Mandala Monday: Coloring tools for a Relaxing Experience.

Colored Pencils are my choice for coloring  Mandalas. They fill in at a reasonable pace giving you time to think about your choices. Half way through a shape, if you started with a light shade, you can even change your color.

Remember coloring Mandalas should be a relaxing pastime, never a race to the finish.

My favorite Colored Pencils are "Prismacolor". They can be found at most  craft stores like Michael's, or AC Moore and any good art store. They are a bit over a dollar a piece, but you can save money by buying them in a set. You can also find deals on line.

Another option is "Crayola Twistables". These pencils can be found at Target and Staples stores. The pencil is a little harder, not the soft creamy texture of the "Prismacolor", but the colors are great. You can get a set of 30 pencils for around $10, a substantial savings!

The two fish and the water around them on the bottom 1/2 of the page are colored with "Prismacolor" pencils. The two on the top 1/2 are colored with "Crayola Twistables". You will notice the green around the fishes eyes on the bottom 1/2 are a bit richer, but all-in-all the colors are very similar.


"Twistables" don't need to be sharpened and come in a convenient little pouch for transporting. The down side is you have to work a bit harder at applying the colors because of the hard texture of the pencil wax.

I'm not sure what brand of pencil was used on this pretty pastel bunny piece, but it was a hard pencil that made it very difficult for the artist to get a vibrant color. A hard pencil will also apply very streaky.

I am not familiar with a lot of pencil brands other than the two I've mentioned. But remember when you see that bargain price, keep in mind, all colored pencils are not created equal.

Markers are not what I'd recommend, they can be smelly, messy and unforgiving. Not a medium for just any age group. 

If you choose magic markers, first of all place a  sheet of paper under your drawing so it won't bleed through to the next coloring page. 

Next choose very light colors, as a marker colors are usually darker on the page than you expect. The blue and violet bunnies on the left look great. All the color choices on the piece to the right are beautiful, but I bet the artist never expected the blue would come out quite so dark on her bunnies bodies. Once you start with a marker there is no turning back, that's your color choice. I recommend testing the colors on another piece of paper before you add it to your page.

 I love how all these artists made their bunnies colors, rather than the typical white (like mine at the very top).

Joan's Easter Page

Joan's Bunny page above was all colored pencil until she felt she was running out of time and needed to finish her page. She grabbed a marker and outlined her bunnies. These dark lines around the bunnies were a bit too bold, so I recommended she darken her page with another layer of colored pencil. She has started by adding violet to the gray bunnies and a light orange to the yellow bunnies.

I will finish with another lovely rendition of the bunny page. What I like most about this page is the choice the artist made to make the animals a chocolate color. When I created this coloring page that never occurred to me.

That's what I love so much about a coloring book. Each artist's choice is so personal and charming.


You can get my Mandala coloring books at my Etsy Shop: MsMoffatt.etsy.com

Color on!



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Mandala Monday: What age is best for coloring?

Welcome to my colorful world of Meditative Mandalas. What started out as a calendar for my friends is growing into a series of coloring books for just about all ages.

When a child outgrows the simple subjects and shapes that more traditional coloring books offer, then they are ready for more thoughtful coloring found in my books.

But we are learning coloring is not just for children; it is a fulfilling exercise for all ages. This relaxing pastime can improve eye hand coordination, concentration and a feeling of accomplishment when a piece is completed at any age.

I've had children as young as six years old absorbed with coloring in the intricate shapes in "Meditative Mandalas" which I created with young and older adults in mind.

Then I have many older adults that prefer the whimsical subject matter and larger shapes in "Merry Mandalas", which I created with younger kids in mind.

What I do know is regardless of age, coloring is a relaxing even meditative experience. It's a great singular activity for unwinding after a workday. And it's a casual activity that you can do with a group of friends, or at a family gathering.

Older adults who can't do all the physical activity they used to do, enjoy the creative pastime of completing an intricate piece of art. The multiple images pictured here are done by my 95 year old Mother-in-law who can't seem to get enough pages to color!

Finishing one of my Mandalas is easier than coloring a traditional illustration because the Mandala is created with many repetitive shapes. Once you choose a color for one shape you can repeat that color all the way around the circle while you relax your mind.

Take a deep breath, spread out your colored pencils and enjoy some stress relieving creative time.

You can find my books at my Etsy Shop:
MsMoffatt.etsy.com