Five beautiful adult colouring books made in Toronto

Toronto illustrators are riding the adult colouring wave, producing quirky, intricate designs that riff on pop culture, art and architecture. Here are our favourite local titles—Crayolas not included.

Fantastic Cities

In this hefty tome, artist Steve McDonald has created labyrinthine cityscapes of London, New York and Paris, as well as several scenes from his Canadian stomping grounds: Toronto (above), Sault Ste. Marie and Lunenburg. $16.34. artbysteve.squarespace.com.

All the Libraries

Cartographer Daniel Rotsztain spent two months visiting and sketching each of the Toronto Public Library’s 100 branches (and two of its bookmobiles). He has also written blurbs about each library’s architecture, including the mansion-like Runnymede (above), the strip mall that houses the Northern Elms branch, the nautical Port Union building in Scarborough and, of course, the serpentine glory of the Reference Library. $17. allthelibraries.ca.

Menswear Madness

What Samara Shuter’s headless hunks lack in brains, they make up in suave sophistication. The characters sport trendy tailored suits and bow ties, reveal tattoos under scrunched sleeves, and strike poses worthy of a Harry Rosen ad. $25. samarashuter.com.

Game of Thrones

Amanda Lo and Charline Wang are building a colouring book empire with their playful collections devoted to Beyoncé, Arrested Development and, our favourite, Game of Thrones. You’ll find Khaleesi, the Starks, the Lannisters—and a certain fur-swathed hunk we refuse to believe is really dead. $15. teamart.ca.

United Colours of Kensington Market

Each of Shengyu Cai’s old-timey scenes—a horse and buggy outside the fire hall on College, a fruit stand on Baldwin—is paired with a cute poem by Bruce Beaton about the market’s bohemian history. $20. keep6.ca.