The Tattoo Coloring Book for Adults - Creative Stress Relief & Art Therapy | Perfect for Relaxation, Mindfulness & Tattoo Inspiration

I had some surgery that was going to keep in bed for several weeks and a kind friend....well, the guy who does my tats...suggested I buy this along with a set of Pentel colour markers. As I'm 50 years beyond Grad School, the thought of a colouring book left me un moved. And then it arrived. The paper is heavy, the designs clearly printed and the range is far beyond pennants on which can be placed a name, or flags or the usual flash one finds in tattoo parlours. These are not original designs but they are far more complicated than they first appear; A pair of Koi that cover two full pages, fire breathing figures, and, yes, some pages of the prosaid that many have but, over all, it will keep you interested. Also, as you begin to work you realize that what may be on you and what you're "colouring in" have a huge difference and that's shading and using various colours in one area. It becomes a real challenge to try and even partially emulate "the real thing" from the results on the printed page. Even if all the images do not interest you, they're worth trying if only to educate yourself about the complexity of colour, shading, the spectrum and how itr's used. One thing I did and liked the effect was to use a needle tipped fountain pen to lay in some additional black lines where I thought they should be; It's my book so,,,,Also some of the figures have gold already on the paper which, in real life, wouldn't exist. It's hard to cover up (another of the tattooists art) but it can be done. Also, my ink pen can bleed through in the way a marker does not. The end result can be surprizingly realistic although whether I'd cut them out and create my own "flash" in my room is unlikely.In the title I say this isn't for children not because there is an raunch in the subject matter but the ability to hold a pen and to think beyond panels of one colour isn't a gift most children have. It's not an in expensive book, although well worth it in numbers of illustrations and quality, but it's not the sort of thing a child would even enjoy; I'm told by friends who have them that children become frustrated, easily, when presented with material that is beyond their grasp.I would hope that, at some point, the people who produced this will come out with other books, each one devoted to a more specific theme; I.E, Nautical/ Military,Eagles, old school, cartoons/new school etc. Or, if you have only black at hand and a piece of white paper, you can do your own tribal design.This is a great gift for that person who admires and perhaps has tattoos.