The 1000 Dot-to-Dot Book: Masterpieces by Thomas Pavitte contains dot-to-dot pictures just like the ones you used to have fun doing when you were a kid... except each picture is much more detailed, containing 1000 numbered dots to join up.
The 20 pictures in this book are exactly what you'd expect from the title - dot-to-dot versions of famous works of art like Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and Van Gogh's Sunflowers. Books featuring portraits, animals and cityscapes are also available in the same series.
This is a big, poster-sized book - I've included a pen in the photo below to give you an idea of the scale - and with such detailed pictures it has to be.
The numbering for each dot is kept small, and are printed in different colours to help you more easily find the numbers you're looking for (e.g. 1-199 might be in black, then 200-300 in green). The first dot is marked with a star to help you find it, then you just follow along from 1-1000, joining each dot one by one until the picture appears.
A test page is helpfully included so you can test out your pen before starting one of the pictures...
... and there's a guide at the back of the book showing which pattern of dots forms which picture, so you know which artwork you're drawing.
The pages are perforated, so you can tear them out when you've finished... but actually I found it easiest to tear out the page I was working on so I had a totally flat surface to draw on. The tear-out pages would also make this book an easy thing to share among your family or friends for a group dot-to-dot drawing session.
I drew Frida Kahlo's self portrait, because Frida is awesome.
I am apparently quite slow at doing dot-to-dot pictures as according to the book each picture takes about half an hour to do but mine took me well over an hour (though, to be fair, I was watching a film at the same time). Here's how the finished picture turned out:
I did get a bit of a crick in my neck from leaning over the large paper to see the numbers (perhaps I need my eyes testing, but I found them quite hard to see) so I'd recommend making sure you sit up and stretch when working on these.
Apart from that though, I found this a very enjoyable way to while away an hour or so. Just like colouring in, completing these pictures is an absorbing and relaxing process and it's a lot of fun watching the picture gradually emerge from the pattern of dots. I'm looking forward to working my way through the rest of the pictures in the book... and maybe even colouring them in afterwards!
The 1000 Dot to Dot Book: Masterpieces is published by The Ilex Press. RRP £9.99. It's available from Amazon UK, Amazon USA, the Book Depository and many other bookshops.
Please note: the publisher sent me a free review copy of this book. The Amazon and Book Depository links in this post are affiliate links.
ooooh that looks like a great book :) thank you for the review x
ReplyDeleteOh, another one I need! This and the colouring in book = Christmas wish list, because I wish it were the 90's again.
ReplyDeletexx A
You have such great book recommendations. I would love to figure out a way to transfer these images to a piece of fabric and go dot-to-dot with thin, black thread. That would make such a cool embroidered piece to hang on the wall!
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, I used to love connecting dots! This is really a cool upgrade!
ReplyDeleteAlex - they are nostalgia-tastic, aren't they? :)
ReplyDeleteAmy - ooooh that would look very cool