Review: 'Wondrous Animals'

Wondrous Animals: Kerby's Selection
By Kerby Rosanes
Coloring Book
Plume
September 2023

In six books filled with intricate illustrations, artist Kerby Rosanes has presented both realistic and whimsical creatures for those who enjoy sophisticated works to color.

Regardless of the subject matter, Rosanes uses shading to add layers to each of his drawings. He now has chosen works from his previous books in a presentation named Wondrous Animals, which is available only at WalMart in the U.S. market.

The illustrations are from his earlier books: Animorphia, Mythomorphia, Geomorphia, Imagimorphia, Fragile Worlds and Worlds Within Worlds. Most of the 58 images in this collection encompass two pages, offering hours of creative exploration.

Using soft color pencils, it is possible to take advantage of Rosanes' artistic ability to combine shades of the same basic color or to deploy a wide range of hues. The colorist has the choice in areas of complex shading to add colors of choice or to allow those areas to offset spaces around them that are colored in.

These examples show part of the scope of Rosanes' work. While the lemurs eating grapes are realistic, the snails carrying various structures on their backs offer a playful alternative to reality.

Rosanes, who is based in the Philippines, is behind the blog Sketchy Stories. Wondrous Animals is a lovely introduction to his work.