Whilst there is a treasure hunt to follow, Lost Ocean doesn't flow nearly as well as the previous books, particularly Enchanted Forest which featured those beautiful woodland scenes and mystery tiles to 'collect' for the big reveal at the end.

I would much rather have this bright white paper over the cream, which felt rough, thin and too dull to properly show vibrancy of the colours. I used Staedtler Triplus fineliners and there was not one spot of bleed on the reverse side. I have both the smooth white and the coarser cream versions of all the books, and in my opinion the white stock is not only thicker than the cream but feels much nicer under the hand and lots smoother under the pen. A lot of people have complained the the paper is thinner than Johanna's previous books, and the new smooth white finish is now notorious for bleed with pens that would usually fare well. As I understand it, the US version is somewhat lighter than the UK, meaning that the paper weight is slightly heavier over here than in the States. There are hardly any of those large scenes in Lost Ocean, the majority of the illustrations printed as individual pieces on each page.Īnother thing that has divided opinion is the paper quality. In addition there are a great deal of mandalas and repeating patterns featured in the book, something I didn't expect as the predecessors are all about the beautiful unique landscapes and double page spreads. Johanna has said this is her most complex book yet, and it's definitely true. I have perfect 20/20 vision and yet I find a few of the images just too detailed for me to comfortably look at for an amount of time. There are shell-top castles, seaweed adorned ships and ornamental coral structures, with watery plant life and undiscovered treasure abound.Īn awful lot of these illustrations are extremely intricate, and I'm talking tiny spaces that even the finest of fineliners or the sharpest of pencils would struggle with.

In her staple inky style Johanna has created a curious and captivating undersea panorama of beautifully decorated whales, magical mermaids, undulating octopi and great multitudes of fish species. I have mixed feelings as there are certain aspects of the book that I love, but there are also some areas of disappointment I agree with.įirst of all, the illustrations. The hotly anticipated follow up to Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest, this book has garnered turbulent reviews and seems to be either a definite like or definite dislike for most of the colouring community.

Here it is, the name that has been on everyone's lips since Johanna revealed it: Lost Ocean.

Johanna basford lost ocean gallery