Color Me Beautiful, Women of the World: Adult Coloring Book Paperback – January 15, 2016

I purchased this book and love everything about it. The cover is gorgeous. It is 8.5 x 11 inches. There are 37 images to color and 3 levels of complexity. In each level, there are 10 pages, with 7 bonus images after that at the end that are closer up. These are wonderful for those that love coloring skin tone, makeup and hair. There is a page in front to color and put the colorists name, date started and date completed.Jason has included a "welcome" page that encourages you to feel free to photocopy for PERSONAL use, so you may color again and he explains the best coloring media to use on this medium weight paper. He includes links to his other books, free printables and tutorials, as well as updates. These are full page images and printed on 1 side of the page, which is always a plus for me. This allows for removal for framing and protects from any bleed through ruining the design on the backside.The designs are of good quality printing. It is glue bound on the left. There are also 2 blank pages at the end of the book that are good to use to put under your image as you are coloring them in case of bleed through onto the next page They are great for all skill levels. There are a few pages that have more intricate details, that may be difficult for some people, but even for people like myself that have arthritis and carpal tunnel, most of the designs can be colored without causing hand fatigue and cramping.The paper is of medium weight, and all images have a thin black line border around the image. There is also 1/2 inch white space outside of that, which makes for easy photocopying, framing and easy removal with an exacto knife. This type of paper is pretty standard for adult coloring books. You can use most medium on here except for wet media like watercolors or water based markers. They will tend to wrinkle or damage the paper. If using most markers and some gel pens, you may want to put a few extra scrap pieces of paper under your image to prevent any bleed through issues to the next page. This is also common for this paper weight. If using watercolors, which I normally use, I suggest photocopying to 110# weight cardstock, mixed media paper, or watercolor paper so that the paper can hold up well with the water application. I rarely color in my books because I use the watercolors, so I am used to photocopying. It is not an issue for me.I love Jasons work and I love coloring womens hair and doing skin tone, so was excited when this book came out. Jasons work never ceases to amaze me.

The media could not be loaded. This is my third coloring book by Jason Hamilton. I have become a real fan with his wonderful representations of cats (on quilts and with Santa in previous coloring books.) I am extremely pleased with the gorgeous designs in this new book.The artist has created a unique coloring book in that he has three levels of design levels. Each of the levels has ten designs. The first level is Simple Illustrations and includes women from: Korea, France, Polynesia, Spain, Italy, Southeast Asia, Canada, Morocco, Native American, and Western USA. The second level is Illustrations with Additional Detail and includes women from: Bride, Southern Belle, USA, UK, Japan, Pakistan, Peru, Nepal, Jamaica, and South Africa. The final level is Challenging Illustrations and includes women from India, Kamchatka, Victorian Lace, USA, Russia, Mexico, Norway, Brazil, Switzerland, and Ireland.In addition to the three levels, the artist has included seven designs which are zoomed in images of other of the designs already mentioned above. The zoomed shot gives the colorist the opportunity to add more detail and shading to their project.All of the designs stop well before the binding. The designs are printed on one side of thin white non-perforated paper that is typical for books published by CreateSpace. The binding is glued but there is plenty of room for you to cut a page out if you choose to do so. All of the designs have a “framing” line around the outside. I really like this as it gives me a natural stopping point, saves ink/pencil, and also gives me a more finished looking project when I color.All of my markers bleed through and my gel pens either bleed through or leave a distinct shadow on the back of the page. My coloring pencils work well with the paper. I will use a piece of chipboard or heavy paper behind the page I am working on so I don't ruin the following page with leaking ink.These are the coloring medium that I use for testing. If there is something else you feel I should be testing, please let me know and I will see if I can add it to my growing pile:Markers: 1) alcohol-based – Copic Sketch, Prismacolor double ended markers (brush and fine point), Sharpies (fine and ultra-fine) and 2) water-based – Tombows dual end markers (brush and fine point), Stabilo 88, Staedler triplus fineliners, and Pentel markersGel Pens: Sakura, Fiskars, Uni-ball Signo 0.38/0.28 and TekwriterColoring Pencils: Prismacolor Premier Soft Core, Derwent Colorsoft, Prismacolor Verithins, and Faber-Castel Polychromos