Adult Coloring Books

Don't expect to find the large black and white rounded graphics from your childhood books. Instead, you will discover beautiful intricate patterns (mandalas) and detailed black and white illustrations. Some coloring books are following the popularity of the "treasure hunt" series by hiding other illustrations for you to discover while coloring.

There are many series to choose from so it's not uncommon for people to have more than one coloring book going at a time. Note some adult coloring books are truly off-color adult-themed, with themes including politics, swear words, drinking, and recreational drugs. Popular white elephant gifts for the holidays!

There are a few activities left from my childhood that I still revisit; coloring in my favorite coloring books is one of them. I loved this simple and relaxing time when I could choose my favorite Crayola crayons and make an artistic masterpiece.

It was one of my everyday creative activities and it has been for kids around the world for more than 100 years.

Today it seems that millions of adults around the world have rediscovered their love of creating colorful pages. Adult coloring books have become one of the best sellers on Amazon. I started hearing about this "trend" from a friend who had been gifted "The Secret Garden" by Johanna Basford. As of this writing, more than 2500 people have reviewed this one book on Amazon. The popularity of this unique and beautiful coloring book and the subsequent selling of more than two million copies worldwide is said to have started this coloring trend.

What are adult coloring books?

Don't expect to find the large black and white rounded graphics from your childhood books. Instead, you will discover beautiful intricate patterns (mandalas) and detailed black and white illustrations. Some coloring books are following the popularity of the "treasure hunt" series by hiding other illustrations for you to discover while coloring. There are many series to choose from so it's not uncommon for people to have more than one coloring book going at a time. While some adult coloring books are truly adult-themed

Why are adults coloring?

• An outlet for creative, artistic expression
• Stress relief or a self-care habit
• For relaxation and centering
• Revisiting the joy of color
• Thought to improve fine motor skills and vision
• It's a relatively low-cost hobby
• Helps with focus and concentration
• Less screen time
• A new social activity
• Adding color to daily journals
• It's fun!

This relaxing hobby is relatively low cost and is easy to begin.

• Consider your artistic tools: choose your medium. You can choose good old schoolhouse crayons, Faber-Castell Polychromos, Sakura Gelly Roll gel markers (my favorite), Crayola twistable colored pencils, fine tip pens, or low end to high end colored pencils. Some color artists use a mix of pencils and high-end coloring pens to get the best shading.
• Choose a coloring book. Depending on the publisher coloring books range from $4.00-$10.00. Designs vary from henna-inspired designs, mandalas, nature, animals, flowers, travel i.e. Paris, New York, Toyko, London, fantastic cities, and more! The amount and style of books have increased now that more and more adults are expressing an interest in coloring away stress.
• Start coloring. Many adults have a nightly or weekly coloring ritual to slow down from a hectic day or week, to remember to be in the moment, to step away from the technological world, or to center themselves.