This is my beginner's guide - things I wish I knew/thought of before I started coloring!
I've always had a love for art and admired sketches and inky, whimsical drawings. One day I finally caved and admired the shelves of adult coloring books at a local store. I was hooked! I bought three. Then, I realized I had to buy something to color with! Yikes...what to buy? Well, being a mom, I don't have a ton of funds to spend on art supplies just yet. I'm still making plenty of "mistakes" and I haven't perfected my technique. I really didn't want to spend a lot of money for nice pencils or markers until I was comfortable with my skill level.
Below I have outlined some tips and tricks for beginners.
What Coloring Book Should I Buy?
First things first, I advise you to go into a large bookstore where you can actually look through each coloring book and see what is on each page. It's often difficult to find online previews of books.
Invest in a book that is your style, that you will enjoy coloring. Some people enjoy mandalas. Some people enjoy whimsical. Some people enjoy intricate detail. Keep looking until you find a coloring book you love.
Where to Buy Adult Coloring Books
Adult coloring books are easy to find. I live in the United States and they are available at all book stores, Target and Walmart. I have tried used book stores but I haven't had much luck. (I thought they might just have copies that people received but never colored in...you never know!)
Book stores usually have cheaper prices on their website than if you shop in-store. Target has good prices on books too. Their prices in-store vary, but sometimes they have 20% off cover price. Target has some "no name" coloring books in their Dollar Spot. Walmart consistently has the cheapest price on books that I've found. You can also use Amazon to search for "used" books from sellers around the country.
When you order online, you do risk buying a book that isn't printed with great quality. It's safer to buy your books in-store as far as quality goes.
What to Color With
There's nothing wrong with starting off with a pack of Crayolas! I did and was very pleased.
I like colored pencils because you blend them and shade. I found a true gem in Crayola's 30-pack of Twistable colored pencils. They're a must-try! Great for lazy people like ME! No sharpening needed. I wish they came in a bigger variety of colors, but 30 shades is still a good number of pencils to work with. You have plenty of options for shading and blending colors.
You might prefer markers. Please test your coloring books for bleed-throughs. You don't want to ruin one side of artwork if your book has two-sided pages. Papermate Flair pens have a lot of different color choices, are widely available, and don't bleed through usually. These don't have very fine tips for intricate designs though.
Stabilo 88 fineliners are a dream to color with. They can get into tiny little spots you often find in adult coloring books. Test your paper for bleed throughs. It's best to use a light hand and not let the ink pool. These aren't great for large areas, but for smaller designs these work great.
I tried Crayola contemporary color fine-line markers and some other markers from Five Below. I didn't like how they went on the paper. They bled-through heavily. The color saturated my picture and made the paper fuzzy. Definite color failure on my end.
Copic markers are the best. I haven't had the pleasure of being able to color with those yet...maybe one day!
Experiment with different pens and markers until you find some you like! Just don't use crayons. Adult coloring books have too small of designs to successfully use crayons.
Before You Start Coloring...
Get a test piece of paper to check your colors first! Color a swatch or test how two colors will blend together.
Watch a few YouTube videos or visit one of my Pinterest boards for useful techniques.
Pinterest Board - Quick References and Tips for Coloring
Pinterest Board - How-to Videos and Tutorials (In-Depth)
Where to Buy Adult Coloring Books
Adult coloring books are easy to find. I live in the United States and they are available at all book stores, Target and Walmart. I have tried used book stores but I haven't had much luck. (I thought they might just have copies that people received but never colored in...you never know!)
Book stores usually have cheaper prices on their website than if you shop in-store. Target has good prices on books too. Their prices in-store vary, but sometimes they have 20% off cover price. Target has some "no name" coloring books in their Dollar Spot. Walmart consistently has the cheapest price on books that I've found. You can also use Amazon to search for "used" books from sellers around the country.
When you order online, you do risk buying a book that isn't printed with great quality. It's safer to buy your books in-store as far as quality goes.
What to Color With
There's nothing wrong with starting off with a pack of Crayolas! I did and was very pleased.
 |
| Crayola Twistables Colored Pencils |
You might prefer markers. Please test your coloring books for bleed-throughs. You don't want to ruin one side of artwork if your book has two-sided pages. Papermate Flair pens have a lot of different color choices, are widely available, and don't bleed through usually. These don't have very fine tips for intricate designs though.
 |
| Stabilo fineliners |
I tried Crayola contemporary color fine-line markers and some other markers from Five Below. I didn't like how they went on the paper. They bled-through heavily. The color saturated my picture and made the paper fuzzy. Definite color failure on my end.
Copic markers are the best. I haven't had the pleasure of being able to color with those yet...maybe one day!
Experiment with different pens and markers until you find some you like! Just don't use crayons. Adult coloring books have too small of designs to successfully use crayons.
Before You Start Coloring...
Get a test piece of paper to check your colors first! Color a swatch or test how two colors will blend together.
Watch a few YouTube videos or visit one of my Pinterest boards for useful techniques.
Pinterest Board - Quick References and Tips for Coloring
Pinterest Board - How-to Videos and Tutorials (In-Depth)
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