Gulliver's New Travels by James Gulliver Hancock

14/10/2016

Summary
Current Price: £9.99
Number of Pages: 96
Size: 25 x 25cm
Paper colour: White
Paper surface: Smooth
Paper thickness: Good
Linework: Fine
Perforated: No
One sided: No
Binding: Glue
Drawings go into the spine: Yes
Waterbased pen bleed: Some Shadowing

This is the first colouring book by Australian illustrator James Gulliver Hancock, based both on his own travels of the world and his namesake, the titular character of Jonathan Swift's 18th century classic.

The book documents James' exploration of the world in his fun, whimsical style, featuring both real locations and and imaginary worlds of his own creation. Within the pages you will find tiny inhabitants crawling among giant hands and other limbs, the landscapes going from oversized buildings peaking above clouds to miniature industries and objects. Take a giant leap into Gulliver's world here:

Gulliver's New Travels features a recycled card cover accented with silver foiling, and is surprisingly thick and hefty. The paper is fairly thick and bright white but the illustrations are double sided. Waterbased pens do not bleed through but particularly heavy media or pressure will result in shadowing on the reverse.

Unfortunately the spine is rather tight and some of the double page spreads go right into the centre, so it can be difficult in some instances to colour into the middle.
The linework is fine with a hand-drawn imperfection that adds to its charm, and the majority of pages are very detailed & busy. Despite this, there is nothing in the book I would describe as highly intricate so it would suit most colourists who enjoy playful illustration.

Here is my work in progress from the book, coloured with a mixture of waterbased pens.