Let’s talk about anything bookish!
Happy Monday, my friends! I enjoyed sharing the list of my favorite adult coloring books so I decided to create a post about STARTING your coloring book adventure!
A few of the commenters had said that they didn’t WANT to start coloring because they didn;t want to spend too much on something that they might not like. NOT TO WORRY! You don’t need to spend a lot to start your coloring adventure!
Picking the Right Coloring Book
Frist things first, you need to pick a coloring book that you love to color. There are a TON of adult coloring books out right now, so the possibilities are endless! To be honest, it took me a while to pick up a coloring book that I wanted.
One way to decide what you want is to go to a bookstore and browse! Believe me, I flipped through quite a few coloring books before I decided what I wanted!
I finally went with Mandalas. Now, there are a TON of Mandala coloring books out there so it did take time for me to pick one! Yes, I’m serious about this. I DID NOT want to buy a lot of coloring books just to find what I wanted.
Picking Your Equipment
Now that you have picked your coloring book, now is the time to pick your coloring materials! HOWEVER, now is NOT the time to buy the flashiest most expensive coloring material there is. If you are still getting your toes wet, you don’t need to spend a LOT.
Let me tell you a secret, my equipment of choice was Crayola Twistables! The 12 color Twistables that I bought for $4.99 BOGO free! In fact, I still use them today! I think it took a few months before I bought the 30 colored Twistables that I bought on Amazon (affiliate link) for $13.99.
When to Upgrade Your Tools
Now, the real question is, when to upgrade tools! Don’t get excited! It took me about a year to start exploring. I had to make sure that I was in for the long haul.
Once I was sure that this was something that I wanted, I tried out different coloring books. I still liked to color mandalas, doodles, and flowers. I was also gifted one coloring book so that really helped me pick out the coloring book style that I wanted.
I multi-task while coloring! It is actually pretty calming for me. I know it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it works! Mind you, I actually had to train myself into doing this so I don’t get distracted while picking the colors I use.
Do you love coloring? What are your preferred tools? Do you color and do something else at the same time?
I got a coloring book from my Secret Sister, and I did it for a little while, but I found that I’d generally rather be reading. BUT I think you make a great suggestion of coloring while listening to audiobooks!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…Am I the Only One Without an OTP? Let’s Discuss!
That is the only way I do it! Or I color while watching TV… WEIRD but for some reason it works! 🙂
these are some great tips here. I think the most important thing is finding a coloring book that fits you. I started with Johanna Basford’s books and I LOVE them. And I watched quite a few youtube video how to’s on starting and the right tools. I actually bought prismacolor pencils for my coloring, but I am glad I did since my regular colored pencils kept breaking and cracking. I do love how relaxing it can be and I need to get back to doing it more often.
Lover Of Romance recently posted…Book Review-King’s Captive by Amber Bardan
I guess it depends on what you like. I had a friend buy the expensive Prismacolor pencils and she wanted to find out what I used because mine were vibrant… I used Crayola Twistables crayons which was waaaaaay, waaaaay cheaper than Prismacolor!
I love Geometric coloring books 🙂 I had one as a kid that I LOVED and I haven’t been able to find one quite as good since. I don’t like the overly detailed designs because I get too frustrated picking out colors. But things like interlocking circles and squares with enough space to feel like I’m actually ADDING a decent amount of color before I SWITCH colors, and I’m sold!
Michelle @ FaerieFits recently posted…Magical Assassins: What’s the Deal There? [Elements of Fantasy]
I tried the geometric/mandala type first but then gradually moved on to others that were out of my comfort zone. Still, it’s fun to experiment and fun to color!
Awesome post! 🙂
This just reminded me of the two colouring books I bought a while ago and haven’t started yet! I got a Harry Potter one and an Animal Kingdom one. I just couldn’t find the best colouring tools, because pens bled through the paper, but pencil crayons didn’t seem bright enough. I’ll maybe have to give those Crayola Twistables a go! 🙂
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Thanks, Laura! I will be creating a post about the coloring materials to use. You are right about the pens, though… I still use it though.. hahaha