If you’re an artist who’s looking for an intriguing new way to share your work, consider a coloring book art project. These coloring book art projects are enormously popular with both children and adults. From their early status as a quirky niche product, they now fill the racks at grocery checkout stands next to popular gossip magazines and recipe collections. Coloring book art projects have gone mainstream. They’re a wonderful way to show off your artistry and share it with a new audience. Here’s an easy guide to producing a coloring book art project that readers will enjoy using.
- 1. Define the Purpose, Theme, and Audience of Your Coloring Book Art Project
- 2. Prepare or Create the Artwork for Your Coloring Book Art Project
- 3. Digitize and Format Your Coloring Book Art Project
- 4. Build the Book Layout for Your Coloring Book Art Project
- 5. Create the Cover for Your Coloring Book Art Project
- 6. Export Print-Ready Files of Your Coloring Book Art Project
- 7. Choose How to Publish or Print
- 8. Market Your Coloring Book Art Project
- 9. Pay Attention to Legal and Copyright Issues
- Add Some Extras
- Bestsellers: What Makes Them Stand Out?
- Show Your Work
1. Define the Purpose, Theme, and Audience of Your Coloring Book Art Project
A strong coloring book art project starts with clarity. Choose a theme to group your pictures under. If you have lots of competing ideas, focus on one at a time. You can always produce another coloring book art project on your second theme later.
Some popular topics are animals, fantasy scenes, botanical art, seasonal art, portraits, architecture, and mandalas. Niche themes perform particularly well. These combine several genres into one, for instance, “cozy cottagecore animals,” “urban street fashion,” or “mindfulness florals.”
Who’s your target reader?
The target reader for your coloring book art project determines what type of illustration it should have. Children want simple shapes, bold outlines, and fewer details. Adults appreciate more intricate linework, detailed scenes, and shapes that induce mindfulness. Specialty books cater to pet lovers, hobbyists, and fandom.
Choose the size and length
Common trim sizes are 8.5 x 11 or 8.5 x 10. Some books have square formats. A typical page count is 30-100 pages.
2. Prepare or Create the Artwork for Your Coloring Book Art Project
You can use your own art, collaborate with another artist, or use licensed work. If you’re using your own drawings, draw on paper first, and then scan the drawings at 300 to 600 dpi. You can also draw digitally using Procreate, Illustrator, or Affinity.
Convert your artwork to clean line art:
- Remove all shading.
- Increase the contrast.
- Be sure you have bold, consistent outlines.
- Clean up any stray marks.
- Convert to vector for crisp printing.
If using someone else’s artwork, you must have:
- Written permission.
- Commercial-use license.
- Clear terms for royalties or a one-time payment.
3. Digitize and Format Your Coloring Book Art Project
Your goal is to produce high-quality, printable black-and-white line art. Follow these technical specs:
- Use a resolution of 300 dpi minimum.
- Produce black line art on white background.
- Avoid grayscale shading.
- Keep the lines closed so users can fill areas easily when they color.
- Add a 0.25–0.5 inch margin for binding.
Layout tips
- Center the artwork.
- Leave breathing room around edges of each picture.
- Add page numbers and titles or prompts.
- Consider adding light frames around the art.
4. Build the Book Layout for Your Coloring Book Art Project
Use tools like Adobe InDesign, Affinity Publisher, Canva, or Scribus to design your book. Include the following:
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Artist bio
- Coloring tips page
- 30–100 interior coloring pages
If you’re printing on both sides, ensure artwork doesn’t show through. Choose uncoated, thick paper (70–100 lb.) for the best coloring experience. Many coloring book art projects have print on one side of each page only.
5. Create the Cover for Your Coloring Book Art Project
Your cover must:
- Match your trim size.
- Include a front, spine, and back (if thick enough).
- Feature 1–3 sample illustrations.
- Use bold, readable typography.
- Clearly say what the theme and audience are.
6. Export Print-Ready Files of Your Coloring Book Art Project
For the book’s interior, export the entire PDF file in black and white. Mark the trim size, and add a bleed if necessary. Send the covers as a separate PDF. Follow the printer’s specs for bleed, spine width, and color profile.
7. Choose How to Publish or Print
If you prefer a professionally printed version of your book, work with a printer who has experience producing coloring books.
8. Market Your Coloring Book Art Project
Marketing a coloring book art project is like marketing a book in any genre. You can offer sample pictures to reviewers, request reader reviews on platforms like Amazon, and encourage buyers to show off their colored pages. Use mockups of the book to market it on Etsy. If you’ve built an email list, use it to announce the publication of your book. Offer an exclusive discount to your subscribers and followers.
9. Pay Attention to Legal and Copyright Issues
You automatically own copyright to your original artwork. Registering your copyright is optional, but we strongly recommend you do it. It’s not difficult, and it gives you an added layer of legal protection if your work gets copied or used without your permission. Registering your copyright doesn’t take long, and the fees are typically around $50 for a single title. If you are using someone else’s art, be sure you have their written permission to use it.
Add Some Extras
Some coloring book art projects have little extras that make them even more engaging to use. Consider adding:
- Shaded, grayscale versions of some artwork.
- Religious, inspirational, or humorous sayings to go with each picture.
Bestsellers: What Makes Them Stand Out?
If you want to make a mark in this popular genre, your book must have something that sets it apart from the others. Here are some well-known coloring books that have become smash best-sellers and pointers about what made them stand out.
Worlds of Wonder by Johanna Basford: This worldwide bestseller is part of a series, and Basford has gone on to pen other top-selling books. They feature extremely intricate fantasy scenes with fine detail. Aimed at fantasy lovers and experienced colorists, the books invite readers into another world. Another standout feature is that each page has a drawing on one side only. This means no bleed-through and lets readers choose their medium, whether it’s ink, pencil, or paint.
Mandala Illustrations by Arteza: This book is part of the huge trend in mandala coloring books. It’s designed to help people focus better, meditate, and practice mindfulness through coloring these detailed, sweeping mandalas. The mandalas are symmetrical, and the balanced illustrations allow the reader to be intentional about their coloring. The book has detachable, one-sided pages and thick paper.
Adult Coloring Book by Cindy Elsharouni: If you get bored with coloring the same thing repeatedly, this book is for you. It has a wide variety of picture styles and complexity levels collected into one volume. It’s ideal for beginners, who may feel intimidated by the complex designs of other books, or anyone who wants to change things up. Like the other books, it has pictures printed on one side only.
What common features do they share?
- Artistic and thematic cohesion: Books that show a single artist’s vision will always be favorites, whether the theme is fantasy world, humorous observations, or botanical studies. The subject matters less than the unique artistry of the creator. Readers want to feel like they’re sharing an emotional journey with the artist.
- High-quality printing and binding: Thick paper, single-sided printing, and quality binding make coloring easier and more fun. Buyers want to use markers, gel pens, and mixed media without worrying about bleed-through. The tactile sensations of feeling the paper and watching the colors fill the design all contribute to a calming coloring experience. On a practical note, coloring books must stand up to a lot of handling. Thick paper and flexible binding will ensure the book doesn’t fall apart.
- Complexity and purpose: What is the purpose of your book? Think about that when creating or choosing pictures. Mandalas and fantasy scenes contribute to mindfulness and stress relief. Users want to get lost in the details of following the lines. Humorous coloring books allow the reader to find humor in life. Readers of religious coloring books want to use art to feel closer to their faith. Simple, bold-lined illustrations appeal to beginners or those who are looking for casual, relaxed fun.
- Novelty and niche hooks: Humor, fandom tie-ins, or unusual subjects can help a title cut through a crowded field. If you want to use familiar characters from a movie franchise, book series, or television show, be sure to get legal clearance ahead of time. You may run into licensing issues if you’re not officially entitled to use that material.
Show Your Work
Adults are still buying coloring books, and there is room for yours in the market. Choose your best artwork, digitize it for publication, and market it to buyers eager for new coloring materials. Dazzle Printing offers a full line of services for artists and writers who want to see their work in print.
