Sarah of Mad March Moon Designs, very kindly sent me the digital files of both of her 5-page colouring sets that she sells through her Etsy page and boy was I glad she did. Firstly, if you think you’ve seen detail, think again! These pages are delicately hand drawn and contain heaps and heaps of detail and added extras that keep you interested and discovering new things all the time. These pages are fantastic value for money because they will keep you entertained for hours and hours with all of the tiny parts that Sarah has pain-stakingly drawn. Her images are beautiful and you are instantly transported into a fantasy land that will draw you back in each and every time you go to colour one of her stunning pages. These images are wonderful for both male and female colourers and the possibilities are endless when it comes to how to colour and what to use. The pages are designed to be printed A4 size and certainly any smaller than that and you’d need a magnifying glass to get into all of the nooks and crannies. You will definitely need a good set (or 2, or in my case 6, don’t judge me) of fineliners or some very sharp coloured pencils to be able to really make the most of the intricacy of these images. You will also need good eyesight and fine motor control to enjoy these images fully or you may find them frustrating. The line thickness is fineliner thickness so there isn’t a lot of wiggle room meaning you’ll really need a decent light source when colouring these images (I personally sit in front of a huge, south-facing window when colouring so my page is flooded with natural light) but don’t let this put you off, I went over the lines a number of times with mine and found that actually it just adds to the character of the finished piece.
Sarah has created two beautiful sets of images that are the perfect level of intricacy to truly keep you occupied and concentrating and distracted from any anxious or low thoughts. They are highly detailed and are well suited to the more experienced colourer or potentially beginners who are feeling brave. These images draw you out of the real world, away from the stresses and worries of reality and into a wonderful fantasy world filled with imagination and possibilities and the fountain of imagination images really take you back to childhood where your creativity knew no bounds and your thoughts were hijacked by all manner of weird and wonderful creatures and scenarios.
The images are both portrait and landscape and as with all digital files they are very versatile because you can print them as many times as you like onto whatever paper you fancy. These pictures would lend themselves wonderfully to watercolours, coloured pencils, alcohol pens, fineliners and anything else you fancy playing with and you can print them onto paper suited to each medium for the best results possible. Mistakes are no longer an issue because you can just re-print and start again and if you want to try out a new colour scheme then just go ahead! You could print 3 of the same picture and colour them all differently and then frame them to hang as a series – they would make wonderful additions to the walls of any child’s bedroom, or the walls of anyone whose inner child is alive and kicking. The hand drawn nature of these images means that they all contain quirks and slight sizing oddities or continuation hiccups but this truly adds to the charm of the pictures and as yet I’ve not found anything glaringly obvious that hasn’t just added more character to the overall effect.
These pages are fantastic for mental health problems because they provide total escapism and will occupy you for hours. The images are charming, beautiful and really appealing. If you’re a fan of dragons and all things mythical and magical then head over to Sarah’s Facebook page where you’ll find everything from sculptures to earrings, hair accessories to colouring pages, all of which can be purchased in her Etsy shop or commissioned from her through Facebook I believe. I would highly recommend these colouring pages for anyone who wants to rediscover their inner child or enter the realms of a dragon-filled fantasy world and I’ll be keeping an eye out for any future pages from this very talented artist because they’re sure to be stunning and fantastical.
In The Midst Of Madness 