10 Coloring Mistakes to Avoid in Adult Coloring Books
Taking up coloring as a hobby as an adult is a fun and welcome change from the monotonous and demanding tenure of everyday life. Getting to know various colors, textures, techniques, and coloring books is an interesting adventure where there’s always room for learning and so much benefit for the mind, too. However, there are certain coloring mistakes that can make your experience of coloring a little less pleasant than you might have anticipated.
It’s a common human tendency to give up something in frustration when we can’t seem to get it right the first couple of times. If you’re a perfectionist too and want your coloring books to eventually look like real works of art once the figures are filled and done, there are some tips that can come in handy. We’re outlining the most common coloring mistakes to avoid in adult color books so you can get the best results as early as the first couple of times around!
Table of Contents
Coloring Mistakes to Avoid
- Not planning the color palette
- Overdoing things without a break
- Not using adequate supplies
- Being too aggressive
- Making do with just anything
- Rushing the process
- Not being experimental with color choices
- Not making use of dedicated techniques
- Not following rules
- Leaving pages unprotected
- Quiz: Mistakes To Avoid
- Here’s the takeaway:
Not planning the color palette
While a lot of forms of art are more about freestyling, coloring books are a little more on the structured side. Simply going in without giving the process much thought won’t give the best results. Not having a clear idea of what you want the output of the coloring process to be can eventually result in haphazard strokes of color that are ill-suited to the figure and for each other as well. This makes your coloring look weak, and the results come off as unsatisfactory.
Perusing through the pictures in the adult coloring book that you’re planning to color in one sitting is important because it helps you plan and pick out the best color palette. This means that you won’t have to split down your color session to go look for more colors or simply make do with what you have; either option is a big coloring mistake that will impact the outcome of your coloring. Take some time to really plan the process intentionally so you end up with the best colors for the figure.
Overdoing things without a break
One of the most common coloring mistakes to avoid for adults is the tendency to want to do too much all at once. If you’re planning on going through an entire adult coloring book in one sitting, then you’re setting yourself up for exhaustion and failure. Finger fatigue seriously compromises your coloring ability and, in turn, adversely affects the results of your coloring. Coloring is less about being ambitious and more about being consistent and patient.
Remember that adult coloring is rooted a lot in mental health and relaxation. It’s important to pursue it while keeping these things in mind. If you feel that you’re overdoing it at any point, put the supplies down and stretch your fingers for a bit. There are no hard and fast rules with coloring, and you can always come back to pick it up from where you left off. Whenever you feel that you’re over-exerting yourself or focusing more on attaining certain self-set goals than enjoying the process, it’s best to reevaluate.
Not using adequate supplies
While adult coloring books are the stars of the show when taking up coloring, the supplies you use are also incredibly important because they can make or break the results of your coloring. Adults coloring books can be filled with pencil colors, crayons, markers, and whatnot, but what needs to remain consistent is the quality of the supplies you pick out. Subpar supplies can ruin the look and texture of colors and also have colors fade over time.
Having good quality supplies is a must, and so is ensuring that you have the right kinds of supplies at hand. Since planning out your tasks before starting coloring has already been established as a good way of countering many coloring mistakes, it’s wise to continue in that spirit and make sure you have all the supplies you need and the best ones at that. Not giving too much thought to the kind of coloring supplies you have and whether they’re adequate in quality and quantity can completely ruin the coloring experience for you and may demotivate you in continuing to pursue it.
Being too aggressive
While coloring can be a good and healthy way to channel your emotions and passions, it’s never a good idea to physically transmit all of that onto the page. Pressing too hard can leave indentations of the coloring on the next page, and in case your supply of choice is a marker, then the color might just end up seeping onto the next page and ruin the adult coloring book altogether. Similarly, gripping the supplies too tightly can also affect the quality of your coloring and contribute to finger fatigue.
Coloring is essentially a meditative and relaxing experience, so it’s important to channel your best and calmest self when you get down to it. The goal is to do your best, so aspects of time and energy aren’t really a matter to be considered at all. Make sure your grip on your colors is gentle, and the way the tip touches the page is rightly suited. All these little aspects end up determining how your coloring turns out and how the pages in the adult coloring book end up looking.
Making do with just anything
Being a go-with-the-flow kind of person works just fine when taking up coloring, but the meticulousness of the task does demand some consideration beforehand. Leaving pencils unsharpened and using markers that are on the verge of drying out is a bad idea. The results of this on the coloring book pages are messy and really don’t give much merit to your coloring skills. Your supplies shouldn’t only be good quality but be at their best, too.
Working with supplies that are well-suited to the job does wonders for your motivation when coloring and also relating to completing the task you have started. If things are already looking unpleasant right from the get-go, you’ll have less and less reason to continue or even take the hobby up again consistently. Make sure to go through your supplies and see which ones need to be replaced, sharpened, and so on and so forth.
Rushing the process
Nothing kills the joy and results of coloring quite like converting it into a challenge and trying to get it done as quickly as possible. Coloring as an adult is a lot about mindfulness and the present moment, so there’s no need or compulsion to finish things within a certain time. Since there’s no requirement to finish a particular number of pages in an adult coloring book in a certain time, going through figures quickly will only land you with awful coloring results.
Rushing could very well be the worst of all coloring mistakes because it takes away from your potential for coloring and also whether you take well to the activity or not. You might never find out if coloring is the perfect call for you as a hobby if you resort to just getting it done and dusted instead of enjoying the process. It’s also important to remember that rushing while coloring for leisure takes away all the amazing benefits of coloring that relate to more well-being and better capacity.
Not being experimental with color choices
Coloring is about having fun, so sticking to some self-made rules that are restrictive and limit your creativity won’t give the best results. It’s important to look into all color palettes and try new things every so often. For instance, some people have a preference for more sober tones. However, brightening up a few pages here and there can enhance the look of your figures immensely. Brighter colors also have a more positive effect on the mind and emotions.
You’ll find that you enjoy the coloring experience more when you allow yourself to be free with choices. Coloring is a great way to have more control, especially if that’s an aspect that frustrates you in other dimensions of your life. Get creative and let loose with coloring; you’ll not only surprise yourself but also end up discovering things about yourself that might be getting lost in hindrances and rigidity. Not experimenting is a big color mistake, one you’ll definitely regret when you peruse through the pages of your adult coloring book again.
Not making use of dedicated techniques
Coloring methods like shading, blending, and contrasting are all ways to enhance the look of colored figures. If all you do with your coloring is go in straightforwardly and make simple lines back and forth, you’re taking away from the fun and also ensuring that the final outcome does not come out as nice. Getting better at coloring and allowing yourself to test your abilities is a great way to motivate yourself more and be consistent with coloring.
A lot of adult coloring books also specify that certain parts of figures need to be shaded and blended; ignoring those means your coloring will look adequate at best. The human brain uses positive emotions as incentives, and once you see just how well you’ve colored after putting in the right kind of effort, experimentation, and plenty of technique, you’ll automatically feel compelled to work harder and get more into it. You’d also be surprised at just how much your fine motor skills improve through this, so don’t make the coloring mistake of monotony.
Not following rules
While being free-spirited is not always a bad idea when it comes to art, with coloring books, keeping to some boundaries is a good idea. For instance, staying within the lines as opposed to moving outside them in the name of self-expression is not too good an idea in the long term. You’ll end up regretting not sticking to the carefully depicted figures and their sequence, and chances are, by the time you realize it, there’s not much damage control left to do.
This is why planning in advance before starting coloring a particular page is a great idea. You have a clearer notion of what you’d like to see and then work towards accomplishing that. Having no goal with coloring is never a good approach, especially when coloring books already give pretty obvious guidelines to follow. Structure and routine are very healthy for the mind, and not abiding by coloring rules is a big coloring mistake that you should be forewarned about.
Leaving pages unprotected
I probably don’t need to explain this to those who have small children. 😉
One of the coloring mistakes with coloring books happens when one is so indulged in coloring they forget that inks and paints tend to seep through to other pages. This happens sometimes even when the best quality supplies are used, so it’s wise to place a sheet or some kind of protective material in between so previous or subsequent pages are not ruined. Nothing stings more than putting lots of effort into coloring only to realize that a coloring mistake has cost you your hard work.
It’s always best to take a protective approach because coloring is not only about getting into a relaxing activity but also being able to reminisce and look back on the work that they invested a lot of time in. Don’t wallow in regret; instead, have the right countering measures ready to avoid this coloring mistake and save the integrity of your adult coloring book collection.
Mistakes To Avoid In Coloring
Here’s the takeaway:
Getting into coloring is a really fun way for adults to pursue a hobby free from the pressure of demands. What makes this even better is having a smooth sailing experience free from coloring mistakes that can threaten to taint it. Planning things in advance and being more gradual with your coloring progressions are all good places to start.
What really takes this experience to the next level is having really unique and high-quality adult coloring books that come in lots of variety. Fortunately, KawaiiDusk has a great selection of adult coloring books that can really motivate you to create great masterpieces with your coloring.
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