by Kerby Rosanes
Published by LOM Art, Plume Books on March 2020
Style: double page printing, Interactive, Paper: medium quality
Pages: 96
Format: Card cover, Express Bullet Point Review, Glue & Stitched
I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the product or the content of my review.
Goodreads
A new fantastic and super-detailed adult coloring book, in an entirely new world, from the prodigious bestselling illustrator. Colorists will find Kerby Rosanes's new creations to be hypnotic, with spread after dizzying spread featuring creatures, people, animals, and landscapes that blur the line between familiar and magical, between reality and imagination.
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Worlds Within Worlds Coloring Book – Features
Kerby Rosanes’ latest coloring book has been released by the UK and a US publisher.
Kerby Rosanes has created numerous coloring books in his “Morphia” series of books.  Through these coloring books, you can see his progression as an artist and illustrator.  The Morphia series comprised highly detailed drawings “morphing” one object into another and surrounded by intricate cartoon-like doodles.  His ability to draw realistic objects with a fun doodle twist made Kerby extremely popular with colorists in the coloring community.
Over time, Kerby’s art matured and the cutesy doodles no longer played a role in his intricate drawings.   This evolution was evident in his last coloring books Mythomorphia, Fantomorphia and Geomorphia.
Both editions of the book feature:
- a card cover
- 96 pages
- medium quality, smooth paper; and
- strong binding
- illustrations are the same in both coloring books and printed in the same order
- all illustrations have been printed on both sides of the paper making pencils an ideal medium to use
- the artwork has been drawn as double-page spreads and some single spreads
- interactive – item to find while coloring
- the theme of the coloring book is consistent with the title
- cover art is included in the coloring book to color
- some illustrations do run into the gutter of the book which may be difficult to color
- spines on both books need some loosening to lay down flat
- a dull black line art has been used for the illustrations
- various mediums were tested on both books with satisfactory results including Inktense, Prismacolor pencils, Polychromo pencils, and Holbein pencils.  Although the paper is not watercolor paper, using Inktense activated with water was successful in this book.  I would not recommend a heavy use of water as it may pill and/or damage the paper
- Kerby’s art is very detailed with a lot of textural elements added.  If the detail is overwhelming or difficult to color due to a minor visual or motor impairment a color wash could be used which would still allow the artist detail work to show.
There are some differences between the two books like different font sizing, publisher’s blurb, and cover layout.    Issues that may be relevant for colorists deciding which edition to select are:
- cover design – the US edition of the book has a faintly textured card cover with the colored cover design printed on the cover.  The US cover features a matte black laminate cover, with a colored red inner cover and a decal like colored image on the cover
- the coloring books are slightly different sizes with the US edition being approximately 3mm larger
- the UK edition has a stitched and glued binding.  It is difficult to determine the binding on the US edition but it appears to be an invisible stitched and glue binding
- paper in the US edition feels heavier and thicker to the paper used in the UK edition (although the weight of the books is the same according to my scales)
- although paper in both books is white – they are different shades of white with the US edition being a warmer white compared to the UK edition
I have loved seeing Kerby’s art grow and transform over the years.   For me, he has really grown as an artist with the composition and design of his coloring pages.  Worlds Within Worlds Coloring Book, in my opinion, is the best coloring book that Kerby has produced so far.  The subject matter and designs are very colorable and appealing to a wide range of colorists.    The illustrations are detailed without being overwhelming and there is a sense of flow throughout the book.
Worlds Within Worlds Coloring Book Flip Through – UK Edition
Worlds Within Worlds Coloring Book Flip Through – US Edition
Detail Level
Where to Buy Worlds Within Worlds Coloring Book
Happy coloring x
Lea
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