Adult coloring books are very popular in stores as well as in many online marketplaces. When I first came across them, I honestly had no interest in coloring books per se, however, when my local Barnes and Noble bookseller had a table set up near the entrance, I couldn't help but notice the intricate detail involved in creating these very artistic books.
As soon as I picked one up, I couldn't put it down. I am very detail oriented and these books held my attention as I found a comfy chair to relax in so I could study each page of the Millie Marotta book entitled "Wild Savannah".
After about half an hour, I picked up another book from the same artist entitled "Animal Kingdom". Needless to say, it was very difficult to choose between the two, so I wound up getting both of them. As you can see from the pictures, this artwork is meant for a more advanced group of coloring enthusiasts.
Lucky for me, I love colored pencils and have a huge collection at my disposal...I may have a slight obsession. The set I used for the Millie Marotta pictures are the ones in the hard case at the top right of the picture. The brand is known as Cra-Z-Art and as you can see, they fill the whole pencil storage case I had purchased from Walmart.
What I love about this set is that it includes the metallic glittery lead in different colors, which is perfect for adding special accent to your artwork. With so many shades of colors to choose from, it is very easy to plan your artwork around a certain color scheme. I happen to be partial to greens and blues regardless of the fact that black and red are my personal favorites. Since black and red doesn't work so well in a picture featuring animals, (unless you are in an alternate universe...), I went with a rainbow of colors for the coyote and brown and tan for the giraffes.
With this type of artwork, feel free to allow your creativity to flow. There are no rules except for the ones you decide on when it comes to art. Rules are less stringent when it comes to what I have discovered to be referred to as "Tangle" art, which, in a sense, is simply defined as intricate doodles that flow together to create one masterpiece.
Upon Googling tangle art, I came across an app called Amaziograph and ,Oh MY GOSH, I was hooked! The YouTube video that popped up "randomly" in my Facebook feed was all I needed to convince me that I had to get that app and I had to get a phone with a stylus!
Sadly, when Amaziograph first came out, it was only available for IOS. That was truly a sad day for me. Then, enter the equivalent to Amaziograph: Mirrograph.
Granted, it was not as advanced as Amaziograph, but, it did allow me to come up with some pretty decent symmetry patterns to use in some stationary projects.
Finally, when Amaziograph was released for Android, I immediately installed it on my Windows tablet as well as on my new Samsung phone that I specifically got just because of the included stylus.
Afterthought: getting the phone with a stylus just for that one app turned out to be a waste since I rarely used the app on my phone due to screen size...but, I am happy to have it just in case...
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| One of my own semi-freehand designs |
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| Done in Kaleidoscope app |
Kaleidoscope is pretty awesome, because you can create one image, and just like the original handheld toy, you can adjust the rotation to get almost an infinite number of patterns to save and use.
Disclosure: In this instance, I am not an affiliate for anything I have mentioned in this particular post. I am NOT getting paid to promote any of the items I have mentioned here in this post alone. It would be nice if I did get paid by them because these products are ones I do support and recommend.
Some might have a different view of the apps I have mentioned here, which is understandable because not every app works the same for everyone. There may be some features lacking for some users while others enjoy the simplicity of the user interface.
Whatever app you choose, whatever digital or physical product you decide on, whatever brand or style of medium you prefer, the simple fact of the matter is to relax and have fun while you allow your God given talent and creativity to flow.