Travels Shelf - Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom - A Colouring Book Adventure

Even though it is not a regulary travelling book, as the ones presented till now in our special dedicated section (in Romanian version only...but I've working on translating all the articles there) I've chose to include Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom - A Colouring Book Adventure in our special book-collection. And the reason is as simple as that - every page of this book is a reason more to take a trip in a land full of colors (of you choice), animals and birds, bugs and shapes, to get relaxed and enjoy the ride. So...as weird as it sounded at first, the best place for Millie Marotta's book is on the Travels Shelf.

The adult coloring books are the new cool "thing" and it's gaining a lot of popularity, especially in Europe and USA. In Romania, the first book of it's kind is Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom - A Colouring Book Adventure.

The succes and popularity of adult coloring books is due to their positive efect on reducing stress, improving communication skills and generally releasing anxieties and tensions -  the so called art therapy. In the other hand, adult coloring books are an excellent way to return to childhood.

But coloring now is not as simple as it looks, because this drawings are so complex and full of tiny details - from the rhinos and gorillas made entirely of leaves and flowers of different shapes and sizes, to the giant snake with geometric patterns that spans on two pages, the Indian elephants and climbing plants, with ladybugs, bugs and birds of all kinds. Once yu finished them, it's a real delight to see them all colered and shiny.

The photos accompanying the article are "my creations" based on Millie Marotta's works.

I used liners (their main advantage is that they have extremely thin tip, ideal to fill small spaces) with markers (advantage is the wide range of colors and the ease with which you can fill a larger space or to give color background) and glitter gel pens (for metalic effects that it gives the entire design.Their only drawback is that it dries a bit harder.). What makes this book even more loveble is the quality of the printing: The book pages are thick enough so that there is no risk that the color will get through the other side.

It is important to let your imagination play, to be creative and enjoy the freedom of choosing any color combination you wish. For some drawings I take my inspiration from the real character (such as the  toucan below), but with others I let my imagination fly. For great results it's good to keep in mind matching the colors one way or another, so the details stand out. And most importantly, do not rush to finish a drawing. Give yourself time and have patience while filling the white spaces and the final result will surprise even you.

I intend to also try some watercolors or tempera and promise to update the  Facebook page of  Calatorscop with the results.

Therefore, a few minutes journey in the world of a thousents colors can be your moment of relaxation in the middle of a hectic day.