Adult coloring books are for more than just stress-relief.
Did you know that coloring books could help you be stressfree and more successful?
When you imagine a coloring book and a box of crayons...do you think back to your own childhood and remember many happy hours spent choosing just the right colors for your masterpiece? Are you tapping into that lost joy by indulging in adult coloring books?
Most children enjoy coloring books. It stimulates imagination, introduces children to different shades of colors, and enhances motor skills. Many people will say at some time in their life that they "outgrew their coloring books".
A vast majority of people make it to adulthood, and never think to pick up a coloring book again. In recent years, that has begun to change.
Coloring books are being given to the elderly to help maintain motor skills. They are being used in therapy to help adults express their emotions. Grown-ups everywhere are coloring to help relieve stress.
The benefits of adult coloring books go way deeper than stress relief though! Here are some of the many ways in which owning a coloring book can help YOU, especially when you feel like your creativity is burned out:
Most children enjoy coloring books. It stimulates imagination, introduces children to different shades of colors, and enhances motor skills. Many people will say at some time in their life that they "outgrew their coloring books".
A vast majority of people make it to adulthood, and never think to pick up a coloring book again. In recent years, that has begun to change.
Coloring books are being given to the elderly to help maintain motor skills. They are being used in therapy to help adults express their emotions. Grown-ups everywhere are coloring to help relieve stress.
The benefits of adult coloring books go way deeper than stress relief though! Here are some of the many ways in which owning a coloring book can help YOU, especially when you feel like your creativity is burned out:
Color Books Help Teach Art and Design
If you have always wished you could draw, but were too afraid to try...a coloring book can be a great place to start.
Begin with a simple, children's coloring book. One with large pictures. When you open it, don't just look at the pictures...look at the individual parts of the picture.
A coloring book is presented in what we artists call "line art". That means that the pictures are a simple black outline. Line art is the basis for many styles of art, including comic book art.
Sketches used by painters are a form of line art as well, although they are much more detailed than those found in coloring pages.
By looking at the stark, un-colored lines, you won't be distracted by colors, patterns and other techniques. To better get a feel for how line-art works, take a piece of tracing paper or thin copier paper and place it over the coloring page. Using a pencil, lightly trace the lines. Tracing can be an invaluable way to learn the dynamics of design. What makes a drawing "tick", so to speak.
By practicing tracing, you will eventually be able to draw smoother, sweeping lines with more control.
When you color it in, you should occasionally forget trying to do it the "right way". Just choose random colors.
This can be a wonderful way of experimenting with the power behind color and design.
Begin with a simple, children's coloring book. One with large pictures. When you open it, don't just look at the pictures...look at the individual parts of the picture.
A coloring book is presented in what we artists call "line art". That means that the pictures are a simple black outline. Line art is the basis for many styles of art, including comic book art.
Sketches used by painters are a form of line art as well, although they are much more detailed than those found in coloring pages.
By looking at the stark, un-colored lines, you won't be distracted by colors, patterns and other techniques. To better get a feel for how line-art works, take a piece of tracing paper or thin copier paper and place it over the coloring page. Using a pencil, lightly trace the lines. Tracing can be an invaluable way to learn the dynamics of design. What makes a drawing "tick", so to speak.
By practicing tracing, you will eventually be able to draw smoother, sweeping lines with more control.
When you color it in, you should occasionally forget trying to do it the "right way". Just choose random colors.
This can be a wonderful way of experimenting with the power behind color and design.
Drawing and Coloring Promote Coordination
Today, few adults enjoy hobbies that encourage eye-hand coordination. We use sewing machines and embroidery machines. We type more than we use a pen.
As children, we work very hard to develop our motor skills, therefore it is a shame to let them go after we become adults.
Because fine motor skills require extra work by your brain to coordinate your actions, and muscle control in your hands and arms, coloring can help delay loss of these important skills as we age. It may also help fight cognitive loss, especially if we choose challenging pieces every so often.
As children, we work very hard to develop our motor skills, therefore it is a shame to let them go after we become adults.
Because fine motor skills require extra work by your brain to coordinate your actions, and muscle control in your hands and arms, coloring can help delay loss of these important skills as we age. It may also help fight cognitive loss, especially if we choose challenging pieces every so often.
Coloring Can Unlock Creative Potential
Everyone has the potential to be creative. However, sometimes our imaginations are stifled by social expectations, daily life, and annoying time restraints. The more educated we are, the more often we will prefer to look at things the way they are supposed to be, rather than allowing our minds to wander over imaginative possibilities.
When we are children, we might think how fun it would be to own an orange elephant that is only the size of a dog. After years of schooling and reality, we don't daydream that way anymore.
We know that it is impossible to have an orange elephant, because we understand genetics. We know that we cannot own an elephant because they are endangered and have special requirements, and we know that we will never see a miniature elephant, because elephants are not little. They are big. We can even explain why.
So where is the fun in that? Yes, as we grow and learn we feed our brains millions of facts, and in turn, our brains become stodgy and boring. They begin to think analytically instead of creatively. Then we wonder how come we can't think outside the box when it comes to business.
A paralyzed sense of creativity affects more than our desire to wish for orange elephants. It can appear suddenly and block our creative flow at unexpected moments. We may not be able to think of a unique gift, a funny quip, or a way to organize our home using what we have on hand.
Our analytical side takes over and says that we must use things that are made especially for these occasions. We my stagnate in entrepreneurial efforts, and tend to "copy cat" others rather than producing something original.
These issues don't necessarily harm us, but they are signs that we have a creative block. Creativity is used for many things in our daily life. Such as finding a way to solve a tricky situation at work. Or thinking of a new approach for advertising ourselves on the job market.
Not being able to place a unique twist on what we present can easily lead to our failure. At best, we can only be mediocre without some form of creativity.
When we are children, we might think how fun it would be to own an orange elephant that is only the size of a dog. After years of schooling and reality, we don't daydream that way anymore.
We know that it is impossible to have an orange elephant, because we understand genetics. We know that we cannot own an elephant because they are endangered and have special requirements, and we know that we will never see a miniature elephant, because elephants are not little. They are big. We can even explain why.
So where is the fun in that? Yes, as we grow and learn we feed our brains millions of facts, and in turn, our brains become stodgy and boring. They begin to think analytically instead of creatively. Then we wonder how come we can't think outside the box when it comes to business.
A paralyzed sense of creativity affects more than our desire to wish for orange elephants. It can appear suddenly and block our creative flow at unexpected moments. We may not be able to think of a unique gift, a funny quip, or a way to organize our home using what we have on hand.
Our analytical side takes over and says that we must use things that are made especially for these occasions. We my stagnate in entrepreneurial efforts, and tend to "copy cat" others rather than producing something original.
These issues don't necessarily harm us, but they are signs that we have a creative block. Creativity is used for many things in our daily life. Such as finding a way to solve a tricky situation at work. Or thinking of a new approach for advertising ourselves on the job market.
Not being able to place a unique twist on what we present can easily lead to our failure. At best, we can only be mediocre without some form of creativity.
Therapeutic Value of Coloring Books
We live in a stressful world. Our own everyday ups and downs are exacerbated by external events that we can't control. Politics, economy, hate crimes, wars, illnesses, deaths...these are just a few of the negative things we are faced with everyday. Even if we don't actively keep abreast of the news, the negativity still seeps in.
A small part of your brain absorbs the information whenever you hear it or see it. And with news stations and reality programs blasting in almost public area, you are most likely going to be exposed to bad media at least once a day. This leads to even more stress, which can lead to health problems, depression, anxiety or just general malaise.
Art therapy is something that has been used for years. In and of itself, art is therapeutic to those who do it frequently. But it is also used in clinical therapy as a form of communication between analysts and patients.
In professional art therapy, the art is usually a way of helping the patient cope with trauma or grief, which the analyst can interpret through the artwork itself.
But you don't need to go that far to reap the benefits of coloring pages. Because coloring (or any other type of art) requires attention to detail, it helps you to "zone out" and forget other things going on in your life. Some people have to devote their full attention to coloring. Others find that they can color while their mind wanders.
This can help you relax. And when you relax, amazing things happen! Relaxing helps lower your blood pressure. It can also lessen anxiety, reduce tension headaches, and relieve digestive upsets. Just consider it a form of meditation.
Sometimes, while you are concentrating on coloring, you may accidentally think of a solution for your problems! You have just released your creativity, and improved your health.
A small part of your brain absorbs the information whenever you hear it or see it. And with news stations and reality programs blasting in almost public area, you are most likely going to be exposed to bad media at least once a day. This leads to even more stress, which can lead to health problems, depression, anxiety or just general malaise.
Art therapy is something that has been used for years. In and of itself, art is therapeutic to those who do it frequently. But it is also used in clinical therapy as a form of communication between analysts and patients.
In professional art therapy, the art is usually a way of helping the patient cope with trauma or grief, which the analyst can interpret through the artwork itself.
But you don't need to go that far to reap the benefits of coloring pages. Because coloring (or any other type of art) requires attention to detail, it helps you to "zone out" and forget other things going on in your life. Some people have to devote their full attention to coloring. Others find that they can color while their mind wanders.
This can help you relax. And when you relax, amazing things happen! Relaxing helps lower your blood pressure. It can also lessen anxiety, reduce tension headaches, and relieve digestive upsets. Just consider it a form of meditation.
Sometimes, while you are concentrating on coloring, you may accidentally think of a solution for your problems! You have just released your creativity, and improved your health.
Just Color, Baby
Coloring books are sold everywhere. Dollar stores carry huge books filled with numerous drawings for a reasonable price. Some of these may be fun and cartoony. Others may be very detailed and realistic.
Choose whatever style suits your needs, just don't let being a grown-up deter you from trying a fun coloring book. No one else needs to know that you color...so go ahead and indulge in those Minions.
If you don't think you will like coloring children's books, you can purchase adult coloring books too. These have more grown-up themes and motifs. Some are line art reproductions of famous paintings. Others are landscapes, mandalas, and florals meant to satisfy more mature tastes. You can even get a Game of Thrones coloring book.
Adult coloring books sometimes have very small details. This makes them more tedious to color. Rather than crayons, you might want to by a nice set of sharp colored pencils for these books. To enhance your coloring experience, pay a little more and get water-color pencils. The colors can be blended easier, and will look more like a painting when completed.
Still, I recommend not only using adult coloring books. That again limitis your creativity, because instead of "letting go", you are saying "I can color this, because it is appropriate." Mix them up with kids books, printable color pages from online, and your own doodles.
The whole point of coloring as adult is to reconnect with your inner child. Let go of inhibitions, and reap the benefits expressing yourself.
Choose whatever style suits your needs, just don't let being a grown-up deter you from trying a fun coloring book. No one else needs to know that you color...so go ahead and indulge in those Minions.
If you don't think you will like coloring children's books, you can purchase adult coloring books too. These have more grown-up themes and motifs. Some are line art reproductions of famous paintings. Others are landscapes, mandalas, and florals meant to satisfy more mature tastes. You can even get a Game of Thrones coloring book.
Adult coloring books sometimes have very small details. This makes them more tedious to color. Rather than crayons, you might want to by a nice set of sharp colored pencils for these books. To enhance your coloring experience, pay a little more and get water-color pencils. The colors can be blended easier, and will look more like a painting when completed.
Still, I recommend not only using adult coloring books. That again limitis your creativity, because instead of "letting go", you are saying "I can color this, because it is appropriate." Mix them up with kids books, printable color pages from online, and your own doodles.
The whole point of coloring as adult is to reconnect with your inner child. Let go of inhibitions, and reap the benefits expressing yourself.
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