Easy coloring books for adults
A child needs thick lines because they cannot do fine work yet. An adult often wants thick lines because they do not want to.
Adult coloring drifted toward the intricate. Dense mandalas, hairline detail, pages that take several evenings. For some people that is exactly the appeal. For a lot of others it is why the book stopped being relaxing.
If you are coloring to unwind after work, the useful measure is not how impressive the page looks. It is whether you can finish it tonight. An unfinished page waiting on the table is one more open task, and open tasks are the thing you were trying to escape.
Bold lines and open shapes give you the other version. Twenty minutes, a finished page, no eye strain, no magnifying glass, no fine-tip pens required. You can use whatever is in the drawer.
This also makes the book shareable. A page with open shapes can be colored by a grandparent and a grandchild sitting at the same table, each doing their own, which is not true of a mandala.
What to look for
- Bold outlines, open shapes
- A page you can finish in one sitting
- Single-sided printing for markers
- No fine detail that needs special pens
- Large page, comfortable to work on
The book we would pick
Fifty bold designs made to be finished in an evening.
Take a Break: Cute Animals. Easy Coloring Book for Adults and Kids
50 large print hand-drawn designs. No fine detail, no eye strain, one page finished in one sitting.
Prices are set by Amazon and may change.
Questions parents ask
Is this too simple for an adult?
It is simpler to color, not simpler to look at. The choice of color does the work, and that is where the calm comes from.
Can a child use the same book?
Yes, and many families do exactly that. Older children handle these pages comfortably.
Read next
- What to look for in a coloring bookFive things you can check before buying, none of which appear in the marketing copy.
- How to choose a coloring book for your childThe age printed on the cover describes the book, not your child. Here is what to look at instead.
- Book gifts for kids ages 3 to 7Buying for someone else's child means guessing the level. Here is how to guess well.