Wild Savannah by Millie Marotta

Summary
Current Price: £3.99
Number of Pages: 96 
Size: 25 x 25cm
Paper colour: White
Paper surface: Smooth 
Paper quality: Very Good 
Linework: Fine​ 
Perforated: No 
One sided: No
Binding: Glue 
Drawings go into the spine: Yes ​
Waterbased pen bleed: None

Millie Marotta is one of those few colouring book illustrators who's new work everyone cannot wait to see. Wild Savannah has been teased on Millie's page for months now, and finally it's been released in its entirety and is just as gorgeous as her previous works.

In exactly the same shape, size and format as her previous two books, Animal Kingdom & Tropical Wonderland, this book features animals and wildlife from the grassy plains in Millie's signature detailed mosaic style. Between the pages you will discover many indigenous species to different savannahs, such as kangaroos, elephants, zebra, antelope, lions and many more. 

​It's interesting that most people prefer Millie's single page designs to her double spreads, whereas the opposite is generally true for Johanna Basford's books. I think it's because Millie's individual animals are so iconic and clean in their design, they make perfect standalone pieces of display art that really 'pop' off of the page. Also the spreads have the disadvantage of being lost in the spine, which is a shame. The Deluxe Edition of Animal Kingdom is ideal for those who struggle with this.

I touched on the paper earlier- it's a beautiful white stock which matches the thickness of her other books. Waterbased pens do not bleed, in fact neither do Uni Posca paint pens which are very wet and dense. There is no shadowing on the reverse from pens unless you press too hard, stay in the same spot too long or go over the same area multiple times- all things that most colourists avoid anyway.

The gold-foiled card cover folds out so you can continue colouring the front artwork with your own palette. One major difference between this book and the previous is that Millie has not added any text throughout the designs. These little guides to add drawings to the book yourself are often disliked by the less artistic members of the colouring community, so I feel omitting this was a good call. There are still illustrations with wider spaces for you to doodle in if you wish, so it's the best of both worlds. 

One thing I love about Marotta's illustrations is that the gaps aren't tiny, yet the drawings are still very detailed. This caters for all complexities and means some pictures can be finished quickly if you just want an hour's burst of colouring.

Here is my completed picture, coloured with Uni Posca paint pens.

You can find Millie Marotta's Wild Savannah on Amazon here:

Millie Marotta's Wild Savannah: A Colouring Book Adventure (Colouring Books)