Tarot Coloring Book

This is a review of the Tarot Coloring Book released by Chartwell Books. (There is no artist credit given, except for Shutterstock on the copyright page.) I found it in the local B&N for $8 and thought it was worth checking out.

First off, I want to emphasize that this is not Create Your Own Tarot Deck, which is a different title by a different publisher. That book has a full color-your-own, press-out tarot deck. I bought it a few years ago and never actually finished coloring it. (Oops.)

Create Your Own Tarot Deck, a different book.

The Tarot Coloring Book promises over 120 pages of images to color. Here is what you see when you open the book to a random page.

On the left page is a gold-tone pattern of eyes in cards. On the right is an illustration of the tarot card Strength.

As you can see, the back side of each page has a pattern printed in color ink. The front side is a more typical coloring-book illustration.

The pictures include 43 tarot cards (both Rider-Waite and another, modern version I can't identify), 4 pictures that include the tarot in the abstract, and 15 examples of generic "occult" imagery. In other words, it's pretty tarot-heavy, and the "120 pages" definitely includes the backs. (Boo.)

I would love to know who drew some of the generic occult art so I can find some more. Sadly, the only credit given is "Shutterstock." The website Shutterstock did not produce these images from thin air. They were obviously drawn by someone. I just want to know who!

Anyway, having gone through the coloring book, I picked a page and tore it out. Which is where I ran into the first irritation.

Most adult coloring books have perforated pages, so you can neatly tear out a page to color and/or frame. This one doesn't. Bear this in mind and have an X-acto knife handy if you want to remove any of the pages.

The alcohol markers I used look pretty nice, I think...

A colored image including suns, moons, snakes, and hands framing the phrase 'The Magic Is In You.'

...but there was a LOT of bleed-through. This isn't a deal-breaker for me, because alcohol markers bleed through most paper. It's just something to keep in mind. Maybe stick to colored pencils for this one.

Back of page, showing that there is as much marker ink on the back of the page as there is on the front.

In short, it's a decent book for $8, but the lack of any real artist credit has me concerned. Shutterstock has artist and photographer credits on their site, but for some reason the designer and editor chose not to copy any of that information. This was a choice that was deliberately made by designer Sue Boylan, editor Meredith Mennitt, creative director Pauline Molinari, and editorial director Betina Cochran. It was a shitty choice.

A Shutterstock screenshot, clearly showing that contributor credit is given on the website.

Yes, you have to scroll down a bit to see the contributor credit. But it is still there, and not particularly hard to find. (You can see the screenshot full-size by right-clicking and selecting "Open Image In New Tab.") A person who cares about giving credit where credit is due will take the time to scroll down to see where the picture came from, so that the artist or photographer can be given proper credit.

Final Verdict

5/10. I would have given it a 7, but the decision not to credit any of the artists involved in this coloring book brought it down. There are coloring books out there that give credit to artists. Buy one of those instead.