If you haven’t yet heard of Copetillo Arts, then you’re missing out. Gloria Copetillo is an incredibly talented artist, whose art is predominantly focused on Lolita fashion. Seriously, do follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and support her via Patreon or Ko-Fi if you can – or, if you’d rather, purchase something from her shop. Although she has a full on book with illustration (you can see a review/glimpse into it by Fluffy Tori here), it was the colouring book that tempted me. I love colouring books and the video trailer had me tempted, so before I start digging into it with my coloured pencils, I wanted to give you a review.
Buying Process
Currently, Frilly Colors is only available to purchase via a website called Blurb, it’s not in Copetillo Arts webshop. While the ordering process was very simple, just like any other online store, this information is important because Blurb uses UPS to ship. I paid $9.99 for the colouring book and $8.99 for shipping to the UK (which is where Blurb is based, I assume). What they didn’t make clear anywhere during the ordering process was that the UPS shipping wouldn’t be directly to me, but to a collection point. Had I not decided to check on the tracking, I would’ve completely missed that and my order would’ve been sent back without me knowing. For me, that collection point was also in a very inconvenient place, not particularly near me, but as a customer outside the US I wasn’t able to change it online to ship to my home and I didn’t see an option to move it to another collection point (e.g. near my work). Luckily, that collection point is on my Mum’s route to work, so she was able to collect it for me, but I am still very, very unhappy about that whole part of the process. When I pay for shipping, I expect it to be delivered directly to me, not to some random location – or at least to be informed that delivery would be made to a collection point instead of myself.
None of this is the fault of Copetillo Arts, which is why I’m separating the review. However, unless she changes her printing/distribution company to something else, I wouldn’t order via Blurb again as I did not like that kind of service. Transparency at ordering point is crucial, because frankly I’d rather have spent that $8.99 on something else than postage to a random shop that’s out of the way. So if you order the colouring book and it’s still via Blurb rather than in the Copetillo Arts webshop, be aware that this will most likely be the case for you if you’re a customer outside the USA.
The Book
The promotional video for Frilly Colours gives a decent enough preview into it to know what you’re getting yourself into when buying. It’s also a really aesthetically pleasing little video!
As you can see, Frilly Colors is a softcover book, which is an obvious choice for a colouring book. You want something that will open and easily stay open as you work on the illustrations. It’s still a little stiff in that new softcover kind of way, but nothing that would hinder your colouring process.
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| Shame you can't colour in the glossy cover, that's an adorable illustration which isn't included inside. |
And the book is very well set out to make sure that colouring is comfortable. Each illustration is large, taking up the whole page, but there are chunky inner margins (no awkward twisting your hand to colour the inner parts of the picture) and lots of blank space around the illustration for you to write on, decorate or do whatever you want with it. My only issue with colouring books was always that they’re double printed rather than single-sided – you have to be very careful for felt-tip pens to not bleed and can’t tear out a page to display or gift without including the image on the other side. While this one also has the same issue, because the line art is clear and has those wide margins, you should be able to photocopy pages without problems. Or scan, if you prefer colouring in digitally, but always make sure to credit the artist!
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| But you can colour this in if you want! |
As for the pictures themselves, they are simply wonderful! They’re all done in the chibi-style, which makes them both cute and easier to colour in. Many adult colouring books feature pictures that are very realistic or very complex (like abstract art with lots of small parts), which can feel daunting when you don’t consider yourself a pro or if too much detail makes you feel overwhelmed. I consider myself to be both: shading and highlighting is a concept I barely understand the theory of in makeup and have no idea how to apply into anything else. So sometimes I struggle to find a colouring book that features art I like, but which I wouldn’t worry about ruining with my amateur-ness. This is perfect for me and at the same time each illustration offers enough room for those more adept at colouring: you could shade, create border prints and additional textures to your heart’s content!
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| It's simple enough for beginners, but with room for advanced techniques if you want to do some master shading! |
But my favourite part is that each little chibi is a different style or kind of Lolita and Ouji fashion. There’s something for everyone to identify with or simply like aesthetically. You get everything, from your standard Gothic-Classic-Sweet trio to Hime, Country, Oldschool, Sailor etc., as well as seasonal variations (all the furry winter outfits look so fun!). On top of this there is also one double-page spread with a cute Christmas scene and the last page features random cute objects associated with Lolita, like bows or teacups, so there should be something for everyone. That’s 44 pages full of frills and cuteness for you to colour.
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| Probably the most nostalgia-inducing one. Also great coord inspiration for Oldschool Lolitas! |
I know that to many who haven’t done any colouring since childhood $9.99 may seem like a bit much for some colouring pages. However, this is a pretty standard price for adult colouring books (in the UK they range from about £5.99 to £14.95 for the larger ones). Moreover, this price gets you original artwork from an artist who’s well established in the Lolita community and who understands the fashion, so their artwork represents the fashion accurately, whilst providing you with something fun to do. I’d much rather spend $9.99 on a colouring book from an independent artist I recognise and like than £5.99 on something generic and random. Lolita fashion doesn’t get a lot of representation in media like this, so I’m happy to support artists who create things like this. And for me it’s more fun to interact with the artist by colouring their illustrations than to simply flick through an art book or hang a framed piece on the wall.
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| Go on, colour that casual Ouji, you know you want to! |
Do you like colouring books? Would you want more Lolita fashion themed ones to be released? Did you get this one from Copetillo Arts? I genuinely can’t wait for the Bank Holiday weekend to roll on and have a bit more time to play with this one!
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