work from the book on the front and a partially colored image on the back.

On the front and back inside cover you will find colored inspirational images. I always find these incredibly useful as choosing color schemes is not a strong point for me. Seeing how someone else colors the picture can be extremely helpful when selecting your own color palette.

Ancillary Pages

A decorated title page starts the book with copyright information on reverse. This is the only place to test out your mediums within the coloring book.

Layout

There are 31 full page illustrations to color and the Ancillary Page.

Illustrations have been printed on one side only of the white, perforated paper. This means that you can use your choice of mediums to color the pages with. Like most coloring books, these books are not designed for wet mediums. If you wish to use markers, I would place some paper between the pages to ensure that there is no bleed through or ghosting from the markers.

Art Work

A range of different types of angels have been included in this coloring book. You will find angels with a traditional interpretation as well as whimsical angels. These angels do not confine themselves to the heavens above. You will find them in the jungle, swinging, gardening and even ocean based angels.

The angels are presented with different poses and faces but all with long flowing hair. As well as the full length angels there are also two pictures that focus on the face of the angel.

A variety of different moods have been included in the book. One of the lovely features is the nod to Marjorie’s previous coloring books Creative Cats, Creative Kittens, Dazzling Dogs and Playful Puppies. These sweet little animals have been incorporated into two pictures showing the guardian angel for each. As a pet lover, the images certainly pull on the heart strings.

The angels have also been presented for each season as well. Summer features gorgeous daffodils, Autumn with the harvest of seasonal produce, Winter with snowflakes and an icicle effect on the dress and of course, Spring with new flowers.

Other angels have also been presented that are suited to different occasions and festivities. There is a beautiful illustration that would be wonderful to color for Valentines Day and several images that would be well suited Christmas themed color alongs.

In addition to the angels to color, colorists can also enjoy coloring other elements featured in the book like flowers, musical instruments, birds, butterflies, fruit and vegetables, jungle animals and ocean animals.

The line art is black and crisp within the book and very easy to see. As these illustrations are less detailed than many of Marjorie’s previous books, colorists with a minor visual impairment may find them easier to color in. There is one illustration with a very small angel that may be challenging for colorists with a minor visual or motor impairment.

Colorists that are new to coloring skin and hair may find that this book is well suited to easing your way into learning those techniques. Often coloring hair is difficult as there are not enough artist drawn lines for the new colorist to confidently proceed. The artist in this book has clearly segmented the hair making it easier for the colorist to color the mountains and valleys of the hair and see where to place any highlights.

The pictures are well balanced on the page ensuring that the angel is the focal point and any decorative elements are subservient to that. All of the illustrations have been orientated portrait style on the page and are surrounded by a decorative border.

Each picture has been well positioned away from the perforated edge.

Detail Level

LowHigh

Where to buy Beautiful Angels Coloring Book

[easyazon_link identifier=”0486818578″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ cart=”n” popups=”n”]Amazon[/easyazon_link]

Book Depository

Other Coloring Books illustrated by Marjorie Sarnat

Happy coloring x
Lea

About Marjorie Sarnat

Marjorie Sarnat is a talented artist, illustrator and product designer. Her work features layers of complexity. This layering style is probably what makes her adult coloring books so extremely popular.

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