Rediscovering a much beloved art-activity book from childhood are adults looking for time off to play.
The follow up to Johanna Basford's bestselling coloring books for grown-ups, Enchanted Forest is the 2nd book after Secret Garden. Image is copyright of Johanna Basford.
Reading books has already been touted as one of the better mind healing activities and stress relievers around. Now, people are rediscovering a child beloved activity workbook that also helps reduce stress: coloring books.
If kids have their Wattpad. Grown-ups now have coloring books of their own! Or ones designed particularly for their art playtime moments. Taking time off to work on a page featuring an intricate mandala outline, grown-ups are rediscovering a childhood pleasure that works better than a self-help book, overpriced shrink sessions with some hack life-coach, or a boring burnout workout at the gym.
Coloring books are now the favorite therapeutic downtime activity for adults, a simple way for harried folk to unwind — and disconnect from the frenzy of it all. Give your mind a break from all the hustle and bustle of the digital workplace. Turn off the mobile phone and laptop. Forget about your e-mail or work itinerary. Forget deadlines and to-do lists. Chill out on your coloring book of choice.
All of this has pushed coloring books for grown-ups to the top 10 of the best-seller lists for books on Amazon and on virtually every online bookseller. Coloring books for grown-ups are selling in the hundreds of thousands to a million copies FOR REAL! Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book by Johanna Basford has been in the top 10 of Amazon's Book sales and has sold 1.4 million copies to date.
One page off the Enchanted Forest coloring book of Johanna Basford. Image is copyright of Johanna Basford.
Coloring books for grownups aren't filled with super heroes or cute animals or spaceships.
This genre of activity books feature pen-and-ink illustrations, intricate paisley or weave patterns, snowflake patterns, illuminated letter designs, and even mandalas--a symbol that looks like a maze of patterns which in Hindu and Buddhist religions represent the universe. Some artists even include illusion art where an animal or other recognizable figure will appear once you fill out the intricate spaces with color.
Intense? Don't call it child's play, ever again.
The simple activity of sitting down and filling in spaces with colors and watching the rendered image come to life is an acknowledged healing therapy as well as a creative outlet. Have creative block stressing you out? Whip out your coloring book and enjoy the downtime while letting your mind be at ease while woolgathering about new ideas.
Another kind of pen and ink layout for today's popular coloring books designed for grown-ups.
The time spent on a coloring book, even for kids, is calming and lets you relax. There are no rules for what colors you can choose or how you color each page. Fans of some coloring book designers even send in pictures of their creative expressions, finishing a page in their own personal style and inspiring other coloring book fans to mess up their own page any way they want. One coloring book designer even advovates that you don't even need to color strictly between the lines.
Coloring books are like your own private playroom where you can play with your own toys. You don't even have to figure out what to draw. Just sit down and start messing up the page any way you like and when you finish it will be amazing. Coloring is soothing and time even stops while you're at it. You can get back to life any time after you're finished coloring.
THAT beats having some so called life coach con you into walking on broken glass and tell you you can do anything if you can do it. What a joke. Coloring Books Turn Good Designers into Stars
Making coloring books is now one amazing opportunity for plenty of designers and artists who can do engaging and quirky pen-and-ink illustrations.
Johanna Basford, a former textile print designer is now a superstar artist for coloring books for grown-ups.
Publishing houses who commit to good proposals are handsomely rewarded, and it seems that art activity books for grown ups may extend beyond coloring books. In Japan, art activity books have always been around forever as part of anime and manga merchandise as well as being part of the educational activity books available for kids that are also beloved by adults.
Still iffy about the adult coloring book craze? Grab a book and enjoy a creative pick-me-up from a simple pleasure few remember and many take for granted.
