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Anyone want to talk coloring books for adults?


mmasc
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I just discovered such a thing exists, and I'm super excited! I've already ordered my first one from Amazon called Everyone's Mandala Coloring Book Volume 1. So, do you have any favorites?

What do you use or prefer...markers or colored pencils? I have about 10-15 Prismacolor pencils from my DH's teenage years, and some Sharpies. :) I'm guessing there are better options out there but I'm not sure which is better, pencils or markers. I'm leaning in the direction of markers.

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I just discovered such a thing exists, and I'm super excited! I've already ordered my first one from Amazon called Everyone's Mandala Coloring Book Volume 1. So, do you have any favorites?

What do you use or prefer...markers or colored pencils? I have about 10-15 Prismacolor pencils from my DH's teenage years, and some Sharpies. :) I'm guessing there are better options out there but I'm not sure which is better, pencils or markers. I'm leaning in the direction of markers.

 

I prefer the pencils, they won't bleed.

 

 

Enjoy :)

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This isn't strictly an adult coloring book, but I love fairy tales and the illustrations are beautiful:

Famous Fairy Tales

The pictures are printed on both sides, so you would need to use colored pencils or crayons.

 

I also like the steampunkish Curious Creatures coloring book, also from Dover.  The drawings are one-sided, so you can use markers if you'd like.  If steampunk animals aren't your cup of tea, there are lots of other titles in the Creative Haven series, including Creative Cats, Art Nouveau Animal Designs, Whimsical Gardens, and Dreamscapes. 

 

Enchanted Forest and Secret Garden are popular.

 

Have fun!

 

ETA:  I just received these markers as a gift, but haven't tried them yet.

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I colored most of the Human Brain Coloring Book when I was in college. Pencil, very carefully - my colorings look beautiful. I bought a mandala coloring book a few years later, but it's tricky coloring when you've got a toddler grabbing all your pencils etc. Haven't colored recently. Maybe I should pick that up again. I just bought a Zoology coloring book (similar to the Human Brain Coloring Book) at a curriculum sale.

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I have this one by Jen Ski. The paper quality is really nice.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Just-Add-Color-Mid-Century-Illustrations/dp/1592539483

 

I also got one from Etsy - you can find some really unique ones there and some are pdf format.

 

I like the idea of doing the more educational ones just for fun;  I really had not thought about that. I have this Geography one somewhere:

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Geography-Coloring-Book-Wynn-Kapit/dp/0131014722/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433004501&sr=1-1&keywords=geography+coloring+book

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Oh wow...you guys are showing me so many that I want now! :)

 

I can't wait to get mine and start coloring! It's weird how I used to love coloring as a youngster, then just stopped. I'm not artistic or good at drawing AT ALL, so coloring was always kind of my 'artistic outlet'. I'm so glad to find these beautiful books! Thank you guys!

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I've been meaning to get one. It sounds therapeutic and I can't afford therapy. I want one of the ones from Costco.

 

I always hear about great things coming from Costco...wall maps, coloring books, and all kinds of goodies!  Makes me kind of jealous because I only have (or have ever been to) a Sam's, which I've heard pales in comparison to Costco.   :laugh: Which kind of book do they have that you're wanting?

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I've been meaning to get one. It sounds therapeutic and I can't afford therapy. I want one of the ones from Costco.

 

When I was 18, my mom had a brain aneurysm (she's since fully recovered) & my parents were freshly divorced, so I was her next of kin. I had to decide what kind of brain surgery she would have. I juggled a part time job and college classes in addition to "mothering" my 14 year old sister when I wasn't at mom's side. Coloring the children's coloring books left around the hospital lobbies offered me a great deal of...tranquility during that time. I remember I spent the vast majority of her actual surgery with a coloring book in my lap. I wondered (and maybe worried) what the doctors thought of me coloring, but it was something that I could control. It kept my hands busy, and gave me something else to concentrate on, and of course, it made me think of the times my mom sat beside me as a kid & we'd color together.

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I have this one http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/posh-coloring-book-andrews-mcmeel-publishing-llc/1121821797?ean=9781449458751

 

it's a small size that fits nicely in my smaller purses. 

 

I like to use colored pens or colored pencils. I don't have any markers. I like crayons, but the lines in the designs are so small that crayon wouldn't be able to stay in the lines. 

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I rediscovered coloring a few years ago while dealing with the stress of a parent with dementia. My kids were coloring something for school and I joined in. I felt so relaxed that I went out that day and bought myself a new box of Crayola 64 and a coloring book. I prefer using pencils now, and I've actually found the regular Crayola pencils to work just fine. Marty Noble illustrates some of my favorite Dover coloring books:

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Marty+Noble&search-alias=books&text=Marty+Noble&sort=relevancerank

 

ETA: a friend recently posted a resource for free coloring pages you can print: http://www.muminthemadhouse.com/2015/04/19/free-colouring-pages-for-adults/

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I always hear about great things coming from Costco...wall maps, coloring books, and all kinds of goodies!  Makes me kind of jealous because I only have (or have ever been to) a Sam's, which I've heard pales in comparison to Costco.   :laugh: Which kind of book do they have that you're wanting?

 

I'm curious, too!  

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I always hear about great things coming from Costco...wall maps, coloring books, and all kinds of goodies!  Makes me kind of jealous because I only have (or have ever been to) a Sam's, which I've heard pales in comparison to Costco.   :laugh: Which kind of book do they have that you're wanting?

 

Oh they have awesome stuffs. I'm so sad for you. Color Me.

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There should be a warning on these sorts of threads ***AMAZON Purchase opportunity***

 

I would save a lot of money if I could avoid these sorts of threads!

Susan really needs to enroll in some sort of affiliate program with Amazon. She could retire.

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I love coloring but combine it with rubber stamping. I use water-based markers and (sometimes) prisma colored pencils. With the markers, I often use watercolor paper and a water brush pen. I put some color with markers and then pull it across the image with the water brush pen.

 

Many rubber stampers use alcohol based markers but I never wanted to invest much in those.

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I love coloring but combine it with rubber stamping. I use water-based markers and (sometimes) prisma colored pencils. With the markers, I often use watercolor paper and a water brush pen. I put some color with markers and then pull it across the image with the water brush pen.

 

Many rubber stampers use alcohol based markers but I never wanted to invest much in those.

Ooooo...that sounds fancy! :)

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I like the Posh coloring books.

 

I like colored pencils because they don't bleed and you can shade.

 

I'm definitely ordering that Enchanted Forest book.

 

Unfortunately, it's on backorder now, and has been for a while. My friend got hers shipped about a month ago but she had been on the waiting list since before Christmas. I'm on it now, but who knows how long it will be....

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I have a couple of these, and they're great.  I'm always torn between markers and colored pencils.  I love the vibrancy of markers, but they do bleed through sometimes.  The colored pencils are so soft looking, and the set I have has so many more colors than my marker set.

 What pencils do you use?  

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Okay, I want to revise my statement previously about the Pentel markers. I'm using them right now and they're okay. They don't bleed through on thick paper and they're good for smallish areas. Not great for large areas, the color becomes streaky, and the nib is too large for tiny areas. But if you want something vibrant on a thickish paper, they could be a good choice.

 

MMASC, I have books like that one with tight spaces to color and I always use PrismaColor pencils. I've been buying them open-stock for many years, so I now have pretty much every color the company offers. I keep a list of the color numbers that I use up; at some point, even with a hand-sharpener, there's nothing else to do with a pencil stub but throw it away.

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I just recently started doing this. It has been so relaxing, sort of like a meditation. I use Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils and I found some brushes you fill with water that are very fine. I love the watercolor with the fine detail and the colors with these pencils are very vivid. I do need to get some watercolor paper that I can print on and copy a few designs onto it so the paper stays flat. I just have one book but was browsing them online and found an H.P. Lovecraft one for ds13. There were so many I couldn't decide!

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