Querkles: Masterpieces Paperback – October 13, 2015

I bought this book at the recommendation of one of my fellow colorists in a group for adult coloring books enthusiasts in Facebook, and it is just WONDERFUL! It is a twist on coloring by number - you pick your own colors, numbered 1 through 5, with 1 being the darkest, then increasingly lighter for 2, 3, 4, and 5. You can't tell what the picture is going to be unless you look in the back of the book - you just see a bunch of different-sized circles with numbers 1 through 5 in some of the circles and intersections among the circles, and the picture appears as you do the coloring! I have tried using realistic colors and they are fine but I think I am getting to like using colors that look well together, whether or not they are colors used in the actual art painting. And it is just GREAT that this is an oversized book, 13.8" x 9.8" to show off your masterpiece! I, myself, like using Bic and Sharpie markers, using both the fine tips (to fill larger spaces) and same color ultra fine tips (for the smaller spaces). I like them because they are nice rich, colors, and they fill medium to larger areas easier and more smoothly than gel pens or water-based markers. You do have to watch for feathering - the paper is a good quality and the Sharpies and Bic markers don't feather as readily as on less quality paper. But if you pause, you do get blotches and some light feathering, so you need to move along as you are coloring. I, myself, like to draw around the shape of the numbered circles and intersections, and then color them in keeping to the curve of each circle. The Sharpie and Bic markers fill in even large areas very well, but you can also faintly see the shapes of the circles underneath. I think this adds to the finished look which includes the colored numbered circles as well as some circles purposely left blank. It's amazing what a realistic image you get that clearly looks like the work of art, such as the Mona Lisa, pictured on the cover. Enjoy! This is a GREAT book to color!

Did I mention that I love this? Well let me tell you I LOVE this. I color for therapeutic and relaxation as well as pain control ( I am teaching my brain to think about the colors and designs etc and not pain) and entertainment . This is similar to coloring a puzzle or a hidden picture. Ive told everyone about this book. I've taken it with me when I had to go to appointments... everyone was so fascinated with this concept. I think I could have sold many, very many of this book in fact! Everyone was intrigued, so I told them go to Amazon and you can get one. (Especially those that feel they are too old to color.) Really ... your never too old to color. They felt this book would be great because it's kinda like a puzzle! Say what you need to justify purchasing this awesome book. I happily tell everyone that coloring has been great for me! YOU have to buy this book. Even if it's your first adult coloring book or your twentieth book I also own the others and plan on reordering ALL of them even if I know the picture already, I can use different colors right? Please design more more more of these. I promise I will buy them!!! My family is positive I've become obsessed with these books. Well I might be just a little bit haha. It was hard (not really) to tell a family member NO you can not color a picture in my book... get your own. I'm sure you can guess I own a few, well many adult coloring books and can give you the facts on paper and bleed through. The paper is great not thin like it just came from your printer. The pages remove easily if you want to hang your picture on the fridge! Or frame! Some mediums will bleed through for example....markers,(just place a piece of paper behind while coloring) gel pens are great I didn't have any issues with them, I also have used colored pencils. I promise you will love this QUERKLES BOOK. We all need Querkles in our life to enjoy. Go ahead and order this you won't be sorry!!

I got this for my birthday and I am loving it! I love adult Connect the Dot books with hundreds and even over a thousand dots. And I love sketching it in and filling in the pictures. I've never liked Color By Numbers before, but this is different. This feels like an artistic endeavor and it feels like good practice for getting better at shading and playing around with color combinations. I did one with just highlighters at my desk when I had a few minutes. And then I did one with a pen trying out cross hatching shading techniques. I love discovering and recognizing the work of art I'm creating!The circles overlap and create lots of different sections. Each section has a number,1 - 5, and the number is printed darker for the darker sections and lighter on the lighter sections so it doesn't interfere with the overall picture. I'm used to higher numbers being darker (like for pencils) but on here 1 is the darkest. It is very puzzle like because of all the tiny sections and keeping track of the level of shading/color to be used for which number. I'm getting a second one I like it so much!

I was dubious on whether this would be fun but it really is. You pick 5 colors ranging from darkest to lightest with the lightest being number 5 and the darkest being number 1. Color them from lightest to darkest so you can fix you mistakes with darker colors later. I wanted sepia tones for this particular book and wanted bold, even colors so I used markers.I generally like doing this while watching tv shows and it's easy enough to split attention between the two as you just color layer by layer according to number. I use a 13 x 19" coloring book board I got off Amazon which makes it even easier to do in my lap. I like that the pages are perforated too to make it easier to color instead of messing around with keeping a book open. Worth the money and I'll be getting more of the books later on. I just hope he keeps making more of these!