During these wacky times, taking a step back from news outlets and social media, going outside for a few minutes, or trying out a fun, creative activity can be a good break from all the anxiety that’s surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
For those of you who are like me and aren’t the greatest at free-hand drawing, coloring pages can be the way to go. Not only are they relaxing, that little burst of creativity can help you reframe your mindset (something I know I need help with at times!).
Below, I’ve pulled together some Zen coloring pages suitable for all ages and creative ability, from fun, simple ones to intricate pages that imitate the Zentangle fad from a few years ago. And the best thing is, these can either be printed and colored in traditionally, or can be downloaded to your computer and colored in Microsoft Paint or a similar program of your choice! I recommend grabbing a calming playlist or an awesome audiobook from one of our eSources, like OverDrive or RBDigital, before getting down to work.
Diamond Mandala from Free Mandalas (colored by me, in MS Paint!)
Our awesome eSource CreativeBug has several classes on coloring, so if you’d like a bit more guidance, be sure to check those out! Just type “coloring pages” into the search bar, and a four-part series will appear for you to view at your leisure, along with plenty of other classes. (Note: you will need your library card number in order to access this eSource.)
Stay Home and Color - Dribbble.com
Our friends over at Dribbble (a website for designers) are one step ahead of me and have already rounded up a bunch of free coloring pages and coloring books, specifically for the purpose of relaxing a little while we’re dealing with social distancing. These include relatively straight forward pages, pages with encouraging messages, and activity sheets with space for freestyle doodling.
Art and Culture - SuperColoring.com
The Arts and Culture page on SuperColoring.com includes a lot of different categories. You can design your own stained-glass windows, recolor famous works of art to your own tastes, or explore artistic motifs from cultures around the world.
Pokémon mandalas - Raskrasil.com
These combine a childhood favorite for many of us with fun, symmetrical mandala backgrounds. Not only can you color in your favorite Pokémon (and even make it a shiny), you can also work to keep your mandala as symmetrical or eccentric as you’d like!
(I wouldn’t recommend trying to catch all of these though—there’s a lot!)
Color by Number - SuperColoring.com
Want something that’s still fairly intricate, but needs less coordination when it comes to picking colors? Try a color by number sheet! This way, the colors have already been chosen for you, and all you need to do is find the closest matching pencil/crayon/marker, or use the color dropper on the computer to get the exact shade (Note: depending on the file type, this one might be more difficult to use on the computer.)
Mandalas - FreeMandalas.net
There’s a wide range of mandalas available from this resource, including mandalas for various skill levels, and ones that fit different themes. Grab one that’s geometric, flower inspired, or super easy to help lower stress levels!
Now, go forth and color!
(Note: under their Creative Commons license(s), all of these pages are free to download and use yourself, just please don’t try to pass them off as your own creation to make money off of them!)