Gifts for adults who like coloring: what serious colorists actually want

Adults who color seriously want drawings worth finishing: realistic subjects, one drawing per page, nothing printed on the back, and a page they can hang when it is done. The number of pages matters less than whether each one ends in something they are proud of.

What do adult colorists want as a gift?

Ask what they color now. Mandala and pattern fans love color play. Nature and animal lovers want a picture: a fox in the snow, a sea turtle, a cardinal. For them, a realistic book is the better gift.

Realistic coloring books versus pattern books

Realistic drawings take a little more patience, so good ones help. Each page in the Nibfern books has a light gray shading guide under the drawing, showing where light and shadow fall, so fur and shells look rounded even for a first-timer. Every subject also has a free reference in the color guide, like the snowy owl and the octopus.

Pencils, markers and the paper question

Colored pencils, gel pens and fineliners work on almost any book paper. Alcohol markers can soak through, which is why it matters that every Nibfern drawing is printed on one side only: the back is blank, so no drawing is ever printed behind the one being colored. Marker fans should still slip a spare sheet behind the page.

A book that ends in something to hang

Every page in Quiet Ocean and Quiet Winter has a cut line at the spine and corner marks. Cut it out and you have a 7 x 9 inch print that fits a standard 8 x 10 frame.

Pairing the book

• A coloring book, a 24-color pencil set and a plain 8 x 10 frame.
• Both books, for someone who will finish one by February.
• A coloring book and Nobody Leaves the Ice, our advent mystery, for the puzzle lover in the same house.

In short

Realistic drawings for nature lovers, printed one side only, with pages sized for a frame. All three Nibfern books are on Amazon, with gift options at checkout. See the gift guide.

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