Doodling; we’ve all done it. Gotten bored in a meeting, drifted off while trying to rhyme things with Heughan, been stuck on the phone with Great Aunt Nancy for FOREVER. Kerby Rosanes takes doodling, pumps it full of steroids and releases into the wilds. Welcome to Animorphia. It’s perfect.
So, my friend Cathryn (you remember, my coloring sister from another mister) came over to binge watch American Horror Story (more on that later). Well when she saw Animorphia sitting on my coffee table one thing lead to another and now I need a new best friend. She is clearly a more talented colorer than me and that is not acceptable.
Lucky for Cathryn, she’s pretty great and not at all replaceable. Also lucky for us Kerby Rosanes is equally pretty great and not at all replaceable. Kerby also proves once again how truly small this world really can be, you see friends Kerby is the reason why I am so addicted to adult coloring books. About a year ago I started following a blog on Facebook called Sketchy Stories. It was one of those pages that was suggested to me based on some of my other likes; so I decided to give it a whirl. BEST DECISION EVER. I saw a mention of adult coloring books on Kerby’s page and well….the rest is history as they say. I jumped at the chance to ask Kerby a few questions about his work and the phenomena of adult coloring. Let’s see what he had to say!
Your artistic style is so unique from other artists, when you start a “doodle” do you already know what it will morph into or does the piece take shape while you’re working on it?
Everything is kinda unplanned. The piece does take shape while I’m working on it spontaneously. I always wanted to be surprised with what the final piece would look like.
I’d be pretty darned surprised if one of my squiggly lined doodles turned into this.
Animorphia is a fantastic book, I love the ability for the ”colorers” to make their own doodles. Are you excited about seeing what your fans are going to come up with?
Of course I am. Browsing #animorphia on Instagram and seeing all these wonderful creations shared by people who enjoy the book really makes me proud of the book. And it’s good to know people are reviving their artistic side.
@_colorfulsoul_ Fancy Elephant @dolores365 Regal Lion
Animorphia is on sale around the world, adults are obsessed with coloring, why do you think that is?
I believe that adults like us who are so busy at work or in our daily routines need something to relieve stress. Engaging ourselves with any art activity is one way, and coloring is just perfect!
Where did you get the inspiration for this book?
I always loved animals and the wild side of nature. The book was inspired by my sketchbook drawings way back in 2012 where I try to incorporate realistic animal portraits with my little doodle characters.
Look at those little doodle guys! They’re so adorable I want them made into big stuffies so I can cuddle them! You should probably get on top of that Kerby.
What are you working on next?
I’m working on the next title: Imagimorphia. Can’t wait to share this with everyone!
The best thing about Animorphia is it’s uniqueness. It reminds us that coloring IS about relaxing AND having fun. Whether that fun is from doodling in the blank areas on the lion’s mane or from coloring in all the cute little dudes throughout the book, Animorphia has the best of both worlds inside it’s pages. Pages that do have a thinner feel to them than some other books, but held up quite nicely to the gel pens that were used on them. Kerby Rosanes is the reason why I will never discourage any of my future children from doodling on their math homework. Doodle away future mini-me’s! Mama needs some more coloring books!
