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Adult coloring books are a huge thing right now. Coloring is supposed to help reduce stress, encourage creativity, and provide a whole slew of other benefits like improved coordination and art education.
I love art, and the idea of coloring sounds so relaxing and wonderful to me, so I just had to try it for myself. But there are so many options! I was impossible to decide on just one. I didn’t want to spend a lot so I opted this time for trying three on the low end of the price range, each representing a distinct and different style.
Amazing Birds, $8 This was actually sent to me for free for review purposes. One of the fun features of this one is each page features a trivia fact about the featured bird. There’s a mix of interesting ones I didn’t know before, like “Adult condors show their emotion through skin color changes,” and some strangely juvenile ones like “Ducks have webbed feet, acting like pedals under the water.”
The images themselves are fun and extremely detailed, with a lot of geometric patterns and repeating textures. The paper is a fairly heavy bright white, and only printed on one side, so colors don’t bleed through. The pages, however, are not perforated for tearing out, which means either coloring in the book or dealing with uneven tears.
Art Nouveau Animal Designs, $4 This one offers pictures in a slightly more classic style, with a simpler presentation. These images are just that — just pictures, with no labels or trivia.
Also on crisp white paper, and printed on only one side, but this one does have perforations for tearing out individual pages. Yay!
Joyful Designs, $6 This one is fun because it’s square, which makes the images seem more artistic and less “colorbook-y.” These images are completely pattern-based, and all about the very tiny details.
This paper is the heaviest of the three books, and the ink the darkest and thickest, which gives it a different feeling. A little more luxe! Also printed on only one side, and the pages are perforated. This one is my favorite.
Summary: I didn’t share any pictures here of my coloring work (it’s not that exciting, you aren’t missing much) but it is fun! And relaxing. A nice way to pass the time when you need something a little mindless and (bonus) completely unplugged. If the adult coloring book idea looks appealing to you at all, I highly recommend it!
Notes:
- Definitely shop around for book(s) that have images you love, as there are new designs being released every day.
- You can spend a lot or a little, as prices vary wildly.
- Features: Perforated pages are a must have (getting pages to lie flat while still in the binding is difficult), as is one-sided printing.
- I’ve found colored pencils to work best for me, but crayons, paint, pastels, pens, and markers are all good options as long as the paper you’re using can handle it without bleeding through.
- Most importantly: Have fun! Don’t take it too seriously — it’s just coloring. :)
Links:
Art Nouveau Animal Designs, $4 Walmart.com
Joyful Designs, $6 Walmart.com
Search “Adult Coloring Books” Amazon