Paisley Designs Coloring Book (Dover Design Coloring Books)

Wow! Early this year (2012) I decided to get back into coloring, and discovered I am not a "peter pan" but a "Colorist". Whew! What a relief. That allowed me to enjoy this coloring book even more! I purchased it along with 3 others from Dover Publishing, and a very nice set of Prismacolor Premier Soft Core Pencils, which I also highly recommend! The paisleys on each page are unique. I was very impressed with the detail and complexity of each page. A few pages are simpler, or have large white areas as background, which will work for beginners or those still learning to color tiny areas. They're also a break from the more complex pages. I enjoyed coloring in the backgrounds as well as the actual designs, and have done 3 pages so far. Of all the Dover coloring books I've purchased (gotta love that 4 for 3 promotion!), this is one of the 3 or 4 very best 'abstract' type coloring book. I enjoy abstract coloring rather than specific images for many reasons, #1 being the freedom to experiment with color. Yes, I could paint a tree trunk pink if I wanted to, but my more logical side cringes at that wild carelessness with reality. :) There are many opportunities to experiment with color theory, various materials (media-pencils, pens, gel pens, markers, permanent markers, fine line pens, etc.) & color layering/shading. This book will challenge you, whether you are an experienced artist or colorist or a beginner. It would also work for kids old enough to appreciate a challenge, and with the patience to spend several hours on detailed coloring. Each chld is different, so I don't recommend a specific age range, just make sure the child has the necessary fine motor skills, or is working on improving them to avoid a frustrating experience. One negative aspect, and this applies to almost all of Dover's coloring books, is that it is printed two sided, different images on the front and back of each page. This can be frustrating when you want to color EVERY page, but it does keep costs and paper use down, so I understand why they do it. I usually make a photocopy (strictly for personal use) of each page, and the image on the other side of that page, before i begin to color. I also test how much bleedthrough I'll get with various media before coloring by quickly filling in part of the title page, which usually has a design on it, with whatever pens or pencils I want to use. If there's lots of bleedthrough, I color my copy instead. Colored pencils give the detail necessary without bleedthrough, but you will probably want a 'blotter' behind the side of the page you're coloring, because even small amounts of pressure can cause the ink of the opposite side to leave a visible impression on the next page. So far I've only done pages with colored pencils & gel pens/markers/permanent markers. The colored pencils & MOST of the gel pens did not bleed through, both types of markers did. Even with the inconvenience of not being able to color all the designs without extra care, this gets 5 stars for creativity, price, and intricacy of design! I love it. I read a review recently which had an excellent suggestion for how to beat the back of the page bleedthrough problem. I'm sorry I can't remember what book that review was posted for. Please comment if you are the person I should give credit to! This person suggested buying 2 copies of each coloring book (especially with Dover's excellent prices), one to color the designs on the front of the pages, the other to color the designs on the back of each page. Brilliant! If you hate mistakes and prefer to start over, or if you enjoy coloring an image multiple times, that's probably the best idea I've heard for these awesome coloring books! Paisleys are back! for me, and I'm digging out my shirts with paisley prints on them just for fun!

"The paisley motif derives its name from the town of Paisley in Scotland, where, in the nineteenth century, machine-woven woolen shawls were manufactured to imitate the luxurious, extremely expensive Indian shawls..." - from Paisley Designs Coloring BookDid you know that? I did not. That is the note from inside the first page of Paisley Designs Coloring Book by Marty Noble. Just reading this tidbit I already feel I made a good decision to buy. This beautifully drawn, Dover-publicated book has 30 pages of bird, butterfly, flower, Indian tapestry and even peacock inspired paisley designs. Flipping through the book, it is initially very appealing and my first impression is that it is a keeper!Marty Noble has come from a long line of artists. No wonder she has the talent she does. Her work in Paisley Designs Coloring Book is quite different enough from her Creative Haven Mehndi Designs: Traditional Henna Body Art Coloring Book to warrant owning both books. I thought they were going to be the same, even similar. But they are quite the opposite.While some of the designs are similar in their first appearance, I feel that each page is truly unique. The line work ranges from moderately thin to thick throughout the book. Some of the spaces are tiny so a fine tipped pen or sharpened pencil will be the tool to use. On individual pages I felt the images were varied enough to not get repetitive and they were not too small to be tedious nor too large to be boring.The price per image in Paisley Designs is around $0.133. A great deal.The Pros:- 30 individual drawings- Very inexpensive for the quantity- always seems to be in stockThe Cons:- the pages are double sided so bleed-throughs can ruin the back sides and possibly the following page.- if you press too hard on the line work on the front of the page, the line work from the back side can slightly come off onto the next page- the pages are not perforatedI would recommend the pages in this book be used only with crayons or colored pencils. I used Prismacolor Colored Pencils on my page. I really enjoyed coloring page 21.My bottom line is that if you like the paisley image, this is defintely one to buy. Marty Noble's work through Dover's publications will always have a permanent place in my coloring book collection. I hope they will be in yours too.

Beautiful designs, gorgeous coloring projects. Stunning, some of my favorites.But in this book they are printed back to back. I suggest getting the large Paisley Designs book, Creative Haven PAISLEY PATTERNS Coloring Book: Deluxe Edition 4 books in 1 (Creative Haven Coloring Books). There are three or four outstanding coloring books in that large one, and *all the designs from this book are included*, each printed with a blank back, and perforated for easy removal.I took a star off because there is no perforation in this edition, and because the pages are printed on both sides. These are designs you'll want to enjoy once you've completed them, and they are so beautiful you won't want bleed through. I completed and displayed several on my mantel this past winter, coordinated by color -- however, I was able to do that, because I completed the designs from the large book which has perforated pages and blank backs.Designs are gorgeous and worth spending a few dollars more to do them justice, which they deserve, with single sided printing and perforated pages.