Did you know that the adult coloring book market has seen significant growth over the past decade, and is valued at a whopping $1.5 billion as of 2023? This is easy to understand considering adult coloring offers both creatives and non-creatives a chance to play with color, relax, and explore compositions without having to create a composition from the ground up.
Considering what a huge market this design type has (and how fun they are to make), it’s a no-brainer that creating these as single pages or whole books can help get your artwork in the hands of buyers and publishers. By creating intricate and engaging designs, you can cater to this growing demand and help people from all walks of life find a sense of calm and creativity in their busy lives.
Want to make one with me? You can turn these pages into free downloads to grow your email list, sets of downloads on a site like Etsy, or even take on the task of designing a whole adult coloring book. Let’s jump in and create one together in this easy tutorial.
Watch the Tutorial
If you’re a see it on “paper” person, keep reading below. Otherwise, check out this quick video tutorial in my new iPad Art Break Series on Youtube:
The Steps
1. Start by finding a reference image for an interesting object. I’m using a rollerskate as my subject so feel free to follow along with me, use a different interesting object, or just go with a botanical theme! Bonus points for making this super specific for something like a local effect, location, or family tradition.
Create a rough sketch of the object to map out the layout of your composition.
2. Create a refined sketch, focusing on the idea that you want to leave interesting spaces for your colorers to use. Think about how they will feel as they color. For example, how would seeing a tiny sliver that is almost too small to color make them feel? Frustrated. How would a massive open area make them feel? Bored. Try to find a happy medium that allows them to enjoy coloring every single space.
3. Include additional objects or botanicals to fill the page so that your user gets to enjoy filling the entire page with color.
4. As you refine your sketch on a new layer, think about how your elements overlap. Could you create some interesting overlapping for your users to enjoy so that it isn’t all just one big flat drawing?
5. Inking time! It’s really important to choose a thickness that is easy to see, but not too thick, so test a few sizes before inking your whole composition. Be sure to avoid not fully closing off an area, such as the example shown here.
6. Finish inking the whole composition then test it yourself to be sure all the spaces color well and don’t need to be edited. Share your composition online and be sure to tag me @lizkohlerbrown so I can see it!
make it professional!
If you want to use your finished adult coloring pages for commercial use, it’s time to start thinking about how people are going to find your art! The first step to that is using imagery that is searchable and trending. Come learn how with me:
How do you get your adult coloring designs found?
- Learn to create artwork that has built-in SEO (aka search engine optimization) so that people can find your work
- Learn how to identify trends so you can make art that sells.
