Pop Manga Paint And Ink Coloring Book by Camilla d’Errico

I cover quite a few coloring books here at The Frumious Consortium, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen a mass market volume specifically designed for watercolor and ink. I hope it’s not the last tho because this is genuinely a superlative product for anyone looking to paint some adorable manga-inspired scenes.

There are 24 such illustrations in this volume, of cozy fantasy characters that wouldn’t look at all out of place inside a Studio Ghibli or Toei Animation production. All of the line drawings come, however, from the world of acclaimed Italian Canadian pop-surrealist Camilla d’Errico. Some of the illustrations here are original to the book, while others are established favorites from her repertoire. The general theme is one of whimsy, tho if you look hard enough, you can see that these aren’t necessarily the uniformly inoffensive pieces one would expect from a commercial artist. Ms d’Errico’s artistic edges are not sanded off in this wild and wonderful collection.

As with other coloring books featuring fine art, the pages in this are perforated, making it easy not only to pull out individual pieces to work on, but also to frame, should you be so inclined. Each drawing is on one side of a page, with the other intentionally left blank or featuring non-art text.

The real innovation of this volume comes from the quality of the paper inside. The marketing material doesn’t state the weight, but the sheets are relatively heavy and absorbent, exactly what you’d expect of better than decent watercolor paper. I love watercolor painting despite not being well educated in it, and I can say that the sheets here feel like other 300 gsm surfaces I’ve used. The paper accepts washes and layers without significant warping or bleed through, and allows for the effects beloved of the medium.

I actually sat down with this volume during the Super Bowl (on my birthday! Go Seahawks!) to give me something to do with my hands while I half paid attention to the football and, afterwards, the Olympics coverage (it should go without saying that I gave my full attention to Bad Bunny’s halftime show, which was amazing and moved me to tears.) I brought out not only my watercolors, but also colored pencils and a variety of ink and paint pens, including Poscas and Pitts. I laid the first two illustrations flat (these are the only two that face each other, fwiw) and began layering on color with little plan besides prettiness.

I actually did the washes for both pages first, as I definitely intended to do both, should time allow. It did not, as I definitely immersed myself in painting a variety of feathers in the background of the first piece. This was partially an excuse to try out all my colors and media, but it also brought joy to my chaotic maximalist heart.

I was pleased to see that the paper absorbed all the paint and ink with aplomb, leaving absolutely no bleed-through from any of the materials. The paper is no longer flat, ofc, but that is completely in keeping with non-artist grade surfaces. And have I mentioned the price point? The printed MSRP on these is USD18.99/CAD25.99, which is a great price for 24 sheets of approximately 10″x10″ medium-weight watercolor paper. And honestly, as a painter who often loathes staring at a blank page with no idea what to create, having Ms d’Errico’s art to inspire me while I play with technique and color is exactly the motivation I need to continue with my artistic practice.

Definitely get this for the artist in your life who occasionally just wants to color and enjoys cozy fantasy scenes with a pop-surrealist twist (and that means for yourself, too, if the description fits!)

Pop Manga Paint And Ink Coloring Book by Camilla d’Errico was published yesterday February 24 2026 by Watson Guptill and is available from all good booksellers, including