Starting a new hobby can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t know where to start. It can be even harder for adult colorers due to the number of supplies out on the market today. With the abundance of colored pencils, crayons, and all different types of coloring books, what is best for a beginner?
As a beginner adult colorer, you may want to start with coloring books that have a bunch of random images in them. Images that are fairly easy, or moderate. You want to get a sense of what you like to color designs such as floral, abstract, animals, etc. There are many options in coloring books for beginners, as well as supplies.
Because of the amount of beginner coloring books, it can be overwhelming to those who are looking where to start or for the person buying them as a gift. In this article, we will guide you through purchasing beginner coloring books.
Why Coloring?
There has been an uptick in individuals who have taken up coloring. But, Why? Why start a hobby that once was a childhood pastime? Well, there are many benefits to taking up the hobby. So, if you are just starting, here is what coloring can do for you.
Stress and Anxiety
Lots of people who have taken up coloring books feel it relaxes them. Coloring is a way of relaxing the center of the brain. It can resemble the feeling of meditating, by limiting and reducing the number of thoughts racing through your brain. It creates a mindful quietness that many enjoy, especially when they have hectic lives.
Improve Motor Skills and Vision
When coloring, you are working with two parts of the brain that communicate with each other. Coloring within the lines may take logic, but choosing colors helps with creative thinking.
Improves Sleep
To receive better sleep, staying away from electronics could help. So, picking up a coloring book and spending a few hours being creative, can help you sleep better. Because coloring does resemble meditation, it can calm your mind, and relieve stress.
Improve Focus
Coloring requires concentration and focus, but not enough that can cause stress. Because it opens the frontal lobe, it controls and improves organization and problem-solving skills. Which allows you to focus, and live in the moment.
Types of Beginner Coloring Books
As a beginner, most start with printable images. It is way cheaper than actually buying a coloring book that won’t get used because you don’t like the images inside. Impulse-buying coloring books doesn’t do any good. So, starting with printable coloring images is way better and won’t harm your wallet.
Once you get a feel of what you like to color, then look into the types of themed coloring books. There are so many different themed coloring books out there; floral, animals, mandalas, phrases, etc. Find what interests you to color.
When you start, you will naturally want to be and do your best, which could mean looking into high-quality colored pencils, or markers to create better pieces of work. Be sure to stay within your budget, or if you are interested in buying high-end supplies, be sure that coloring is the hobby you want to pursue.
Buying a physical coloring book will give you more pleasure and experience with coloring. Instead of losing or damaging printable pieces, you have all your artwork bound in a book that you can look at again and again.
Best Brands of Coloring Books for Beginners
This is a diverse industry that makes different types of coloring books for beginners and experienced colorists. If you are having trouble finding a coloring book for beginners, here are a few that you can purchase.
- Adult Coloring Book: Stress Relieving Animal Designs: For only six dollars on Amazon, this is a great book to start your coloring journey. If you are interested in coloring with markers, this is a great book to use. Because the pages are single-sided, which prevents bleeding.
- Calm the F*CK Down: An Irreverent Adult Coloring Book: For five dollars on Amazon, this is a fun way to get your coloring hobby started. This coloring book is not for kids, so please keep that in mind when purchasing, especially if you have kids at home who can read. But if you don’t become easily offended, and like the humor in things, this is the book for you.
- Good Vibes: Don’t Give Up: If you need a good pick me up at the end of the day, get this coloring book. For seven dollars on Amazon, this book on each of its pages has positive, uplifting phrases. It also features gorgeous calligraphy.
- Coloring Book for Adults: Relaxation: This is great for anyone who has a busy life. These bestselling coloring books, not only seven dollars on Amazon also, offer simple and complex designs. You can flip to simpler images after long days to decompress or work on the complex images on days when you have more time and need a day of relaxation.
- Sloth Coloring Books for Adults: Perfectly sized to frame, this coloring book is filled with cute creatures. Black-backed pages that prevent bleeding, are only seven dollars on Amazon.
- Great Days Start With Gratitude A 52-Week Guide to Cultivate And Attitude of Gratitude: This is a great coloring book to start a way to work coloring as a hobby into your schedule. With each page with positive phrases on it, it also gives you room to write down three things you are grateful for. For only seven dollars on Amazon, this is a great buy for beginners.
- Boss Babes: A Coloring and Activity Book for Grown-Ups: If you need a little more stimulation to stay busy, this is a great activity book to help you. This coloring book celebrates powerful women and contains plenty of pages for coloring and it is only ten dollars on Amazon.
- Cats Coloring Book: Realistic Adult Coloring Book: If you feel ready to show off more of your coloring skills, this coloring book is for you. Instead of distinct lines, the images are shaded for more of a challenge and realistic finish. Get this book for only eight dollars on Amazon.
- Hidden Garden: This is a gorgeous book that has a perfect balance; the designs can be complex, but have ways to show off impressive finished products. This book is only seven dollars on Amazon.
- The Ruth Baber Ginsberg Coloring Book: Filled with illustrations by cartoonist Tom F. O’Leary, this coloring book is great for anyone who loves America’s leading ladies. For seven dollars, you can find this book on Amazon.
- Married Life: A Snarky Adult Coloring Book: For eight dollars on Amazon, this book has witty, and humorous images and sayings for any couple in a relationship.
- Splendid Cities: Color Your Way to Calm: This book is on the expensive side, but well worth it. The details in the book are gorgeous and feature iconic sites around the world. For sixteen dollars, you can find this on Amazon.
The Best Coloring Pencils for Beginners: What to Avoid and What to Look for
As an adult, it is more challenging for adults to choose great, durable coloring pencils. Choosing the best coloring pencils can only improve your artwork, but of course, you want to be sure that you are choosing the right sets and brands for beginner colorers. The best type of pencils to purchase is basic for practicing; as you start to improve your skills, you can move into more high-quality colored pencils.
What to Avoid
Just because you are a beginner, doesn’t mean that there isn’t the right color pencil out there for you. There are inexpensively priced colored pencils that are high quality. Artist-grade pencils are expensive and one pencil can be as much as a pack of the cheaper sets out there. Be sure to avoid cheap colored pencils from unknown brands, they are usually poorly made, fall apart, and have pale leads that are impossible to work with.
What to Look For
The most important thing you want to look for in a colored pencil as a beginner is workability. A beginner wants something to practice with rather than something that has lightfastness, premium pigment quality, and is soft to use. You want to practice as a beginner, so you need something physically well-made and susceptible to basic coloring techniques.
You want to interact with the colored pencils you think that you want to buy. To be able to inspect it, look at the unsharpened end to determine if the core is well attached to the inside of the wooden casing. As a beginner, you want to find a pencil with a softer lead that is easy to blend, but usually softer means more expensive. But don’t worry, beginners should learn how to control their pressure before buying pencils with a hefty price tag. Be sure to look for a pencil with good give, but not too soft.
Beginners on a Budget
If you are on a budget and don’t want to splurge on colored pencils, here are a few options for you.
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- Crayola Cored Pencils
- Prang Thick Core Colored Pencils
Highly Recommended for Beginners Who are Willing to Spend a Little More Money
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- Koh-I-Noor Progresso Woodless Colored Pencils
- Faber Castell Albrecht Durer Colored Penicls
- Prismacolor Premier Soft Core Colored Pencils
- Derwent Intense Watercolor Pencils
Check out our article on budget-friendly colored pencils here!
Tutorials for Beginner Colorers
There is so much advice on the internet for beginners, but if you are someone much rather not read article after article on techniques, blending colors, and basic skills, then there may be another outlet for you. If you want to fall into coloring as a hobby, there are plenty of different tutorials on YouTube to watch. A lot of them go over techniques, basic coloring skills, and finding the right colors.
With the number of videos out there, you can have a Netflix Binge-worthy lesson on how to propel your coloring hobby to its next level. Here are a few of the best videos on YouTube.
- 7 Adult Coloring Tips for Every Beginner Colorist
- 12 Simple Colored Pencil Techniques
- How to Blend with Pencils
- 7 Colored Pencils Mistakes That Beginners Make
- How to Choose a Color Palette and Create a Cheat Sheet
- How to Blend and Shade with Markers
- How to Blend and Shade with Markers that Don’t Blend
- 10 Different Techniques for Coloring Backgrounds
- How to Color with Markers and Pencils Together
- How to Color with Gel Pens and Pencils Together
Conclusion
In the end, it all depends on what you like. If you find floral images more interesting, then go buy a few great floral coloring books. The best part about this type of hobby is that you get to be creative while relaxing, and reducing stress and anxiety. With the overwhelming amount of beginner coloring books out on the market, it is a good thing. Everyone has a type of image they like to work on. With the diversity in books, everyone has their own theme.
Coloring is a great way to express your creativity while creating art that can be framed, and shown off. These pieces can be given as gifts to friends or family or can decorate your home or work office. So, get your creative side flowing, and get into the hobby that is becoming one of the hottest hobbies out there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Coloring Books Make Money?
They are selling like crazy! The extremely popular and extremely profitable hobby is making headway. One million coloring books were sold in 2014 and twelve million were sold in 2015
How Many Pages Are in a Coloring Book?
Usually, a coloring book can have between sixteen to sixty pages with black and white interior line art.
Where is the Best Place to Buy Coloring Books for Adults?
Here are where the best coloring books are purchased:
- Michaels
- Hobby Lobby
- Barnes and Noble
- Walmart
- Amazon
- Gift Shops
- Small Bookstores
- Art Therapy Coloring Stores
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