This is a guest blog from coloring book artist Cindy Howard of Dan-Cin Studio
Follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Dancinartstudio/
What do you need to start coloring?
- Something to color with
- Something to color
Finding something to color is easy – there are many adult coloring book groups on facebook that have lots of free pages for you to print out and color– but knowing what to color with is a little bit harder. Should you use colored pencils, markers, gel pens, pastels? Finding the right tool can certainly seem like a chore.
To help you decide where to get started, here are some of the most popular tools:
- Colored Pencils: Colored pencils are the best place for beginners to start. They have many brands that are quite affordable such as Crayola, Marco Raffine, Cra-z-art just to name a few.
- Markers or Pens: If you’re more experienced with coloring and you want to experiment with new techniques, try using markers and pens. Look for non-alcohol based inks – alcohol-based inks do bleed thru.Pencil Sharpener: Any sharpener will do!
- Good Quality Paper: If you will be printing your own coloring pages at home, make sure to print them on a high-quality paper for the best results. Regular printer paper will work but it is very thin.
Coloring Tips
Coloring is like riding a horse. You can still get going even if years have passed since you last broke out your colored pencils, but your balance might be a little bit off. Here are some tips to get you started:
- If you don’t know what colors to choose, start with the rainbow! Everyone likes rainbows and what better colors to use when starting out?
- Don’t press too hard on your pencils. You don’t need to use a lot of pressure when coloring with pencils, you will get better results layering your colors anyway. Instead of applying the maximum color in a single pass, apply multiple layers. You can always intensify the colors by adding more layers, but you can’t take them away.
- Test inks on scrap paper before you color with them. Check for bleeding, see how heavily the color applies, how fine the pen tip is, and how wet the ink is.
- Take care of your tools! Keep your pencils sharp for detailed areas, and keep your markers and pens capped so they last longer.
- Try using watercolor pencils. You can use them like regular pencils, but you can also use water to create other effects, just like watercolor paint.
- Use white pencils or colorless blending sticks to blend colors. They’ll fill in the blanks on your paper without causing your color to lose any intensity.
Coloring is a great hobby for people of all ages. All you need are a few simple tools to exercise your creativity, relieve stress, and produce beautiful artwork – so what’s stopping you?
HAPPY COLORING!
Cindy has shared these free coloring pages for you to get started with.
To download right click on image and save to your computer
