Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Reclaim the Coloring Book

We all remember the days (perhaps not that long ago) where we would color for hours in our coloring book. We'd make one for each of our family members to hang on the fridge and it would be a badge of honor to see our hard work displayed. If you're like me, this could still be a favorite activity to unwind with, but for most of us we left our coloring days long ago. 

Well I'm here to reclaim the coloring book and I am not alone. Adult coloring books are all the rage right now. I definitely picked one up and so should you! 

I've also been reclaiming the coloring book page in the classroom for many years. I've found it's a really great alternative to value scales and the traditional cone/sphere/cube shading exercises. I've used coloring pages with all grades and even some adults. My students always ask for more and even bring in their own coloring book pages FULLY SHADED! I'm tellin' you, it's like I'm tricking them into learning they have so much fun. 

I alway pick a theme and right now (so close to October) we are shading Halloween/Monster pages. Each one is a half sheet. 





These are the unaltered coloring pages. I simply found them with a Google search and made sure they were for free use. There are TONS out there! I talk about light source, overlapping/cast shadows, gentle transitions between values, rounded surfaces, the whole gamete that makes up the intricacy of shading and then it's dive in and practice! Here are some completed examples:




Right now my classes are pretty focused on colored pencil but I've used coloring pages for pen, pencil, oil pastel, paint mixing, texture and so many other artsy fun techniques. The possibilities are endless. Have the students fill them in with Zentangles or paper collage on top! Whatever it is I promise students will A. learn and B. have a blast. 

Thanks for stopping in!

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