by Daria Song
on November 2017
Style: color inspiration images, double page printing, Interactive, pre colored background
Pages: 108
Format: Dust Jacket
This Korean coloring book features colored art work from Daria Song, some coloring pages and activities
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The Mysterious Mansion Activity/Coloring Book Video Review
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The Mysterious Mansion Activity/Coloring Book  Review
I have such a coloring crush on Daria Song that I buy everything she creates, sometimes even duplicates and sometimes in both English, Korean or even Thai editions.  She is one of my favorite coloring book artists. I love her whimsical, yet a detailed style that often shoes “action” pictures to color rather than poses or portraits.   One of my favorite things is the little girl that has featured in all her books to date.  I am sure that this is a young Daria 🙂  I was so excited to see Mysterious Mansion and have been following Daria’s works in progress along the way.  Watching how she colors a picture is always so inspiring to a beginner like me as well.
Often when I hype things in my own mind there is only one way that it can end up.  Disappointment.   No-one was more surprised than me that on receipt of The Mysterious Mansion that I was not overly enthused. Feeling that I was overtired from a very long day at work, I decided that I would sleep on it before I reviewed the book.
When I looked at The Mysterious Mansion after a nice long sleep I fell in love with it.
I don’t love it as a coloring book.  In all fairness though, nowhere does it say on the cover (in English_ that it is a coloring book) Daria always said that there would be interactive elements.
I love it as an art book that is filled with gorgeous colored pictures that are similar to others in Daria’s previous coloring books.  These will inspire me as one day I take the plunge and start to color them.
I love it because it has some new coloring pages to color in.
I love that she has done something different and included activities ……….but as they are all written in Korean I have no understanding of this part of the book.  As a reference book or a collector’s book, it is a welcome addition to my bookshelf.
As an English publisher has obtained rights to publish The Mysterious Mansion I will wait until that edition is released to show how I feel about the activities included.  As yet, a release date is not known but I will update the post when it is.
Cover & Layout
The cover and layout differ from other coloring books produced by Daria Song.  A black dust jacket cover with some background effects is beautiful against the crystal effect gold used on the title.  On the cover, you will see a far more intricate and detailed picture that has ever been included in any of Daria’s preceding coloring books.  This has been printed in a midnight blue shade of ink which looks effective against the subtitle on the cover.
The coloring book proper is a glossy laminate card with a close up of window detail. Although you could color this, you would need something like gel pens to penetrate this waxy layer.
Art on the inside of the dust jacket is a beautifully colored young girl in an Escher inspired piece.  On the back cover, the artwork has been partially colored and you could color the remainder if you wished.
The Mysterious Mansion is larger than Daria’s other books measuring in at 30cm x 22.3cm approximately.
Blue protective paper has been used at both ends of the book which gives the book a luxurious and elegant art book feel, usually only associated with hardback style books.
Ancillary Pages
A plain text title page starts the book.  Should you wish to color in the book, this would be the best spot to test out your mediums.
An extended title page follows.   Mine is definitely a keepsake book as Daria has autographed this page.
Layout
The Mysterious Mansion is divided into parts.  It starts with an Invitation – Crystal Ball then moves to Chapter 1 – which is divided into 3 sections: Meet the Gatekeeper, Endless Stairs and Hidden Keys, The Distorted Structure.
This is followed by Chapter 2 – broken into two parts: Mirror Mirror and Broken Reflections.
Chapter 3 comprises Who’s There? and Gargoyles Attack.
Chapter 4 is one of the largest chapters comprising the following sections – Moving Exterior, Trapped in time, Twelve Doors with One Exit, Timeless Chaos and Secret Door.
Chapter 5Â contains Illusion Floors, Wonders Await Behind the Door and The Strange Wardrobe.
Chapter 6 contains – A Veiled Window, Disappearing Numbers, Mysterious Chambers, Moonlight Chess.
Chapter 7 – The Powerful Wardrobe, The Alchemist, Mystical Dice, and Tsunami Maze.
Chapter 8 – Glass Garden, Lost in the Mansion, Secret Passageway in the Mansion
Escape –Â Deep Inside the Woods
and the last section contains the Clues
Knowing the chapter and section names gives me some clues about the pages that follow. However, without the benefit of an English translation some parts of how the book is meant to flow elude me.
Illustrations are printed on both sides of the page and either is full colored, part colored or some line art.
The binding is very stiff on this book so if you are going to color it, you will need to relax the spine before doing a double page scene.
Coloring Book Images and Illustrations
Within this art and activity book, there are some pages that you could color but certainly not to the extent that we are used to in coloring books by Daria Song.
You will find some single page imagery either wholly or partially colored that you can embellish.  There are also some line art scenes (about 12 pages worth) that we are used to in coloring books.
The line art has been printed in either predominantly printed in a deep blue or a black and no matter the color is very readable.  Some of the illustrations, however, have more of a sketchier line while others are far crisper.
In Mysterious Mansion Daria has given us the most textured and pre-printed work that we have ever seen from her in the coloring world.  With many pictures containing subtle shadowing, crisp textures, and artistic dimension.   Coloring some of these images may take a little getting used to if you are used to coloring the traditional outline form of coloring pages.  Fortunately, with 12 or so coloring pages in outline format in the book, there is something there to color if you do not wish to embellish the more “artistic” pictures included in the book.
Please click on an image to view more detail
[foogallery id=”11531″]Detail Level & Rating
Normally, I would add this information. With this book, it is quite difficult to rate. So much of the book involves a story/activity or interactivity that is written in Korean and that I am not able to comprehend.  Most of the book contains artwork that is already colored so it is not a true coloring book or a complete art book.  Due to the language barrier, I cannot judge it as a complete activity book either so I’m going to wait until the English edition has been released.
Where to buy The Mysterious Mansion by Daria Song
| Etailer | Etailer |
Happy coloring x
Lea
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