Lost Ocean: An Inky Adventure and Coloring Book

by Johanna Basford

From the creator of the worldwide bestsellers Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest, a beautiful new coloring book that takes you on a magical journey beneath the waves.

With Lost Ocean, Johanna Basford invites color-inners of all ages to discover an enchanting underwater world hidden in the depths of the sea. Through intricate pen and ink illustrations to complete, color, and embellish, readers will meet shoals of exotic fish, curious octopi, and delicately penned seahorses. Visit coral reefs and barnacle-studded shipwrecks, discover intricate shells and pirate treasure. Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest fans and newcomers alike will welcome this creative journey into an inky new world.

Genres: Colouring Books, Art, Colouring, Nonfiction, Crafts, Adult Colouring Books, Childrens

80 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 2015

Reviews

[Michael]

My wife gave me this book for Christmas 2015. I've been coloring in it with my 4yr old daughter. Mostly she helps me pick colors and bumps me from time to time.

I've done maybe 6 or so, but here are 2 that I have finished (I'll post the others later)
My favorite one so far. I'm trying to avoid "rainbows" but I really liked this one


Experimenting with Warm and Cool colors


This is actually the first one that I colored


This one took me a loooong time. I call it "Eel-ementals"... You know... because each eel is meant to represent... like... an element... but they are eels... eel-ementals.... get it?


I was trying to make good use of whitespace with these JamFish


Probably my least favorite that I have done so far. I was trying to make good use of black...


The starfeesh and C-Harse are the first two that I colored after getting my new set of colored pencils. Primsacolor work like a dream.



I mentioned earlier/elsewhere that my 4yr old daughter colors with me and gives me coloring advice. Mostly when she colors we make copies of the pages, but not always... Still, I love these pages so much



I imagine this as the view through the window of a white and gold submarine


The Nefarious One challenged me on behalf of the Coloring Cult to use only Blues Silvers or Gold to make a picture. Naturally I thought of a "Blue" Whale. Since I'm such a rebel, I actually rubbed in some black as well to make one of my blues darker.


Just to see what it would look like, I did a picture by only outlining stuff. I liked how it turned out... but wont do it again. My daughter thinks it is incomplete and urges me to "finish" it


This ended up looking a little more 70s than I wanted, but I like it anyway. I was experimenting with Yellow and Brown

[Meep · Rating 3 out of 5]

EDIT: Having attempted some more of these I'm going to say EF is still my favourite. I like this book but there's a lot of repetitive geometric designs with very fine lines. There's a few pics I'm not bothered about colouring; googling shows great versions, but I'm not an artist so not looking for too complex.

Three of my efforts under spoiler-cut, finishing these feels like quite an accomplishment ;):
One of the easier manadalas
Festival Fishies

Two page sea-life scene (Would like to add some blue background but ability verses ideas...yeah, nope!)
-- -- -- --
Love this series of colouring books.
Finding Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest & Coloring Book [EF] totally absorbing and now been gifted (lovely hubby) with this book.

Illustrations have the same whimsy and selection of mandalas, double-page scenes and decorative animals. Sea-life being so splendidly varied there's plenty of scope for imagination to make demands on your arsenal of colours, with treasure to be hunted along the way.

The pages are smoother than with EF making it easier to colour with pencils however there's a lot of very fine detail and narrow lines to colour - pencils will need to be kept very sharp and fineliner pens are the best bet for most pictures. Pages are thick enough there's rarely bleed-through.

Wont be for everyone because of the intricate detail, some pages are very challenging. Needs a steady hand and focus. One to work up to, a few look very intimidating!

To give an idea of how fine some lines are here's my attempt at the opening page:

off to buy finer pens the w/e ;)

[Alexa]

WARNING! This is an ongoing project so this review will probably be bumped whenever I remember to update what I've been doing.

I was originally doing this book -> Nature: 70 designs to help you de-stress but I'm a bit tired of colouring flowers so I'm going to alternate with this gorgeous one.

So, the pics!



Shades of blue Challenge.


Current work in progress.


In case you're interested, I'm doing this with a group of wonderful friends. Check their books here:
Cathy's Happy Mandalas.
Sandra's Secret Garden & Enchanted Forest.
Sarah's Rêves.

[The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full Review on The Candid Cover

Lost Ocean is a colouring book that the reader/artist can really immerse themselves in and get lost within its gorgeous pages. Although it is an adult colouring book, it can actually be enjoyable at any age. This book makes the reader feel artistic, provides an amusing game and aids in relaxation.

As a non-artist, Lost Ocean provided me with a sense of artistic skill. I found the drawings to be detailed, yet simple to colour. There are differing levels of difficulty in some of the designs that allow the artist to decide the commitment level for each colouring session.

Another aspect of this book that makes it so enjoyable are the hidden objects throughout the book to colour and discover. At the beginning of the colouring book, there is a legend of hidden treasures and trinkets to be found. From magic potions to messages in bottles, the reader will be kept busy searching for these fun items while colouring away.

Time simply flies by when you are engrossed in an adventure that is both relaxing and enjoyable. It was certainly a wonderful distraction for me this holiday season to sit and colour for a few hours at the end of a busy day. I highly recommend Lost Ocean to anyone who enjoys relaxing through artistic methods.

[ke-sha]

Coloring Video 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NgEy...
Coloring Video #2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQe0t...
Coloring Video #3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mkvk...
Coloring Video #4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3ryy...

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joanna Basford, the biggest name in adult coloring books, has a spectacular new coloring book for adults called Lost Ocean: An Inky Adventure & Coloring Book that brings to mind all manner of meditation mandelas, craft projects, color theories, visual recognition games, to say nothing of the wonders of the underwater world. The pictures are dense and detailed, far too complex for a child to manage, but perhaps just perfect for a teen or adult, perhaps even a much older adult, who wishes to try out a color palette, or concentrate on something unrelated to daily life.

Apparently the phenomenon of an adult coloring book market is large and growing, and Penguin provides a kit for groups of adults to work together on projects—a “community coloring club” is what they call these gatherings. They have also announced the release of a Coloring Club Kit which includes:

• Recipes for refreshments.
• Playlist. Johanna Basford tells us she likes to draw to music by bands like The xx, and Florence and the Machine, “anything with too strong a beat interrupts the flow of the coloring.” We’ve compiled a special playlist to help unleash your creativity.
• Ice Breakers to get your coloring club members chatting.
• A special Q&A with the undisputed Queen of coloring books, Johanna Basford.

Truthfully, I was thinking these might be a good solution for adult community centers, but I can imagine a craftsperson finding the designs intriguing for color design. And finally, someone who needs design help generally might find inspiration here.

My sister is a docent at a seaside State Park that carries items like this in their museum store. Looks like a good seashore gift item generally, or a purchase a seaside Bed & Breakfast might find attractive. Keep your eyes peeled for this title in a bookstore near you this season, or buy it directly from the penguinrandomhouse.com website.

On my blog you will find a few sample pages and a giveaway posted until the book is released October 27.

[Buchdoktor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein Buchcover in Schwarz-Weiss-Gold - ein so edles Malbuch ist viel zu schade, um darin zu malen, war mein erster Gedanke. Johanna Basford hat eine Reihe von Ausmal-Büchern veröffentlicht mit sehr filigranen, detailreichen Naturdarstellungen. In ihrem phantastischen Ozean ranken zwischen Märchenwelten Wasserpflanzen über die Buchseite und werden von Meeresbewohnern umspielt. Einige Seiten zeigen Mandalas, andere Ranken oder Musterrapporte. Der Pfiff des Buches ist die Kombination aus Mal- und Suchbuch. Man kann zuerst die 16 Artefakte aus der Märchenwelt suchen und ausmalen, die vorn aufgelistet sind, oder zuerst das Buch ausmalen, um eine andere Person suchen zu lassen. Wer sich wirklich zum Ausmalen überwinden kann, benötigt für die feinen Details sehr gute Stifte oder Fasermaler. Das Problem durch den Falz des Buches zerteilter Bilder wurde größtenteils durch die Beschränkung der Bilder auf eine Seite vermieden.
--> Zu den Vorgängerbänden gab es hier den Tipp anderer Kunden, wegen besserer Papierqualität die französische Ausgabe zu kaufen.
Mit STABILO point 88 und edding 55 hatte ich in diesem Exemplar keine Probleme, beide Fasermalertypen drücken und feuchten nicht auf die Rückseite des Papiers durch.
Ein ideales Geschenk für Empfänger, die etwas Aufmunterung und einen Hauch von Luxus verdient haben.

[Cissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharpen up your colored pencils, because these are lovely, enticing, and intricate designs! You WILL need very sharp colored pencils to do them justice.

Some studies say that coloring like this is a worthy alternative to sitting meditation. Since trying to do sitting meditation makes me crazy, I have been looking for alternatives- and adult coloring books seem to work similarly.

And this one is gorgeous! Also very intricate, so one will have lots of chill time working on it- I just spent about 20 min coloring a small fish.

Fun to do piecemeal, and very, very pretty.

[Canette Arille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Book! I love the illustrations! The illustrations are beautifully drawn and have lots of detail.

[Luanne Ollivier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I admit it - when I first heard about adult colouring books, I was skeptical. Could sitting down to colour be enjoyable? Relaxing? Dare I say - stress relieving? And then I tried it - and the answer is yes to all of the above.

Johanna Basford has a number of adult colouring books out - all quite amazing. I thought I would dive (pun intended!) into Lost Ocean: An Inky Adventure and Colouring Book.

I liked the gold accents on the cover - it hints at treasure within. (I'm a magpie - anything shiny catches my eye!)

Now, are you one of those people who will start at the beginning and do all the pages in order? Or are you like me - I'll pick the one that appeals to me and start with it, choosing another as the mood strikes. Lost Ocean offers a wide range of choices from intricate, to simple. Basford has touched on all things oceanic from images of creatures of the deep - fish, octopuses, mermaids, lobsters, crabs to sunken galleons and their treasures, whimsical designs and more. The last picture is a double sided four page foldout - okay I am indeed saving that one 'til last. Every page from cover to copyright page has images to bring colour to.

And then there's the added fun of trying to also find hidden images in the drawings - diamonds, rings, keys, gold coins and others. (No worries - there's an answer key at the back!)

Lost Ocean is produced on nice, clean, crisp white stock - all your colour choices will show up true. I thought I would start with imagining some brightly coloured fish under the waves.

Remember - there's no 'right' way to colour - enjoy it! Have you tried adult colouring books yet? Lost Ocean would be a good one to get your feet wet! (pun intended!)

[AH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under a lot of stress? Grab a copy of an adult coloring book. Lost Ocean is a bit more difficult than Ms. Basford's earlier books. The details are smaller in some of the pages, so you will need to sharpen those pencil crayons to a finer point. Pages take days and hours to color, and you will probably never have the right shade of green or blue. (Which in itself can be a bit stressful!)

Lost Ocean follows the same format as Secret Garden in that as you color, there are hidden treasures to find in the pages.

My only beef with these coloring books is that the pictures go into the binding (when the picture spans two pages), making coloring that part a little awkward. I'm also not sure if the paper will survive markers, hence the pencil crayons.

All in all, great value for the money as this book will keep you occupied for a long time. By the way, these books are not only for adults - I gave my nieces a copy of Secret Garden last summer and they had a blast with the books. So maybe ages 12+ and artistically inclined would be a better recommendation.

[Colibri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Είναι ό,τι πρέπει για τώρα, τον καιρό της καραντίνας. Εννοείται, βέβαια, ότι δεν είμαι ούτε στη μέση!

[Laurie • The Baking Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colouring was one of my favourite hobbies to do as a child and when my children were old enough to enjoy it I'd happily join them. There's something creative and yet so relaxing about passing the time with a gaggle of sharpened pencil crayons in seemingly every colour of the rainbow and a big colouring book.

Adult colouring books have been all the rage lately and Johanna Basford has created a wonderfully creative way for adults to enjoy colouring again. The pages are made from thick, quality stock and are FILLED with detailed graphics of fish, octopi, sea creatures and greenery to fill hours of time or you can choose to colour in fits and spurts as your creativity desires. Also included are various objects that readers can find within the pages of the book.

I was always the kid who went for the detailed pages of a colouring book. I didn't want one giant cow on an entire page where I'd hardly have to colour anything at all. I wanted detailed pictures filled with chances to use many different shades and colours. Basford has created exactly my kind of colouring book. And while occasionally some of the graphics are so detailed that it was hard to get even a well sharpened pencil crayon in between the lines overall this is the colouring book of my dreams.

Lost Oceans is a fun way to pass the time doing something that I loved as a child but seemed to have forgotten about as an adult. It's something that I can spend a hour on or, more likely, sit down for twenty minutes to finish off a detailed fish before jumping back into my hectic life. Colouring can almost put you in a meditative state and I appreciate how I can happily zone out of the chaos around me and just focus on bringing the picture before me to life.

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Johanna Basford and Penguin Books for providing me with a complimentary copy of this colouring book in exchange for my honest review.

**This book review can also be found on my blog, The Baking Bookworm (www.thebakingbookworm.blogspot.ca) where I share hundreds of book reviews and my favourite recipes. **

[Strawberry Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so not really a book, but a coloring book that is beautiful with very intricate patterns and designs that are just amazing. I find that I can really let my creativity flow. I LOVE to do these pages while listening to an audiobook. These kinds of books really relax and center me so that I find I can absorb the book I am listening to at a higher degree. No distractions.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Needs more more mermaids, but is otherwise fantastic.

I also have not coloured any of these yet. I just photocopy out a sample, colour that, reject it as not good enough and then go back to cooing over the unblemished book.

[Jennifer ☕ · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite coloring books. Johanna Basford always makes the most beautiful coloring books. They mostly remind me of fantasy lands you'd want to escape to.
Highly recommend if you love to color. I use these for peacefulness since I suffer with an illness. Coloring helps so much.

[La La · Rating 5 out of 5]

I own and love this coloring book. The pictures are intricate and paper is good quality.

[Soledad Blanco Conesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

El año pasado comencé a pintar libros de arteterapia para desestresarme y me resultaron muy efectivos. Empecé con El jardín secreto de Johanna Basford y como me gustó tanto, no dudé en autorregalarme El océano perdido para Navidad, libro de la misma ilustradora.
El océano perdido contiene dibujos de animales marinos: peces de todo tipo y tamaño, caballitos de mar, delfines, tiburones, ballenas, pulpos, cangrejos, caracoles, estrellas de mar y medusas. También hay algunas sirenas, una gran cantidad de plantas acuáticas y hermosos barcos piratas. Por si fuera poco, Johanna Basford también nos deleita con imágenes de misteriosas ciudades subacuáticas que nos hacen acordar a algunas novelas fantásticas.
Algunos dibujos son sencillos y se pueden pintar en una sola sentada, pero otros están llenos de detalles y hay que dedicarles varios días para poder terminarlos. Algunos dibujos parecen mandalas y hay que pintar con mucho cuidado. En este libro no hay que realizar actividades extras, como en El jardín secreto, en el que teníamos que agregar nuestros propios dibujos o resolver algún laberinto. Al final del libro hay una sorpresa: la última página se despliega y aparecen dos dibujos larguísimos que ocupan cuatro páginas.
Encuentro estos libros muy relajantes y desestresantes. Hay veces que estoy muy nerviosa y las pulsaciones están aceleradas. Entonces, me pongo a pintar y a los diez minutos ya noto una diferencia. La velocidad de las pulsaciones disminuye considerablemente, la mente se me "limpia" y dejo de pensar en las preocupaciones cotidianas. Lo único en lo que tengo que pensar es qué color elegir para cada dibujo. En enero me compré El bosque encantado así que próximamente reseñaré ese libro. Sigo a Johanna Basford en su página de Facebook y ahora está preparando un libro que se llamará Magical Jungle y otro con dibujos navideños. Espero que se publiquen en Argentina. Seguramente los voy a adquirir ni bien salgan a la venta.
Pueden ver las imágenes de los dibujos que pinté en esta entrada de mi blog: http://soldeechesortu.blogspot.com.ar...

[Alice Wulf · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I realized AFTER I bought this book (I'm an impulse buyer) that this one was published by a different publishing company and BOY HOWDY can you tell the difference. First of all, there's no dust cover, which doesn't really bother me, I always take those off anyway, but it's one of those faux-dust covers where there are little flaps in the front and back and THAT pisses me off. Either do or don't, you know? Commit or don't, just YOU CAN'T HAVE BOTH.

Also, the texture of the pages is totally different than Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest, and I mean that in a bad way. The pages are about the same thickness, but the texture is really smooth and STARK WHITE so all my coloured pencils and markers come off as different colours than they do on the other books, which are more "creamy" in colour. Listen to me, I sound like a hipster selling paint colors.



Also also, the black outlines aren't as dark? In her other two books, I could go all out with the dark colors and you could still tell where the artist's outline started and where my inept fumblings began. But in this book, if I'm colouring in, say, a leaf, it just looks like a green blob. Boo.

I'm always worried whenever I colour in this book. I'm constantly checking to see if my markers are bleeding through, and the whole reason I bought these books in the first place is to LESSEN my anxiety, not to increase it.

One and a half thumbs down. The designs are gorgeous, as always with this artist, but I can't appreciate them because of the aforementioned problems.

[Anna Nesterovich · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways and forgot about it for a long time. Then two things happened. First, I saw the book in a store. Second, I went on Goodreads and discovered that its rating was 4.65, which is well above average. After all that I couldn't resist leaving a negative review. The problem is I didn't expect that the 'advance uncorrected sampler' I asked through giveaways in reality would be a ten-page excerpt. I feel offended. Besides 'magical journey beneath the ways' is a description that falls very far from reality. That promise makes me think of some real creatures to color, while the book is just an assembly of sea-themed patterns.

[Jules (Never enough time to read) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lost Ocean is definitely my favourite Johanna Basford colouring book to date. It does have a couple of overly intricate designs but I absolutely love at least 95% of the book.

I just need more time to colour because I doubt I will ever finish the book or any of the other colouring books I own.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cool adult coloring book. more on http://bookwinked.wordpress.com

[Jeannette · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not a reading book, I wanted to rate this book. Since I have always enjoyed coloring, I am enjoying the current adult coloring craze and the books that reflect a more sophisticated style.

[Rhianon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hands down, my favorite of Basfords books. I heart coloring details.

[Dominique Liongson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instead of reading between the lines, this book is more about coloring between the lines. Love love love the underwater themes of every illustration in this book.

I have a copy of this LOST OCEAN coloring book; but mine was the detachable postcard-sized edition. It's like fill one page with color, and send it to your favorite recipient. To protect the individual card from postal dramas, put it inside an envelope and mail it.

Since the illustration has finer spaces, the postcard-sized version is recommended for those with fine motor skills with handling coloring materials. Since if there is a will there's a way, the opposite of fine motor skills can also enjoy coloring-in this book.

[Lesley B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johanna Basford is my favourite colouring book artist. I love this book. However it may not be for some people as some pages have extremely detailed images with teeny tiny areas to colour. Personally I enjoy those but they need a lot of time to complete.

[Virginia Curtiss]

Nwwo mbv

[Phu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thích mấy nét vẽ nhỏ nhỏ, chứ không thưc sự thích đại dương.

[Potato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought it as a gift for my sister - it looks really intricate, I'm really happy with it.

[FictionalFlings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johanna Basford books are my favourite. I've purchased every one