Have you noticed the number of women working on adult coloring books? They say they find it soothing and describe it as a tension reducer.
It’s a growing trend and marketers are turning out many books with pleasingly intricate designs. (The coloring is done with either colored pencils or fine point magic markers.) The designs are often very complex and one does have to make a lot of artistic decisions about the use of color. The designs range from floral fantasies, to animals, celebrities, cartoon adventures. Some designs are meant to help stimulate meditation.
It may have all begun with bottle labels created by English designer, Johanna Basford. She discovered that many people were enjoying coloring in her black and white labels for wine and perfume. Her first coloring book “Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book” published in 2013 has sold about two million copies worldwide.
I’m not sure how it would feel to those of us who couldn’t color inside the lines in grade school. Evidently it’s not a problem since there are 101 pages of adult coloring books to choose from on Amazon.
Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book – by, Johanna Basford
The Cat Lover’s Coloring Book (Dover Nature Coloring Book) – by, Ruth Soffer
Stress Relieving Patterns Volume 2 – by, Adult Coloring Book Artists
Detailed Designs and Beautiful Patterns – by, Lilt Kids Coloring Books
Dover Creative Haven Art Nouveau Animal Designs Coloring Book – by, Marty Noble
The Mandala Coloring Book – by, Jim Gogarty
Color Me Happy: 100 Coloring Templates That Will Make You Smile – by, Lacy Mucklow
The Mindfulness Coloring Book: Anti-Stress Art Therapy for Busy People – by, Emma Farrarons
Animal Kingdom: Color Me, Draw Me – by, Millie Moratta
Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest and Coloring Book – by, Johanna Basford
Splendid Cities: Color Your Way Calm – by, Rosie Goodwin
9 Comments
Omar
Yes, these are creative and beautiful, but it is still obvious that this is purely a marketing gimmick to sell more art supplies (gel pens, colored markers, etc.). Or is it just me, thinking this?
Alice2000
At first I thought this was a dumb idea, but these books have such beautiful and clever designs, I’ll try it.
Christina Masterman
I bought two zen colouring books as a present for my mother. She absolutely adores them. Highly recommended for creative outlet at any age:).
Dianne Morris
Hi Laura,
Good thought! The gel pens give nice intense color. If you’re buying a coloring book on Amazon, they have a lot of sets of gel pens. Do read the comments to see how fine the tip is (for all those wonderful little details!) and how long they seem to last.
Laura
I am in love with these books! Can’t wait to get one. I need to know what pencils they suggest to color with? I’ma thinkin’ just any old coloring pencils from Michaels might not cut it….?
Dianne Morris – you find the COOLEST STUFF. I am so down with this.
Dianne Morris
Hi Laura,
Good thought! The gel pens give nice intense color. If you’re buying a coloring book on Amazon, they have a lot of gel pen sets. Do read the comments to see how fine the tip is (for all those wonderful little details) and how long the ink will last.
Candace Allan
My daughter, a brilliant artist with a degree from Emily Carr, began work on what we jokingly referred to as an ‘adult colouring book’ depicting the details of the growth from fetus to sleeping baby. She’s about to search for a publisher – any suggestions you could share? So grateful.
Dianne Morris
I can’t recommend a publisher but coloring books seem to be a great candidate as an ebook. Someone can print it at home. Amazon is the big player of course. Check out these ideas as a do it yourself for ebooks. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=how+to+publish+an+ebook
Debbie Risinger
I love to color! These books look fantastic!