Pattern Coloring Pack #1

One of the biggest crazes recently is adult coloring books. Like Sudoku a few years ago, it seems like you can't walk into any bookstore without finding a large display of coloring book options. Many of these feature intricate designs of abstract patterns - something right up my alley. I've always found coloring meditative and often doodled mandala shapes when I was bored in school, creating geometric radial patterns on a sheet of graph paper in math class. Something about the symmetry of pattern and the calming repetition of coloring, is indeed stress-relieving and relaxing; I'm not really surprised that it's taken off so much as a way for busy adults to wind down after a hectic day. When we're constantly surrounded by screens, it can be just want the doctor ordered to unplug and do something more tangible with colored pencils or markers, harkening back to the less stressful days of childhood.

I've been meaning to update my Etsy store for awhile with printable coloring pages of my own design. I have so many patterns "ready-made" that I knew I could find at least some that would transfer well to outlines and make great coloring pages. So I recently went through my hundreds of digital designs and found the best 44 that I thought would make for fun, relaxing coloring experiences. I finally got around to adjusting them for 8.5"x11" paper, organizing them into groups, photographing them, and uploading them to Etsy for sale.

I am selling them in packs of six designs; each pack is different. I also have a mega pack available which has all 44 designs together in one set - the 42 designs found in each of the 7 mini-packs, as well as 2 bonus designs not found in any of the other packs. The mini-packs are only $1.99 each, and are available for instant download. As soon as you buy them, you will be able to download the PDF (1 PDF with 6 pages, or 1 PDF with 44 pages, in the case of the mega pack), store them on your computer, and print as many copies as you want to have fun and experiment with.

Here are the designs in the first mini-pack - "Pattern Coloring Pack #1" (available for purchase here).

The patterns used in this set are Crystal, Genesis, Darcy, Cosette, Elizabeth, and Virginia. I grouped these six together because they have a similar linear symmetry and are not too complex in detail (though, as with all of my groups, there is a variety of complexity between the different pages). They also all have enclosed shapes, with very few "dangling lines."

(Some of the other packs have lines that loop off without necessarily closing into shapes, which perhaps make them more "advanced" - for colorers who want more freedom to experiment, color outside the lines, or extend the lines themselves.)

I would classify this is as a "beginner" or "medium" level. The patterns are pretty straightforward, and many of the lines are nice and thick.

Here are detail photos of the first two patterns - Crystal & Genesis:

The next two patterns are Darcy and Cosette:

And the last two in this set of six are Elizabeth & Virginia:

I also made a "digital example" of how the Pattern Cosette page could be colored:

These six patterns are also among some of the earliest I designed (for more on how I design my patterns, see this post), and as such I've used them in a lot of artwork in the last several years since I made them. Here are some of the paintings I've made from these patterns:

Pattern Darcy in Red & Pink (5"x7" watercolor on paper)

Pattern Virginia in Blue & Red (5"x7" watercolor on paper)

Pattern Crystal in Pink & Purple (5"x7" watercolor on paper)

Pattern Cosette in Purple (4"x6" watercolor on paper)

Pattern Genesis in Blue-Green (4"x6" watercolor on paper)

Pattern Elizabeth in purple (4"x6" watercolor on paper)

"When Fear Gets in the Way" (11"x15" watercolor on paper)
- the light yellow-brown pattern in the background is Pattern Darcy

"L'eau de Parfum" (15"x22" watercolor on paper)
- the blue pattern in the background is Pattern Crystal

"Melange Modele" (22"x30" watercolor on paper)
- Pattern Crystal can be found in a few places in this pattern collage painting, as well

If you're interested, "When Fear Gets in the Way" is for sale on Etsy here and "L'eau de Parfum" is for sale here. ("Melange Modele" has already sold, and my 4"x6" and 5"x7" watercolor paintings are currently for sale at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts in downtown Rochester, Michigan. Any that do not sell there will be back available on Etsy when I get them back.)

I love these six patterns (obviously) and have used them a lot myself - and now I am sharing them with you!

Remember, these coloring pages are available for only $1.99 for a 6-page PDF at my Etsy shop - which I think is a pretty great deal, if I say so myself. I have designed each of these patterns with Adobe Illustrator, manipulating letters and characters from font families to the point where individual letters are (mostly) unrecognizable - unless you know where to look. (Pattern Crystal, for instance, has a cursive lowercase z; Pattern Virginia has a cursive uppercase Q; etc.) Each of these patterns is totally unique - you won't find them anywhere else!