Jean Cocteau Coloring
Book; Jean Cocteau Committee; May 10, 2016, 9781551526409, 1551526409; $12.95
USD, £9.99 GBP; 56 pages, Color
illustrations throughout; 12 in H, 8 in W, 0.8 lb Wt.
Jean Cocteau was and artist, playwright and filmmaker who
was a prominent member of the Paris avant-garde counting the likes of Picasso,
Stravinsky, Gide, Proust, and Apollinaire as friends. The images include sketches for his work and
Yves Saint Laurent headed the House of Dior and became
famous for the "beatnik" look in the sixties, as well as creating the
tuxedo suit for women. His colourful
life was the subject of a recent feature film, Saint Laurent. The book's line drawings for colouring are
based on many of the designer's original sketches for dresses over the years,
accompanied by full-color photos of original dresses for reference.
“Coloring” books have become a publishing rage recently, so
why not two books featuring icons of the arts and the fashion world. Ideally, both books should be read and used in
hard copy, and they are reasonably priced
and well-packaged for this purchase. It
is a shame, but understandable, that they
so difficult to process for viewing on
the standard Kindle device.
Illustrations are notoriously hard to manage when in even the simplest of formats
when publishing Kindle books. This is
doubly so when adding several images of the same design or group of designs. Typically, illustrations tend to “slip” from the pages they should lend on or at the very least are out of
the position for the text.
“The Soul of Place - A creative writing workbook” by Linda
Lappin is an example of a book able to
present images in tightly, without losing
the shape of its text in a Kindle format.
The fashion colouring books are much heavier laden in the numbers and
colours involved than Lappin’s workbook so that
some disengagement is to be expected.
Frustrated at trying to read the books on a Kindle device, I
opened them using Kindle on a Tablet device.
The device provided a look closer to the paper copies. The addition of a stylus tool I use for
editing provided the opportunity of trying my hand at colouring in like a
fashion icon. However, if readers want
the get the best out of these books, they are advised to buy hard copies.
I wonder if it was wise for the publishers to pitch the books as being for “coloring in” - whether or not for adults. Our imprint BMS Books Ltd recently published a book of illustrations called Art I Am - Patterns of Creativity. This collection by Shona Hammond Boys featured the work of Melis van der Sluis - illustrations in black and white. We looked at the colouring in concept for this book but rejected it as not fully embracing the brilliance of the artist.
On reflection, it may be have been best for these books to be marketed for the creative geniuses they reflect. Colouring the books’ illustrations must be a bonus rather than their core purpose.
I wonder if it was wise for the publishers to pitch the books as being for “coloring in” - whether or not for adults. Our imprint BMS Books Ltd recently published a book of illustrations called Art I Am - Patterns of Creativity. This collection by Shona Hammond Boys featured the work of Melis van der Sluis - illustrations in black and white. We looked at the colouring in concept for this book but rejected it as not fully embracing the brilliance of the artist.
On reflection, it may be have been best for these books to be marketed for the creative geniuses they reflect. Colouring the books’ illustrations must be a bonus rather than their core purpose.
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