Showing posts with label maurizio campidelli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maurizio campidelli. Show all posts

July 21, 2021

Review: Crush + Color: Twentieth Century Foxes

Crush and Color: Twentieth Century FoxesIllustrated by Maurizio Campidelli
Available now from Castle Point Books
Review copy

I think all of Maurizio Campidelli's Crush + Color coloring books are good fun, but the Twentieth Century Foxes pun in particular cracked me up. I think this is the first book in the series not to cover a single actor. Actors not pictured on the cover include Antonio Banderas, Patrick Swayze, Pierce Brosnan, and more. All have more than one coloring page. An index might have been a nice addition to this one.

Thankfully, the actors are identified on each page just in case I didn't recognize them. Their names are always used in the short fantasy bubble that appears opposite the coloring page. Only one page in a spread is designed to be colored and the pages are perforated, allowing for the pages to be removed and either shared or used for decoration.

The art on these pages goes almost to the edges, but there is a small border. I find most of the images appealing from a coloring standpoint, with a mix of detailed areas for when I want to focus and bigger areas for when I want to zone out. I feel like Campidelli is great at laying out a coloring page. The paper is nice too, much better than a children's coloring book. I used markers on one page without bleed-through to the next coloring page.

I do think that Campidelli's likenesses vary in quality. I don't particularly like his Denzel Washington or George Clooney. But I think his Antonio Banderas and Kurt Russell are great. There is more detail to the faces than the rest of the page, which doesn't always work for me.

Overall though, I very much enjoy this coloring series and think Crush + Color: Twentieth Century Foxes is a fun addition. These coloring books have a fun sense of humor and appealing subject matter.

November 3, 2020

Review: Crush and Color: Keanu Reeves

Crush and Color: Keanu ReevesIllustrated by Maurizio Campidelli
Available now from Castle Point Books
Review copy

I was unfamiliar with the Crush and Color coloring book series, but I have bought similar books before. I really enjoy Keanu Reeves films and he seems like an all-around decent person, so I assumed Crush and Color: Keanu Reeves: Colorful Fantasies with a Mysterious Hero would have several scenes that appealed to me.

The framing of the book is fairly silly, with short, two-sentence fantasies about each coloring picture appearing on the facing page. But it's all in good fun. From surfing to ironing to walking puppies to being a rock star, this Keanu does it all.

Maurizio Campidelli's art fills each page almost to the edge. The backgrounds are filled with details that help flesh out the scenes. Some have lots small areas, others bigger spaces to color. I do find the way Keanu's face is way more detailed than the rest of the image somewhat off-putting.

If I have one real gripe about Crush and Color: Keanu Reeves, it is that every page offers the same Keau Reeves - long hair, stubble, a few wrinkles. As the intro states, he's been acting since the 80's. That's four decades of Keanu to color! I think that some variety would've been nice.

Overall, this is a nice coloring book suitable for crayons or colored pencils. It would make a cute gag gift for the Keanu Reeves fan in your life.

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