A Coloring Guide for Adults & Complete Beginners
Coloring for adults is not only fun but also relaxing and can help you take your mind off the hustle-bustle of life.
If coloring as an adult is something that you have been thinking about, this guide will tell you everything that you need to know to get started.
Supplies you need and where to get them!
There are only two things that you need when coloring as an adult.Adult coloring books or coloring page print-offs. Coloring supplies like pencils or markers.
You can purchase adult coloring books online or at stores you likely frequent regularly. There are also many places online where you can download coloring for adults' pages and print them off yourself.
This will give you more options and could also be a lot cheaper than buying coloring books somewhere like Amazon and getting them shipped to you. In terms of art supplies, there are many places where you can buy what you need, and some places to consider include Amazon, Michaels, Aaron Brothers, The Dollar Store, and more.
The benefits of coloring books for adults
One of the big benefits of using coloring books is that it allows you to be creative in your color layouts and It will give you a more pleasant experience too.
Coloring with colored pencils
Coloring pencils are the most common choice when it comes to adults coloring. They are great whether you are a beginner or a pro because there are advanced techniques you can learn with coloring pencils such as layering.
There are lots of different coloring pencils out there but don't go for a pack that is super cheap because they will not deliver the way that you want them to. Some things that you should be thinking about include the following.
Are the colors vibrant?
When it comes to coloring pencils that come out well, you can't go wrong with the brand Prismacolor.
Are there lots of colors to choose from?
You are allowed to be much more creative as there is a lot of variety in terms of colors and shades.
Is there an option for shading and blending?
Good quality coloring pencils will allow you to shade and blend effectively. Although you won't know this until you try them out!
Are they strong?
You don't want to be coloring with pencils that are not strong and could potentially snap.
Coloring with markers
A lot of adults choose to color with markers and although the result can be nice, there are pros and cons to doing this. Markers bleed through the paper easily and this can lead to quite a messy coloring book.
On the plus side, the colors are vibrant and high-quality markers will allow you to blend as you want. To make sure that you get high-quality coloring markers, you need to be thinking about the following.
Are they vibrant enough?
Choosing a brand that pops is important if you are choosing to color with markers in the first place.
Do they dry quickly?
It is important to choose markers that dry quickly so that you do not make a mess while coloring.
Is there a large color selection?
It is important to have a lot of markers with different colors in a set so that you do not get bored while also having the possibility to enhance creativity.
Are they double-ended?
Double-ended markers are advised when coloring because these will usually come with a thinner and thicker tip, which allows you to be more precise.
Coloring with crayons
Some adults like to color with crayons but there are lots of drawbacks to it. They are not as bright, crayons have a blunter tip, they break easily, and you can't blend crayons with ease.
If you are going to color with crayons make sure that you choose a good brand like Crayola.
Tips for coloring
Now that you know more about coloring for adults and some general things that you should be thinking about when coloring with different materials, the following coloring tips might help you become better at this new hobby of yours.
Practice makes perfect.It sounds simple and like something you might tell a child but it is completely true. The more that you color, the better you will become at it, the more you will stay in the lines, the more skilled you will become at shading, and so on.
If you have not colored for a long time, which you probably haven't, it might feel like a struggle at first but soon you will feel right at home. Coloring should be a tool to relax, so don’t be too stressed about it.
It doesn't have to be perfect–it's just about being free and letting your creative juices flow. Color from the top corner and work your way down rather than starting from the middle of a picture.
This helps to prevent smearing the colors as you go and it also gives you more direction regarding the finished result. There are many different coloring techniques out there that you might want to learn but at first, just start with the basics.
Coloring and layering are the two most important things to master at first and some other techniques that you might want to start thinking of further down the line include hatching, cross-hatching, stumbling, and more.
There are so many benefits when it comes to coloring for adults and once you have figured out the right supplies for you, it's time to get started.
While you can try and be perfect, the great thing about coloring is that there are no rules, so why not just go wild and see what kind of result you get? That’s how a lot of great artists have started.
