Vertical Worlds by Abi Daker

Summary 
Current Price: £11.99
Number of Pages: 64
Size: 32 x 21cm
Paper colour: White 
Paper surface: Very Smooth  
Paper thickness: Good  
Linework: Fine  
Perforated: No  
One sided: Yes
Binding: Glue  
Drawings go into the spine: No
Waterbased pen bleed: None

Ages ago on Pinterest I saw the most fabulous fairground colouring page that was really long in length and made up of loads of detailed segments. As it had been uploaded onto Pinterest I couldn't find the source so sadly couldn't colour it (colour responsibly and always support the artist guys!), and have been hoping someone would make a similar colouring book ever since. My wish has come true with Vertical Worlds by British illustrator Abi Daker!

This book is filled with 27 hyper-detailed vertical scenes, including a zoo, a train station, an aquarium, an office, a supermarket, a film studio, a hotel, and... a carnival! Yes! Some of the illustrations are designed as though each area of the space is on top of one another, and others are portrayed as a cross-section of the object itself (eg. an ocean liner with all its different decks & compartments). To better see what I mean, check out my video flip-through of the book below.

Physically the book is quite large in format, as you can imagine it would have to be to contain all the detail it needs to. It is tall and narrow, almost 33cm in height, and has a beautifully designed cover with a matte surface and gold foiling to the scroll. The paper is thick and one sided (save a small paragraph at the reverse which explains the facing illustration) so you can use whatever media you wish to colour it. The surface of the paper is very smooth so pencils aren't going to blend as seamlessly as on paper with a deep tooth, however the intricacy in this book wouldn't allow anything but the sharpest of pencils so you may want to get your fineliners out for this one.

All of the illustrations are drawn by hand so have that imperfect, wobbly quality which only adds to the whimsy and charm of the drawings. The linework is still clean though and by no means 'sketchy' -  it's the ideal balance. In the introduction of the book Abi explains how she was inspired by the drawings of William Heath Robinson:

"Every image was crammed with astounding detail: crazy machines, pulleys, levers, ropes, cogs, propellers, wheels... something going on in every inch of the page". 

This is the perfect description for Abi's style; you get lost in the complexity of each drawing, every tiny area containing something interesting for you to discover as you colour. Here is my completed Carnival Vertical World, coloured with Staedtler Fineliners and Fibracolor pens.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. You can find it on Amazon here:
Vertical Worlds by Abi Daker