Finished Creating My Coloring Book!!

I finished my coloring book last week!!  I've been working on it since I finished my bear sculpture. The coloring book features all of the new bear cub sculptures that were just unveiled last month for Bearfest 2017, in Grants Pass, Oregon.

I finished all the illustrations for the inside of the book, as well as the 5 watercolor paintings of the bear cubs for the cover.  The cover showcases the bear cubs such that they will be able to be individually cut out so that people can have their own mini set of the new bear cubs like the three pictured above.

Here are all 5 of my watercolor paintings of the bear cub sculptures:

Here are the 2-page spreads for the coloring book without the text:

Outside Cover (front & back):

Remember - there will be text and a title of the book, and the bank's logo - who is paying for all of this.  There will also be instructions to cut along the solid black lines and fold along the dotted lines.

Inside Cover (front & back):

The name of each sculpture, the artist(s) name and the organization that it was created in honor of will be listed on the back of each sculpture cut-out.  The paw prints carry over from the page that will be opposite the back inside cover (Library Bear page)

Here are the inside (regular) pages.  Each page is folded - like a book.  So there are actually two pages on each of these spreads.  Each close-up square "head shot" of each bear will have text next to it with trivia/facts about each bear.

Here's the text for the 'Library Bear":

American Black Bear 

Scientific Name: Ursus americanus    

American Black Bears are the most common bear in North America. There are many sub-species with varied coloring including the common black fur of the Olympic Black Bear; a white chest patch found on some of the Eastern Black Bears & Florida Black Bears; silvery-blue or grey fur on the Glacier Bears; brown fur on the Cinnamon Bears and some California Black Bears, and white/cream  or blond fur on the Kermode Bears found in western British Columbia.  

Here's the text for the "Graduation Bear"

Kodiak Bear (Brown Bear) 

Scientific Name: Ursus arctos    

Originally thought to have been their own species, Kodiak bears have since been reclassified as being included within the Brown Bear species. Their brown coloring varies with some being more blond, orange or dark brown. The Kodiak Bears live on the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago located south of Anchorage, Alaska. Kodiak  bears are one of the largest species of bears (approximately the same size as Polar Bears). Their diet consists of salmon, plants, berries  and small animals.   

Here's the text for the "Skateboard Bear":

Kermode Bear (“Spirit Bear”) 

Scientific Name: Ursus americanus kermodei   

A rare sub-species of the American Black Bear found along the central coast of British Columbia, mostly on Princess Royal Island. Some Kermode Bears exhibit light, cream-colored fur and have thus been given the name “Spirit Bears.” Spirit Bears are the official provincial mammal of British Columbia. They are currently endangered with only about 1200 remaining in the wild. Of those, only about 200 have light colored fur.  

Here's the text for the "Harvest/Farmer Bear"

Polar Bear  

Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus   

Polar Bears live in the arctic region, encompassing the Artic Sea and surrounding land areas. They are one of the largest of the bear species and about the same size as the Kodiak Bear (Brown Bear). They are the most carnivorous of all the bears with their diet mostly consisting of ringed seals & bearded seals, although they do sometimes eat other things like eggs, birds, crabs and plants including kelp and berries Climate Change and the increasingly early melting of the sea ice each year causes loss of habitat for polar bears. Polar Bears generally hunt seals from the top of sea ice, reaching through the ice to grab seals. The loss of ice is considered a threat to their ability to catch food    

And this poem will be next to the polar bear:

The last 2-page spread will be at the center of the book:

Here's the text for the "Super Hero Bear":

Teddy Bear  

Scientific Name: Ursus teddybearus   

Teddy Bear: a soft, stuffed toy, created to look like a real bear cub. Teddy bears have become cherished collector’s items. These soft, cuddly bears can be taken anywhere, and always behave well in public! A favorite toy for many children! Some of these bears come with just a bow around their neck, sometimes fully clothed, sometimes with moveable legs. There are even some with music boxes inside their tummies!   

That's it!

It's a short little coloring book - just 12 pages, including the front & back cover.

I'm really happy with how it turned out!

I have sent it over to the people at the Bear Hotel and they are now busy editing the text and formatting it so that it is ready to go to the printer.  I am expecting the books to be printed in the next couple weeks.  They have told me they will be printing 500 copies. They are planning to hand them out during their free tours that people can take at the Bear Hotel, and possibly also at some of the "Concerts in the Park" events this summer.

This project was my idea that I approached them with, and I am so happy that they decided to go along with it!  It's not every day that you come up with an art project, present it to someone and they actually PAY you to do it!!  Awesome!  It was fun putting it together, but I have to say it was a LOT of work!  The maze was especially difficult to create. I have put together word searches before - so that wasn't too hard.  

Hope you enjoyed reading about it.

Have an Artful Day!!