The Poj

Something really magical happened to the picture of the sharks I posted a few days ago. It had never occurred to me that the aquatic predators might make good coloring book material, but a couple of young colorists decided to give it their best shot and the results were AWESOME. I was so blown away that I subsequently stopped my own efforts to color the sharks because I realized my color choices were comparatively so mundane and predictable. Even when I use bright colors, I tend to base my color choices around what 25 years of observation and formal education have taught me.

I really started thinking about coloring books today. When you’re 4 years old with some newsprint and a box of say… 8 crayons, it’s about maximizing the potential of those crayons. It’s about putting the bright yellow next to the royal blue just for the fun of it. It’s about ignoring the lines and scribbling all over the paper. It’s about coloring a shark black, red, and purple simply because there’s no rule forbidding it. It’s about having a good time! The actual subject of the linework in a coloring book, generally, is completely irrelevant in the eye of a crayon-holder. 

With all this coloring book stuff in mind, I decided to throw the rules out the window today. I was doodling and drew up this little leopard, and instead of coloring him a way I normally would I busted out the digital crayons instead. I’m somewhat happier with my second attempt because it feels more spontaneous to me. The bottom image is the picture with both (multiply) color layers turned on.