Hi :D

I've been scanning the forums but haven't found a thread about the adult colouring trend (I've probably missed it though because I may as well be blind haha)

So I was wondering if anyone here is into colouring :D If so, what are your favourite books? Favourite colouring tool? etc :D

I don't have any of those "adult coloring books" or anything. I just use little kid coloring books. They're cheaper and more fun. The adult ones do not look relaxing at all to me. They're way too complicated and I feel like they would just cause me more stress. lol I use crayons like a kid too, or sometimes colored pencils depending on the texture of the paper. My favorite book that I have right now is this really adorable Winnie the Pooh one, but I also have this dinosaur one that I've had since I was a kid that's super rad too.

i have five different ones i prefer random shapes and swirls rather than filling in actual objects. the mandalas, abstracts and "groovy" mandalas which are more hippy designs are my favorite. water color pencils work but watch your markers they bleed through the paper. if you get the books with the one sided pages the markers are great. just keep a catch sheet behind it so it wont bleed onto the page on the opposite side

I haven't considered buying any children's ones but I do like the simplicity of the pictures in them more. I'm going to keep an eye out for some when I go shopping next because some of the adult pictures just take far too long to colour! I love winne the pooh! I would love one like that :D! I can't use crayons at all :( I just make a muck of the entire thing. I usually use coloured pencils, gel pens, sharpies, or fine liners :D!

Theres loads of books for mandalas now :D! They seem to be super popular! Have you seen the Zentangles books? I think you would enjoy them Shepherd :D! I would love to learn how to use water colours! I got a laminated piece of card 'free' with a magazine and I use that all the time :)!

Have any of you tried any christmas books yet? I have a christmas special magazine but the pictures arent exactly what I would relate to christmas lol

Yeah I just pick up kids' coloring books at the dollar store whenever I need more. They usually have a pretty good selection, and you can't beat that price! haha I enjoy the simplicity too because when I get the urge to color, I like to be able to finish the entire picture in one sitting, but the adult ones seem like they'd take hours! I'm a total perfectionist too, so it would take me so long to do them.

Crayons are kind of hard to use, so I totally understand! They don't blend very well, so it's hard to get the colors you want from them.

I haven't gotten any Christmas books yet, but I'll have to keep an eye out for some! I like holiday themes coloring books a lot, especially Easter ones because I get to use all kinds of fun pastel colors.

My sister has a few of the adult coloring books. I'd like one, but I don't sit and color all that often as it is, and I doubt I would use them more. I do have somewhere about a dozen kids' coloring books; I prefer the ones with thicker lines and I like crayons so it makes it easier to stay in the lines lol

The paper in adult coloring books is different though so I would use colored pencils (also stays inside the lines nicer), I just don't like colored pencils in kids' coloring books.

That's such a good idea! Our pound stores apparently have colouring books in them but I haven't been able to find any yet :(! Exactly! I completely agree with the one sitting thing, some colourings in an animal kingdom book I have take me 2-3 days because I simply don't have 4+ free hours a day to do it as much as it saddens me haha! It's heart breaking when you make a mistake in the adult one's also, my partner accidentally nudged mine early which of course meant a red line where it shouldn't be and I think my face alone put the fear of God into him hahaha! You still must be very good at colouring to use them! I keep getting white bits everywhere where the crayon refuses to colour haha! I think an easter one would be lovely! The halloween one's were boring with just pumpkins but an easter one could have little bunnies and baby animals :3!! Would you ever consider making your own colouring book?

you should consider getting cheap one from the dollar store as arkham suggested and see if you like them :)! I would love it if the adult one's had thicker lines haha! I am so jealous of you both being able to colour with crayons! I simply cannot do it haha! I think the paper quality is a reason they seem to be so expensive sometimes, the paper seems super thick but a woman called Johanna Basford took a look of criticism last month when she released her third colouring book lost ocean with thinner paper :o!

haven't seen those yet. i would like those. water color pencils aren't that bad just keep a damp swa sponge the wet the tips of them with by rubbing the tip on it. dipping them in water makes a big drippy soggy mess :) . my step dad used to lick his but uh yeah not a good idea. could be hazardous nnwhen i call them adult coloring books people that don't know about them give me a weird look and quirk a brow. to which i reply "you pervert"

uses kids' coloring books too, from what I read~ c: I've seen the books my sister colors in and sometimes a picture takes her 3 days to finish, and that's pretty much constantly coloring in her down time because she wants to keep at it until she finishes. I feel like I would have a ton of half-finished ones because I would get bored or distracted and start on something else haha

I do have a birthday, and a Christmas gift exchange for work coming up though, so that's always something I could ask for, for one of those c:

Haha see I originally thought I would need a cup of water to dip them in so thank Heavens you told me that haha!! I think I'll put a set on my christmas list and hopefully Ill be able to learn :D! Eww haha! Brave man haha! I read recently that Marco Raffine pencils from china are toxic if you even bite the ends of them :O! People have been getting them from there because they are wayyy cheaper! LMAO!!!! What are people like haha!!! On that note though, there is a colouring book called 'Slinky Tarts' and there was a big kick up on a fb colouring page the other week as someone posted a colouring of a very detailed sex scene... and I mean... very... detailed ;---;!

EDIT because I can't post twice in a row haha:

oh yes! sorry my mind is away with the fairies atm haha! Im supposed to be studying PCR for an exam next week but I'm just like blah no haha! Maybe the dollar stores will start to get some adult ones in as well! Haha! I think it's hard to go back to them when you are simply so busy and in your down time you just want to completely chill!

Aww thats such a great thing :D!! my work never had even a hint of a secret santa :(! Maybe even the person who buys you the gift might get one for themselves :D! It's very addictive hehe

Yeah, I imagine it is xD I generally prefer to just sit and finish a picture when I do color, so I imagine I would be going back to finish them at some point. It does make a good suggestion for Christmas gifts though since I never know what to ask for and I know the person who has my name this year will be on my case about it if I don't get her a list xD

I only have a few coworkers, and some of our close regular customers have been invited to join us so it's a pretty small get-together, it's not so much secret since we all find out who has our names when they ask us for a list haha. But it'll be nice to come up with something different for a change, my lists usually consist of fuzzy socks, hot chocolate, etc. and while I could always use more of those, I always get shit because it's a boring and also pretty small list haha (wow I got off topic there, SORRY SORRY)

I hate having works in progress, it always makes me feel like I have unfinished business that I need to attend to, I know it's only colouring but for some reason I feel like I NEED to finish it haha! my obsessive personality is ridiculous haha! Haha I hate when people are difficult to buy for at christmas but you sound wonderfully easy if you actually want nice socks haha! I tried suggesting a colouring book for my mum this year and the look I got told me to shut my mouth haha! Awk thats so great to include customers though! It will build the reputation of the business immensely! Why don't you guys maybe print a colouring picture of a christmas bauble or something and hand it out to customers as a small compition for maybe a christmas box of chocolates :D! Apparently colouring is now better for relaxation than meditating so maybe they will enjoy it. Also mediating makes me laugh for some strange reason haha! I tried it but just sat and giggled like a prick for an hour haha!!

Oh yeah, I can't even imagine making a mistake in an adult coloring book. If I made a mistake, I'd probably just stop coloring the entire picture and move on to a new one because it would be ruined in my mind. haha

I know what you mean about the white spots with crayons. Those are super annoying! I usually just color over the entire area really lightly with crayons, then go over it in multiple layers until it's the shade I want, and that helps cut down on the white spots.

I've never really thought about making a coloring book, but I definitely could! I have no idea what the subject would be though. Probably just cute animals or something like that. haha

Haha I am the same as you lol! It takes me forever to go back to it because the entire book is basically destroyed in my eyes haha! :O! layering is a good idea! I never thought it would work with crayons :O! I'll get a childrens colouring book next time I'm out and I'll try using the crayons the way you suggested :D! I have two packets of crayons so it is a shame to see them sitting gathering dust haha! Cute animals would be super cool! Do favourite animals or an animal alphabet haha! or a subeta colouring book :p! I wouldn't be prepared to put the effort into making my own colouring book as I'd be scared that it would cost me money instead of making me money yano? I love your avatar btw!

Reading the replies it's so interesting to see how everyone has their own preferences xD

I love coloring but I haven't tried it in a while! I know the last time I went to the art store they had this beautiful coloring book designed by an artist, but it was so expensive! /sigh xD

I did a coloring book of local animals for the hotel where I work to give out to kids here's one of the pages I have a pack of "Hello Kitty" mechanical crayons that I love to color with, whether it's my own art or a store-bought book. I prefer to color simple large images, that I can shade or detail to my own preferences. The really complex ones take too long to do nicely, and I tend to get bored with them half-way through.

You should totally get back into it :) They are very expensive though I have to agree. Amazon do things like harry potter and game of thrones colouring books for £5 each which is pretty cheap in GBP but I have no idea what that would translate to in dollars :(

Wow thats a lovely drawing :D!! I bet the full colouring book looked awesome! You should put it on etsy for people to buy :)! Hello kitty is also awesome! I would love to see one of your colouring :D! I tend to do the more detailed ones as I like the way the shading etc is basically there for you :)! Shading is not my strong point haha!

I probably will during the holidays :) and 5GBP translates to 7.55USD :o not bad for a GoT coloring book! I'll have to check those out :)

Yay! That's even less than I thought it would be in the US so hopefully you'll be able to get your hands on it :3

Yeah, Hello Kitty's a guilty pleasure, and the hard plastic tubes of the mechanical crayons make them really fun and easy to use. here is one of my crayon colorings.