David Bowie: Starman

​Summary 
Current Price: £9.98
Number of Pages: 64
Size: 28 x 19cm
Paper colour: White 
Paper surface: Smooth  
Paper quality: Average
Linework: Fine  
Perforated: No  
One sided: Yes (text on reverse)
Binding: Glue  
Drawings go into the spine: No 
Waterbased pen bleed: Yes

It came as a massive shock to most people when David Bowie passed away in January, as next to no one knew he was ill. I'm not a major fan or anything but I can certainly understand and appreciate the impact he had on the music industry, championing those who felt different and out of the norm, and his unique song writing abilities. As you can imagine, there has been lots of merchandise like CD compilations, magazine specials and things produced since his death, so why not a colouring book?

​Plexus publishing released David Bowie: Starman at the end of March, as not only a colouring book but a tribute to his life and his influence on others. There are many quotes from celebrities talking about how special Bowie was to them personally, so this is half colouring book, half text, a salute to a late great hero.

As you can see, the 30 images are quite minimalist- more line drawings than a detailed illustration. Some people may find this sparse style not particularly lifelike or reminiscent enough of David's features, and certainly I'd agree on a few of the pictures, but generally I feel it's intended to be an artistic tribute to the many characters this man has portrayed, rather than exact renderings.

The paper is not great quality for colouring unfortunately, with waterbased pens bleeding through the reverse and in some cases onto the next page, so make sure you slip some scrap paper underneath the page you're working on. Obviously you will only be ruining the text if you use markers, as it's always text on the reverse of an image, so if you're only wanting to colour and not read it, bleed doesn't matter. If you're using pencils, even better!

The cover is a beautiful red and blue with stars and David's Ziggy Stardust persona, complete with a shiny foiled zigzag slash across his face. 

Here's my finished picture, coloured with Triplus, Spectrum Noir Aqua and Harmony markers.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. You can find it on Amazon here:

David Bowie: Starman: A Colouring Book