How to Color like a Boss: Gel Pens and Coloring Books for Adults

You remember coloring books, right?

They provided hours of entertainment when you were in elementary school, but now? Well now, adult coloring books have entered the mainstream. Not only do fans tout them as a creative outlet, but they also lay claim to their therapeutic, stress-busting effects, too.

What’s nice about adult coloring books is what’s nice about children’s coloring books: You’re only limited by the creativity you wish to exercise. You can use the outlines as prompts for adding your own interpretation—texture, color, pattern—and mix of color, too.

Gel pens are one of the most common tools that adults use for coloring books. But other tools, such as paint brushes, erasers, and cotton swabs, can be a great way to experiment, too. Or you can see how your pages look by mixing pens and pencils of different types, such as gels and colored pencils.