Coloring for all Ages

April 21, 2015

Coloring can be enjoyed at any age. The comeback of the coloring book is here and the activity of coloring is serving many purposes.

 Coloring books are not just for kids. Recently many book publishers have starting releasing new books with coloring pages on all subject matter. Most popular are the mandalas which are square or circle based pages with intricate shapes, spirals and repeated patterns. These are popular for those looking for meditative and relaxing fun in coloring.

Other books focus on animals & birds, gardens, art styles, famous artist rendentions, and coutless more. Now as being a mid-level artist, I approached coloring books from a utilitarian aspect. That is, if I feel drained and not open to new creative work, coloring is a good way to just keep the eye and hand moving and connected to the art process.

With technology, we can print these from the internet and start coloring immediately or for the more digitally apt follow my instruction below.

Being a digital artist I have a special technique that can get you started immediately. Now it's best if you have some kind of tablet or touch screen device with a stylus. Coloring also can be completed on a smartphone. On a desktop computer you'll be limited to a mouse which is not too similar to our normal way of coloring, but it can be done.

Simply search the internet for "coloring book" or "mandala" and you'll find lots of outlined black-and-white templates for you to begin with. It's best to search for an image at least 1500 pixels wide or larger. You'll be able to print it afterwards.

  The next step is to get an image editor software app. Many are cheap and free. I use the iPad but many software programs are out there to fit your needs. The software will need to be able to offer LAYERS, and preferable a variety of coloring tools such as pencils, chalk, markers, etc. This will allow you to color your pictures with a real-world styled art tool.

Import your template image into the program, next add a empty layer above your image. This will be your painting layer. Image this as a translucent film over your coloring book. You'll be able to toggle on and off this layer independently from your template layer. Next choose your desired marking took. Typically they are called brushes but they may be called by the name of the device they emulate. Practice make marks on the page layer before attempting your coloring to familiarize your with the tool. You should be able to adjust the size and opacity of the coloring with some kind of slider on the app. After you find and adjust your tool, begin coloring and enjoy the fun. 

When you are done, you can save and export the file to your photos and share. If you're interested in printing them, be sure to export the file with the highest resolution settings.

Share with me your results if you try coloring again.

Check out this video of my recent coloring process.