An introduction to Daria Song, her coloring books and review.
This article is part of a series where I introduce you to a few of my favorite coloring book authors and their published works. This article is about Daria Song and her coloring books, “The Time Chamber,” “The Night Voyage,” “The Time Garden,” and “The Mysterious Mansion.” I seek to provide as much information as possible to aid you in your discovery and choice of coloring books for your coloring enjoyment. I will update this article as new information becomes available.
Daria Song Table of Contents
- Introduction to Daria Song
- The Time Chamber
- The Night Voyage
- The Time Garden
- The Mysterious Mansion
- Coloring Book Evaluation Criteria
- How to Help the Coloring Book Lay Flatter
Other Resources. The following are other resources on ColoringButterfly.com to further your adult coloring enjoyment.
- Buying A Coloring Book: Everything You Need to Know (Guide)
- Adult Coloring Book Paper: Can It Make A Difference? (See How)
- Buying Colored Pencils? Everything You Need Know (Guide)
- Guide to Amazon Colored Pencil Reviews (Fake vs. Trustworthy)
- How to Find Colored Pencil Reviews (50+ ColoringButterfly.com)
- How to Find the Best Colored Pencil Paper for Coloring (Guide)
Introduction to Daria Song
Daria Song is internationally recognized for her best-selling adult coloring book, which includes titles like The Mysterious Mansion, The Time Garden, The Time Chamber, and The Night Voyage.
Daria is a textile and coloring book artist from Seoul, South Korea. She earned a master’s degree in fiber arts from Ewha Woman’s University Graduate School of Fine Arts. She spent five years in San Francisco during her childhood before returning to Korea. Those years help inspire her sense of wonder and mystery from experiencing new lands and cultures.
Her professional career highlights include being recognized as the Winner of the Kyung Hyang Arts Contest; Song has exhibited at numerous galleries and museums in Korea, Singapore, Turkey, and Hong Kong. She is a lecturer at the Kaywon School of Arts, and her illustrations can be found in Amore Pacific and SK Planet.
You can follow Daria Song on the following platforms
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/artistdaria/
- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/daria486/?hl=en
- Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Daria-Song/e/B016W0PHHM
Let’s take a closer look at Daria Song’s works.
The Time Chamber Review
The following is my review of the coloring book “The Time Chamber: A Magical Story and Coloring Book” by Daria Song.
Publisher’s Description
Follow a fairy through a magical nighttime journey in this stunning sequel to The Time Garden.
A new adventure awaits as the clock strikes midnight. But where will the magic take you this time? When a tiny fairy who lives inside a cuckoo clock decides to explore the world outside, she discovers a human realm. Everything seems enormous and magical in the fairy’s eyes, from the curtains to the chandelier to a mystical rowboat that takes her further into an inky adventure. She packs her favorite items, which colors can find throughout the book’s pages: an owl-feathered pen, a star-scented spray, a time tape measure . . . even the key to the time chamber itself!
Filled with fantastical, intricate pen-and-ink illustrations by artist Daria Song, The Time Chamber presents a Korean pop art-inspired vision of our world made new—and ready for coloring.
The Time Chamber has extra-thick craft paper and a removable—and colorable!—jacket. Featuring gorgeous gold foil on the cover and a customizable dedication page, The Time Chamber is perfect for anyone looking to add some magic to their lives.
Unleash your creativity with Daria Song’s whimsical Time series: The Time Garden, The Time Chamber, and the Night Voyage.
Coloring Book Specifications
The following are the physical specifications related to the coloring book.
- Publisher: Ebury Press; 2nd edition (August 27, 2015)
- Cover Type: Paperback
- Drawings: Presented on both sides of the paper
- Paper quality: Quality paper for multiple mediums
- Pages perforated: No
- Binding: Glue/sewn binding
- Language: English
- Paperback: 80 pages
- ISBN-10: 9781785032103
- ISBN-13: 978-1785032103
- Item Weight: 6.7 ounces
- Dimensions: 9.92 x 0.35 x 9.84 inches
Review of the “The Time Chamber”
This is a storybook, a fairyland adventure in the form of a coloring book. When a tiny fairy who lives inside a cuckoo clock decides to explore the world outside, she discovers a human realm. Everything seems enormous and magical in the fairy’s eyes, from the curtains to the chandelier to a mystical rowboat that takes her further into an inky adventure.
The coloring book is beautiful, charming and dynamic art with a whimsical story. Follow the fair as she packs her favorite items, which you can find throughout the book’s pages: an owl-feathered pen, a star-scented spray, a time tape measure and even the key to the time chamber itself! You will enjoy the coloring as much as you do the storyline. I enjoy the storybook format of the coloring book, which is a notable change from coloring books filled with just pages to color.
I like the wide variety of pictures to color. They range from small and large partial/complete- and double-page designs. There are many drawings with no white space between the edge of the paper and the drawing. The line thickness in the drawings is perfect for coloring, and drawings are found on both sides of each page. Some drawings can be very tiny and intricate and need extra care when coloring to stay within the lines.
This softcover coloring book is printed on quality, non-perforated paper with the feel of cardstock that will accept multiple mediums (e.g., colored pencils, fine liners, gel pens). Take note that if you press too hard when coloring these pages, it will leave impressions that will show through on the other side of the paper.
Will you be using colored pencils or other mediums that smudge? Because the pages are printed on both sides, you will want to consider using a fixative to stop them from smudging the opposite page.
The coloring book includes a dust cover which I suggest you remove before each coloring session. If you want to use markers, gel pens, and crayons, make sure your medium test is on the non-illustrated pages in the back of the book. Other options would be to copy/scan and print the images on multimedia or water coloring paper from your printer.
The binding is sewn, and though the book is harder to color than some things out there, the book will open with some pressure so that you can get into the crevices between pages. See the tip, “How to Help the Coloring Book Lay Flatter.”
I highly recommend “The Time Chamber, by Daria Song” for adult coloring. I rate the coloring book 4.3 out of 5 Stars.
- Theme/Story: 4.75
- Illustrations: 4.75
- Ease of Coloring: 4,0
- Paper Quality: 4.5
- Format and Print Quality: 4.0
- Binding: 4.0
- Overall Rating: 4.3
The Night Voyage
The following is my review of the coloring book ” The Night Voyage: A Magical Adventure and Coloring Book” by Daria Song.
Publisher’s Description
A little girl delivers gifts across the world with the help of her toy train’s conductor in this gorgeous coloring book for all ages—the third installation of the magical Time series
It’s the night before the little girl’s birthday, and gifts surround her—but there are too many! Suddenly, she’s swept away by her toy train conductor, who has come to life to help the little girl give her presents away to children around the globe.
From evocatively illustrated paper cranes, bicycles, and trolleys to cityscapes, hot air balloons, and star-filled skies, The Night Voyage is a magical and imaginative adventure from Korean artist Daria Song.
The Night Voyage has extra-thick craft paper and a removable—and colorable!—jacket. Featuring gorgeous gold foil on the cover and a customizable dedication page, The Night Voyage is perfect for anyone looking to add some magic to their lives.
Unleash your creativity with Daria Song’s whimsical Time series: The Time Garden, The Time Chamber, and the Night Voyage.
Coloring Book Specifications
The following are the physical specifications related to the coloring book.
- Publisher: Watson-Guptill; Clr Csm edition (August 30, 2016)
- Cover Type: Paperback
- Drawings: Presented on both sides of the paper
- Paper quality: Quality paper for multiple mediums
- Pages perforated: No
- Binding: Glue binding
- Language: English
- Paperback: 80 pages
- ISBN-10: 9780399579042
- ISBN-13: 978-0399579042
- Item Weight: 1.06 pounds
- Dimensions: 9.83 x 0.37 x 9.79 inches
Review of the “The Night Voyage”
This is a storybook in the form of a coloring book. It is a beautiful adventure for a young girl and her cat as they share gifts with others. At the beginning of the book, you are presented with the storyline in the first few pages. An abrupt ending is presented at the end of the book in 3 paragraphs that give clues as to the adventure. I enjoy the storybook format of the coloring book, which is a notable change from coloring books filled with just pages to color.
The images are wonderfully drawn and cover very inviting and intriguing aspects of the coloring book storyline. You will enjoy the coloring as much as you do the storyline. As you explore each page, be on the lookout for a cat on each page and hidden objects. Throughout the book, you will find a variety of settings ranging from nature setting to action, with many drawings that seamlessly flow across two pages. Near the end of the book, you will find a visual review of the pages and a postcard you can remove and use if desired.
Many images fill each page border to border, meaning there is no white space between the edge of the paper and the drawing. The line thickness in the drawings is perfect for coloring, and drawings are found on both sides of each page. Some drawings can be very tiny and intricate and need extra care when coloring to stay within the lines.
This softcover coloring book is printed on a quality, non-perforated paper that will accept multiple mediums (e.g., colored pencils, fine liners, gel pens). Take note that if you press too hard when coloring these pages, it will leave impressions that will show through on the other side of the paper.
Will you be using colored pencils or other mediums that smudge? Because the pages are printed on both sides, you will want to consider using a fixative to stop them from smudging the opposite page.
The coloring book includes a dust cover which I suggest you remove before each coloring session. If you desire to use markers, gel pens, and crayons, make sure you medium test on the non-illustrated pages in the back of the book. Other options would be to copy/scan and print the images on multimedia or water coloring paper from your printer.
The book’s binding is of good quality (i.e., sewn/glued). This makes the book rather stiff and does not allow it to lay flat, making it harder to get into the crevices between the pages to color. See the tip, “How to Help the Coloring Book Lay Flatter.”
I highly recommend ” The Night Voyage, by Daria Song” for adult coloring. I rate the coloring book 4.3 out of 5 Stars.
- Theme/Story: 4.75
- Illustrations: 4.75
- Ease of Coloring: 4.0
- Paper Quality: 4.5
- Format and Print Quality: 4.0
- Binding: 4.0
- Overall Rating: 4.3
The Time Garden
The following is my review of the coloring book ” The Time Garden: A Magical Journey and Coloring Book” by Daria Song.
Publisher’s Description
The Time Garden is a magical adventure, and Time Garden will sweep you away into an enchanted world created in intricate pen and ink by Korean artist Daria Song.
The Time Garden has extra-thick craft paper and a removable—and colorable!—jacket. Featuring gorgeous gold foil on the cover and a customizable dedication page, The Time Garden is perfect for anyone looking to add some magic to their lives.
Journey through the cuckoo clock’s doors and into its inky inner workings to discover a magical land ready and waiting for you to customize with whatever colors you can dream up. With gorgeously detailed coloring pages containing simple creative challenges to help readers customize pages and bring the story to life in their way, this will keep you adult absorbed for hours, no matter your age. The Time Garden is an international best-selling coloring book, and this edition makes it available in English. This is the perfect gift for coloring fans of all ages; full of beautifully detailed illustrations and printing on high-quality stock paper.
The Time Garden has extra-thick craft paper and a removable—and colorable!—jacket. Featuring gorgeous gold foil on the cover and a customizable dedication page, The Time Garden is perfect for anyone looking to add some magic to their lives.
Unleash your creativity with Daria Song’s whimsical Time series: The Time Garden, The Time Chamber, and the Night Voyage.
Coloring Book Specifications
The following are the physical specifications related to the coloring book.
- Publisher: Ebury Publishing (August 17, 2015)
- Cover Type: Paperback
- Drawings: Presented on both sides of the paper
- Paper quality: Quality paper for multiple mediums
- Pages perforated: No
- Binding: Glue/sewn binding
- Language: English
- Paperback: 80 pages
- ISBN-10: 9781785032103
- ISBN-13: 978-1785032103
- Item Weight: 6.7 ounces
- Dimensions: 9.92 x 0.35 x 9.84 inches
Review of the “The Time Garden”
This is a storybook in the form of a coloring book, and it is an adventure of a young girl who has a fascination for the cuckoo clock. One night, a young girl’s father brings home an antique cuckoo clock. Journey with her through the doors of this mysterious clock into its inky inner workings and discover a magical land of clock gears, rooftops, starry skies, and giant flying owls—ready for you to customize with whatever colors you can dream up.
When she looks inside, she finds a fairy who takes her on an adventure within the clock, down allies, through garden parties, and finally reaches a tree filled with magical characters. The story reminds me of “Alice In Wonderland.” The storyline is presented throughout the book few sentences on various pages. I enjoy the whimsical imagery that includes patterns, scenery, nature and more. You will enjoy the coloring as much as you do the storyline. I enjoy the storybook format of the coloring book, which is a notable change from coloring books filled with just pages to color.
Many images fill each page border to border, meaning there is no white space between the edge of the paper and the drawing. The line thickness in the drawings is perfect for coloring, and drawings are found on both sides of each page. Some drawings can be very tiny and intricate and need extra care when coloring to stay within the lines.
This softcover coloring book is printed on quality, non-perforated paper with the feel of cardstock that will accept multiple mediums (e.g., colored pencils, fine liners, gel pens). Take note that if you press too hard when coloring these pages, it will leave impressions that will show through on the other side of the paper.
Will you be using colored pencils or other mediums that smudge? Because the pages are printed on both sides, you will want to consider using a fixative to stop them from smudging the opposite page.
The coloring book includes a dust cover which I suggest you remove before each coloring session. If you desire to use markers, gel pens, or crayons, make sure you medium test on the non-illustrated pages in the back of the book. Other options would be to copy/scan and print the images on multimedia or water coloring paper from your printer.
The binding is sewn, and though the book is harder to color than some things out there, the book will open with some pressure so that you can get into the crevices between pages. See the tip, “How to Help the Coloring Book Lay Flatter.”
I highly recommend “The Time Garden, by Daria Song” for adult coloring. I rate the coloring book 4.3 out of 5 Stars.
- Theme/Story: 4.75
- Illustrations: 4.75
- Ease of Coloring: 4.0
- Paper Quality: 4.5
- Format and Print Quality: 4.0
- Binding: 4.0
- Overall Rating: 4.3
The Mysterious Mansion
The following is my review of the coloring book “The Mysterious Mansion: A Mind-bending Activity Book Stranger than A Fairytale” by Daria Song.
Publisher’s Description
A gorgeously imagined activity book that follows the story of a young girl who finds herself lost inside a mysterious mansion.
You are invited to the Mysterious Mansion – a house filled with exciting missions and secrets. Each twenty-eight captivatingly beautiful rooms you are about to explore contains great magic and trickery. If you can break the spell and complete the mission in each room using your imagination and wit, you can safely leave the Mysterious Mansion.
With a range of different activities—from dot-to-dot to intricate mazes to optical illusions and coloring pages—this dazzling interactive book is a new twist on adult coloring and activity. These varied and creative activities are presented in a gorgeous package that will delight, calm, and intrigue readers.
Coloring Book Specifications
The following are the physical specifications related to the coloring book.
- Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (February 12, 2019)
- Cover Type: Paperback
- Drawings: Presented on both sides of the paper
- Paper quality: Quality paper for multiple mediums
- Pages perforated: No
- Binding: Glue binding
- Language: English
- Paperback: 112 pages
- ISBN-10: 1449495192
- ISBN-13: 978-1449495190
- Item Weight: 1.32 pounds
- Dimensions: 8.9 x 0.6 x 11.7 inches
Review of the “The Mysterious Mansion”
The following are a few of my thoughts from the adult coloring perspective. I am a huge fan of Daria Song’s work; this book is beautifully done. I love her imagination and attention to detail. Her artwork is stunning, gorgeous, and inviting. However, this is not like her other traditional coloring books. It is not a coloring book as much as a game with finished images and a few pages to color. More than half of the book has already been colored in.
There are a few easy mazes, dot-to-dots, paper dolls, finding hidden objects, a word search, easy sudoku and chess, which seem out of place for this coloring book. You are limited to two two-page spreads. The artwork is beautiful, and it seems somewhat counterintuitive to cut out any pages. The target audience for the book seems to be an early teens.
The binding is sewn, and though the book is harder to color than some things out there, the book will open with some pressure so that you can get into the crevices between pages. See the tip, “How to Help the Coloring Book Lay Flatter.”
I would not recommend ” The Mysterious Mansion, by Daria Song,” for adult coloring or the book for the storyline. I rate the coloring book 4.0 out of 5 Stars.
- Theme/Story: 4.75
- Illustrations: 4.75
- Ease of Coloring: 2.5
- Paper Quality: 4.5
- Format and Print Quality: 4.0
- Binding: 4.0
- Overall Rating: 4.0
Coloring Book Evaluation Criteria
When I evaluate a coloring book, I consider the following aspects:
Theme or Storyline. I look at the overall theme/story of the book. How well has the artist developed the theme/storyline of the book? Do the illustrations consistent with that theme?
Illustrations. I look at the design/style of the illustrations from the perspective of adult coloring. Are the lines of the illustrations consistent in thickness? What is the mix of large to intricate spaces to color? If the lines are thick and bold, I will feel my coloring is overpowered.
Ease of coloring. I review how easy it will be to complete the coloring of the illustration. Are the illustrations positioned on the page with sufficient whitespace so I can color the entire image without difficulty? Or does the illustration fill the page or flow into a two-page spread? If the drawing flows in the crease of binding/page (s), I will have difficulty coloring those hard-to-reach places.
Paper quality. I want to understand the coloring surface. Is the paper an Amazon-like coloring book paper or a higher quality? How thick is the paper? Does the paper allow me to express myself in blending, shading, and layering? How will the paper respond to oil-based vs. waxed-based colored pencils? Can I use multiple mediums (e.g., colored pencils, fine liners, gel pens)? When I color, will the paper show indents on the following page? Do the outlines of the following drawing show through the paper because the paper is too thin?
Format and print quality. I am looking for how the coloring book is formatted for adult coloring. Are the pages perforated so I can remove them for coloring/framing? Are the illustrations printed on a one per page, or are they back to back? How easy will it be to color the illustrations if they are back to back? How think is the coloring book? Are the layout of the illustrations designed for coloring? If the illustrations flow across two pages, how well are they aligned? How easy is it to color if the illustrations flow into the book’s crease/binding? Is there any part of the design that interferes with the coloring experience?
Binding. I want to see the quality of the binding and how it affects the coloring experience. Is the binding clued, sewn, stabled, coil-bound or other? Does the binding interfere with the coloring experience? Does the coloring book lay flat, making it easier to color? How difficult would it be to flatten the page for coloring if not? Are the pages perforated, allowing me to remove the page for coloring? Will the binding allow me to scan and remove the illustrations?
How to Help the Coloring Book Lay Flatter
Coloring books come with various bindings, from staples to glue bound. Some of the bindings make the coloring book difficult to color because the binding does not permit the coloring book to lay flat. To help the coloring book, lay flatter, do the following:
- Step 1: Open the book to the center of the book. Do the following:
- You can find the book’s center by turning the book at the end. You will notice that groups of pages have been folded and combined to form the book.
- Find the middle group of pages and open the coloring book to the center.
- Step 2. Three methods to help pages lay flattered. Now take your hands and press both hands up and down the page. You can do one of the following methods
- Option 1. Form a fist. Start at the bottom of the crease, and while applying light to medium pressure, run your fist up and down the crease of the page several times.
- Option 2. Open your hands and use your fingers to press down on either side of the crease. Place your left hand on the left side and your right hand on the right. Start at the bottom of the crease, move your hands to the top, and then back down while applying pressure. Do this several times.
- Option 3. Place your thumb in the crease of the pages. Start at the bottom, and while applying light to medium pressure, move your thumb up and down the crease several times.
- Step 3. Repeat step 2 for each page (i.e., center to the front of the coloring book). Now that you performed step 2 for the center of the coloring book, turn the page and work your way to the front of the book. Repeat step 2 for each page you turn until you reach the front of the coloring book.
- Step 4. Return to the center of the coloring book.
- Step 5. Repeat step 3 for each page (i.e., center to back of coloring book). Now that you have completed the front half of the coloring book. Repeat step 2 for each page you turn until you reach the back of the coloring book.
That is how you help a coloring book lay flattered, making it easier for you to color.
Sources:
- Amazon
- Barns and Nobel
- Penguin Random House
- Google Books
