Supplies
The best adult coloring books, and how to choose one
Everything on this site prints for free, so this page only covers the books worth buying anyway, and how to tell them apart before you pay.
A coloring book does not beat a printed page on the drawings. It beats it on paper you did not have to buy separately, a hundred pages held together, and somebody else choosing the order. Judge a book on those and most of the shelf falls away. The rest of this page is about telling the good ones apart from a listing, and matching a book to the person who will actually color it.
Five things to check before you buy
1. Single-sided printing. This matters most, and publishers tend to bury it. If the drawings are printed on both sides, a marker that bleeds through ruins the page behind it, and you cannot take a finished one out to keep. Search the description for single-sided or one side only. If neither appears, assume both sides.
2. Perforated pages. A perforated page tears out cleanly, so you can color it flat on the table, slide a spare sheet underneath, and frame or post the result. Without perforation you are cutting along the spine with a craft knife.
3. Binding. A glued (perfect-bound) book will not lie flat, so one hand holds it open while the other colors a curved page, and the drawing disappears into the gutter near the spine. Spiral-bound coloring books for adults lie flat and fold back on themselves, which helps on a lap or a tray. Perforation beats both, because the sheet comes out entirely.
4. Line weight. Look at the sample pages, not the cover. Thick outlines and large areas suit markers, tired eyes and short sessions. Hairline drawings with tiny enclosed shapes suit sharp pencils and people who want an hour of concentration. Neither is better, but buying the wrong one is the usual reason a book stops on page four.
5. Paper weight, if you use markers. Alcohol markers need heavy stock. Few listings give a weight, so read the reviews for mentions of bleed-through. The markers page explains which pens survive which paper, and colored pencils work on almost anything.
Try the style for free before you buy
The quickest way to learn whether you like dense or bold drawings is to print one of each tonight. Our mandala coloring pages are the closest thing here to the detailed books below, the flower coloring pages sit near the botanical ones, and the cozy coloring pages are drawn in the bold and easy style. Above each grid, the Lots of detail button keeps only the dense sheets, and Quick to color keeps the ones that finish in a sitting. Color one of each. The one you finish tells you which book to buy.
The detailed ones, for an hour at a time
These are the books that started the adult coloring shelf, and they are still among the densest things on it. Both are hunts as much as coloring books: objects are hidden in the drawings, and part of the pleasure is finding them. They suit someone who already colors and wants a project, less so a first-timer.
Secret Garden, Johanna BasfordBook
The book that started the adult coloring shelf, and still one of the most detailed. Its small shapes suit fine-tip pens and sharp colored pencils better than thick markers.
Enchanted Forest, Johanna BasfordBook
The follow-up to Secret Garden, and the denser of the two. A hunt runs through it, with objects hidden in the drawings, which is why people finish it rather than dipping into it.
Cozy coloring books, and Coco Wyo
The busiest corner of the shelf is the opposite of the ones above: bold outlines, large areas, cute animals in small domestic scenes, and a page that finishes in an evening rather than a week. It goes by cozy, comfort coloring or bold and easy, and Coco Wyo is the name most people are looking for when they arrive at it. These are the books to give someone who says they cannot color, and their large areas take acrylic paint markers well.
The five below are worth knowing apart. Cozy Friends is the one most people mean: animal friends doing everyday chores. Cozy Corner draws reading alcoves, bakeries and kitchens to the corners. Cozy & Cute is a Bold & Easy book, the largest areas and the easiest start. Cozy Cuties brings gardens and baby animals on thicker paper, and Spooky Cutie is the weird and comfy one, the book to buy in October. Every Coco Wyo book, the two editions some titles come in and which line suits whom are on the Coco Wyo page.
The book most people mean by Coco Wyo: animal friends doing laundry, cooking and cleaning, with small stories hidden in each scene. Printed by Amazon: 88 pages at 8.5 by 8.5 inches, drawings on one side only.
Bold, simple outlines and cute animals, done in an evening.
The follow-up to Little Corner: a reading alcove, a bakery, a well-loved kitchen, each drawn to the corners. Cozy Spaces edition, printed for Random House: 96 pages at 8 by 8 inches on thicker paper.
Reading nooks, bakeries and kitchens, drawn to the corners.
Autumn and Christmas in big, bold shapes: the easiest way into the seasonal cozy style. Printed by Amazon: 110 pages at 8.5 by 8.5 inches, 52 drawings on one side only.
Gardens in bloom, baby animals and sunny days. Cozy Spaces edition, printed for Random House: 96 pages at 8 by 8 inches on thicker paper.
Cute characters at a smaller scale, for adults and kids.
The original: weird and comfy, a world of mystical yet cozy creatures deep in their quirky vibes. Printed by Amazon: 88 pages at 8.5 by 8.5 inches, drawings on one side only.
Creepy characters drawn round and friendly, printed one side only.
If the style appeals but the price does not, our own cozy coloring pages are free and drawn to the same brief. They are not Coco Wyo, and they are not affiliated with them.
Color by number books for adults, for evenings you cannot decide
This format suits people who freeze in front of a blank page. The numbers settle what color goes where and leave the calm, repetitive part. The Dover one below does the format properly: printed on one side only, on perforated pages.
Creative Haven American LandscapesBook
Color by number, printed on one side only on perforated pages, so a finished sheet comes out without a knife and marker ink never ruins the next drawing.
Before buying any color by number book, check that the key is printed on the page itself. A key on a separate card or at the back of the book means flipping back and forth, and the book becomes unusable the day the card goes missing.
The Disney Mystery Coloring series is the same idea with a license attached, and every volume is listed on its own page, with how the hidden image works and what to do when a number is hard to read. The character stays hidden until enough of the page is filled, which keeps going a child, or an adult, who would abandon an open drawing. These four are the ones to start with.
Disney Mystery Coloring: The ClassicsBook
Color by number, and the character only appears as you go. It holds a child who gives up on an open page, because there is something to find out.
Disney Mystery Coloring: PixarBook
Color by number across Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., WALL-E, Brave and Ratatouille. Same format as The Classics: the character stays hidden until enough numbers are filled.
Disney Mystery Coloring: FamilyBook
The families of 101 Dalmatians, Coco, The Lion King, Tangled and Lilo & Stitch. The easiest of the series to share between an adult and a child, because the reveal works for both.
Disney Mystery Coloring: SeasonsBook
A hundred illustrations through the year, from Bambi in spring to Olaf in the snow, on thick bleed-resistant paper that takes markers as well as pencils.
One for botanical drawing
Dover’s Creative Haven line is the quiet recommendation on many lists, and it earns that on manufacturing rather than art: printed one side only, on perforated pages. It suits someone who likes realistic flowers more than patterns, and it pairs well with a set of colored pencils good enough to blend.
Creative Haven Vintage FloralsBook
Thirty-one botanical drawings taken from archive plates, printed one side only on perforated pages. The finished sheet comes out without a knife.
Which book for which person
- A complete beginner, or a gift for someone who says they cannot color: a bold and easy cozy book, or color by number.
- Someone who colors to unwind after work: cozy books for short evenings, color by number if choosing colors feels like one more decision.
- A grandparent, or anyone with less steady hands: thick outlines and large areas, with colored pencils rather than markers.
- An experienced colorist who wants a long project: the Johanna Basford books, or the botanical Creative Haven.
- An adult and a child coloring together: Cozy Cuties, or a Disney Mystery volume where the reveal works for both.
What a book will not do
It will not be cheaper than printing. A sheet from this site costs its paper and toner, and the supplies page covers what to put on it. A book will not let you print the same page twice, which matters with children or when a page goes wrong. And it will not let you choose the subject: you get the book’s theme, all of it.
If those matter more than the paper, print instead. The catalog is free, the files are 300 dpi PDFs, and nothing on it needs an account.
Links to Amazon on this page are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases: the price is the same for you either way, and nothing here is recommended because of it. How this site is paid for.
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Coloring book questions
Why buy a coloring book when pages are free to print?
The drawings are not the reason. The paper is: a good book is heavy enough for markers without buying a ream. So is the binding, which keeps a hundred pages together instead of in a folder of loose sheets. And a book decides the order for you, which helps on an evening when choosing is the tiring part.
What should I check before buying an adult coloring book?
Whether it is printed on one side only. Look for "single-sided", "one side only" or "perforated" in the description or on the back cover. A double-sided book means a marker that goes through ruins the drawing behind it, and a finished page cannot come out to be framed or given away.
Are expensive coloring books better?
Only when the money went into the paper. Heavier stock and single-sided printing cost the publisher something, and both are listed in a good description. A thick book printed on both sides of thin paper is poor value however many drawings it holds.
Which coloring book is best for stress relief?
A bold and easy one, or color by number. Both take the effort out of the evening: large areas finish before your attention runs out, and numbers remove the choice of color. The dense hunt books are satisfying but slow, and a page left half done for a week is not relaxing for everyone.
What is a color by number book for adults?
The format children get, drawn at adult density: many small numbered areas and a key printed on the page. It removes the decision of what color goes where, which is the part that stops a lot of people from starting.
What is a good coloring book gift for a grandparent or someone with shaky hands?
A book with thick outlines and large areas, such as the bold and easy cozy titles. Small enclosed shapes are hard work with less steady hands or weaker eyesight. Pair it with a set of colored pencils rather than markers, so a slip can be softened.
