Twisted Colouring

About Leighton Noyes

Leighton Noyes is an artist and children’s book illustrator with a warped sense of humor. As well as illustrating more than 70 books since 2000 for a wide range of publishers, including Scholastic, Collins, and Random House, he has produced cartoons for a Dr Who magazine.
Leighton studied illustration at (KIAD) Maidstone, followed by a BA (Hons) Degree at Camberwell College of Art and a book illustration course at Chelsea College of Art. www.leightonnoyes.com

Creative Colouring with Hazel

Twisted Colouring by Leighton Noyes has the tagline A Wonderfully Wicked Creative Colouring Book which perfectly summarises this book. It is smaller than most colouring books at 23.5 x 17.8 cm which makes it a good size to fit in your handbag or for carrying on your travels. It has a black glossy cover with a white partially coloured skull, the design of which can be found inside the book. What the cover doesnt do is prepare you for the sometimes gruesome but often hilarious illustrations inside.

On the title page inside you are presented by an egyptian mummy in his sarcophagus armed with colouring pencils and turn the page and the Grim Reaper is busy colouring. This gives you more of an indication of what the majority of the illustrations style is like; a combination of horror and humour. After the title and printing details pages, and colouring pages of another Skull design and a Werewolf in a photo booth; you reach the introduction which  is a couple of pages of hints and tips on choosing your colours, choosing your media etc.

The book is broken into seven themed chapters, each with a brief written introduction and title of each of the illustrations in the chapter. The Chapters are: Skulls & Bones, Zombies and Vampires, Ghostly Apparitions, Awful Edibles, Freaky Tales, Spells and Potions and Death & Destruction.

The titles  are equally as good as the humorous horror themed illustrations and as well thought out. In Transoldvania you can colour Draculas house move complete with removal men loading the van with coffins, a possible new owner shaking hands with the Count himself, tiny gravestones in the front garden, numerous bats,  and a sold sign that doubles as a stake through a heart. So many little details and that is just one picture.

There is Scare Extensions where Dracula, a Werewolf, Frankenstein and his Bride all visit the hair salon; Rolling A-Head where a ghost uses his own head as a bowling ball, Poltermice where the ghosts of numerous mice come back to haunt the cat who killed them; Finger Food which shows a serial killers refrigerator and Sandwitches which, you guessed it, shows some sand witches having a picnic on the beach. And thats just a few of the illustrations inside the book.

I love this book, its so much fun. If you have a bit of a dark sense of humour and love horror then this is one book you will love.

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