The current object of my colouring obsession at the moment is Imagimorphia: An Extreme Coloring and Search Challenge by Kerby Rosanes. Since I bought this book I haven’t really coloured in anything else. Just flipping through this book I can find inspiration and can’t wait to unlock all the intricate doodles which can be hard to decipher until you start colouring them.

Kerby is a Philippines-based illustrator with a very distinct artistic style of using doodles to create intricate, quirky images. He originally collaborated  with other authors and illustrated Doodle Invasion: Zifflin’s Coloring Book (Volume 1) and Never Quit Drawing: Sketch Your Way to an Everyday Art Habit. But it wasn’t long until he brought out two of his own colouring books,  Animorphia, Imagimorphia and Sketchy Stories: The Sketchbook Art of Kerby Rosanes. He also has a third colouring book coming out in the new year, Mythomorphia. 

His first two colouring books are very similar in style. Animorphia features animals morphing into doodles, whereas Imagimorphia also features animals morphing or surrounded by buildings, travel devices, and machines. I was more attracted to Imagimorphia, because I liked the variety of images and I was not as keen on adding to the doodling.  Animorphia offers many images to add to, but I am not very confident in doing this.

For a great review of both of these colouring books I recommend La Artistino’s website and Youtube videos. In her videos she includes finished pages and tips on how to colour Kerby’s work. She also did an amazing job completing the wave ponies picture in Animorphia, which has plenty of space to add additional doodles. When looking at the completed work its hard to know where Kerby’s work ends and La Artistino’s begins. I will post some more links below of some videos and info.

Now for my completed pictures. Nearly all have been coloured with my new favourite pencils, Prismacolor Premier Soft Core Colored Pencils. The first two are coloured with Faber Castell Polychromos Artists‘ Colour Pencils. For sparkles and other details I used a White Uniball Signo Broud Gell Pen. For the black background I used a black Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen. For the backgrounds of the last two pictures I used Mungyo Non Toxic Square Chalk Soft Pastel. 

Title Page – This was my very first page and I love it. I used Polychomos pencils and stuck to a very limited colour scheme. The colours used in the doodle are the same ones used for the leopard.

Page 9 & 10 – The Panda/Chinese themed picture was also done in Polychomos pencils. The colours I used were inspired by different Chinese artworks and native wild life.

Page 53 & 54- For the Horse & Carriage I did one of my most ambitious backgrounds. I don’t often do backgrounds, but I really loved this image and wanted to do something special. I wanted to illustrate the carriage to be a fantastical dream machine flying through the night sky. I used these Night sky images from Deviant Art as inspiration for my sky. My horses were originally white but they came out a bit too yellow. However the Prismacolors blend so well that I was able to add more color on top without ruining the paper. For the stars and sparkles I used a white uniball pen.

Author Page – For this page I used a very simple colour palette. For the metal used a few grey pencils and white uniball pen. For the other side I used about 8 different pencils, which I blended together to create other colours. I prefer using a limited pallette as I find it is more cohesive.

Page 51 & 52 – I love this Dinosaur themed page. Its probably my favourite. For the colours of each dinosaur I took inspiration from a variety artwork online. I was planning on doing a background with meteors, but I decided to leave it as is.

Page 23-24 – For these two pages I did them together. I first filled in the black background with a budget black pencil and then when over the top with a Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen. By using the pencil first it stops the blend through on the other page. I found this technique from La Artistino’s video (link below). For the first picture I only use shades of yellow, orange, red, pink and blue. For the second page I used shades of yellow, purple, and green. For the web I used White Uniball Signo Broud Gell Pen.

Page 65- For this page I also tried to use a limited colour palette of reds, yellows and greens. I thought the blue background would really make it pop.

Page 66 – For this page I used a limited colour palette of blues, purples and oranges. I contrasted with a green background. I wasn’t as happy with the shade I used as some of the details aren’t as prominent.

Page 49-50 – Another of my favourites.I actually did the pastel background first, which I think worked a lot better then doing it last, as I didn’t have to worry about any blue haze. I then went over with a little bit of pencil.For the jelly fish I stuck with a limited colour palette and used some opposing colours for the little details.

Page 55-56 – Lastly my Christmas themed picture was a lot of fun as well. I tried to add as much red and green as I could but struggled to find as many opportunities on the left hand side. I tried to stick to arctic animals, which didn’t contrast as well against the snow, but was more realistic. I did the pastel background first again, adding more details at the end. If I could do again, I would do something different with the sky as I feel it looks a little flat.

For some of La Artistino’s tips and finished pictures in Kerby’s books check out these videos and links to her website:

Animorphia:

Colouring Book Review: Animorphia with Tips and Coloured Pages (video)

Stag Heads. Animorphia (website)

Colouring Tutorial: Using Light and Choosing Colours for Dynamic Results! (video)

Animorphia: Brahma Bull with Budget Priced Pencils (website)

Wave Ponies. Kerby’s style meets Peta’s style (website)

Imagimorphia:

Book Review: Imagimorphia with Coloured pages (video)

Book Review: Imagimorphia with Coloured pages (website)

Dingo in Imagimorphia (website)

To colour a Black background also check out La Artistino’s video: Colouring Tutorial: How to Colour a BlackBackground.

 

For some amazing speed colouring and tutorial videos of Kerby’s work check out these links by other colourist:

IkasColorings Speed colouring of Imagimorphia Compass: Kerby Rosanes – Imagimorphia Tutorial

Julie’s passion for coloring Tutorials: Coloring in animorphia/imagimorphia (16 videos)

Yvonne Döring Speed Colouring: Imagimorphia / Animorphia – Kerby Rosanes (4 videos)

Jingle Zingle Time Lapsed tutorials: Golden Pharaoh | Imagimorphia; Mr. & Mrs. Skulls | Imagimorphia

Coloring with Alena Speed colouring & Flip through: Speed Coloring Kerby Rozanes ‘Imagimorphia’ (2 videos); ‘Imagimorphia’ Flip through

Shirley XL. Y. Speed colouring & Flip through: Imagimorphia (2 videos)

 

You can purchase this book from good bookstores and many online retailers, including Amazon and Book Depository.