Sherlock: The Mind Palace A Coloring Book Adventure by Mike Collins

The first official coloring book from the hit BBC series, filled with more than fifty intricate scenes and cast images from the show

The game is on . . .

Sherlock: The Mind Palace is a unique celebration of the rich visual landscape of the BBC series Sherlock, featuring more than fifty intricate pieces of artwork by artist Mike Collins. Recreate classic scenes, add color to intricate interiors, and illuminate the fascinating world of Sherlock with the power of your imagination.

A vital clue from each episode is hidden within the original black and white illustrations, and only by completing the scene can they be found. Fill Sherlock’s world with color and find the secrets hidden within The Mind Palace.

 

Publisher: Harper Design: An Imprint of Harper Collins |Source: Gift | Rating: 3.5 Cups 

I’ve completely jumped on the coloring books for adults bandwagon, so when I received this little lovely as a Christmas gift, I was over the moon. Not only was it a coloring book, it was a Sherlock coloring book—my inner Sherlockian rejoiced!

 

I like this coloring book because it’s a Sherlock coloring book. Each image is taken from the series and there are 9 hidden clues for the colorist to seek out. So there’s a bit of sleuthing to be done as the clues are not necessarily hidden in the images from the episodes they come from.

 

One of the things that I like is the fact that this is a square coloring book. I find that the square books are easier to deal with and I generally enjoy the images more. The paper is smooth and a lovely crisp white that allows the color you are using to stay true. While it’s a nice quality paper, it’s a tad bit thinner than I was expecting. It’s not as thin as printer paper but it’s not as heavy as a cardstock. And the pages are printed on both sides. I’ve used Staedtler pencils and pens on the pages, but I wouldn’t venture into watercolors or markers as they would likely bleed through. 

Shading lines

 

You’re probably wondering why I gave this book a 3.5 rating. Well, my lovelies, this is why. Some of the line art is very, very heavy. Some of the images seem hastily drawn and not completely finished. Another thing, and this was the major factor in why I gave it a 3.5 rating, was the fact that rather than allowing the colorist to decide where to shade the picture, the illustrator decided to add shading lines. There are so many shading lines that some of the pictures look distorted and I’m dreading coloring them.

 

The last thing that had caused me to lower the rating was that some of the images span across both pages making it nearly impossible to color then entire image. And, more often than not, it’s a vital part of the image, such as a face, that is cut off.

 

 

Overall, I really enjoyed that this was a Sherlock coloring book yet it would have been better—and easier to color—if the images would have been done a bit differently.

Have you tried this coloring book?