Coloring apps have become increasingly popular in recent years as a fun and relaxing activity for both children and adults. With many coloring apps available, some allow you to color pre-set designs while others give you more flexibility to create your own art. So is there a coloring app that lets you pick your own colors to use?
The Benefits of Customizable Coloring Apps
Having full control over the color palette when coloring digitally offers some great advantages. Here are some of the key benefits of using an app that provides this feature:
- Freedom of expression – Being able to choose any colors you want gives you the freedom to get creative and make the art feel like your own. Preselected palettes can feel limiting.
- Stress relief – For many, coloring is a calming activity. Picking your own colors to create the perfect color combinations you envision can enhance that relaxing effect.
- Preference matching – If you have favorite colors you like using, you can stick to those shades and ensure the finished piece matches your personal preferences.
- Color experimentation – Digital coloring makes it easy to test different color schemes and combinations, helping you learn more about color theory in a hands-on way.
- Skill building – Being able to control the colors allows you to focus on improving technique without the limitation of set palettes.
Having the freedom to choose any colors can make coloring a more rewarding creative outlet. So apps that provide that flexibility can be greatly appealing to both casual colorists and artists.
Top Apps for Custom Color Selection
There are a number of great coloring book apps that allow you to use your own color choices. Here are some top options:
| App | Platforms | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Pigment | iOS, Android |
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| Recolor | iOS, Android |
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| Colorfly | iOS, Android |
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| Medibang Paint | iOS, Android, Windows |
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| Adult Coloring Book | Android |
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These apps provide excellent coloring experiences while giving you full control over your color choices. Most offer a range of books and images to color along with customizable brushes, palettes, and other tools.
Key Features for Customizable Coloring
When looking for coloring apps that give you creative freedom with colors, there are some key features to look out for:
- Color wheels/pickers – A color picker or wheel makes selecting any color easy. Advanced pickers allow inputting hex codes.
- Customizable palettes – Preset palettes are handy, but apps should allow making your own with any colors.
- Multiple layers – Layers allow you to apply colors separately and create overlays and textures.
- Blending modes – Blend modes let you mix colors to get creative combinations and effects.
- Brush customization – Being able to customize brushes with your choice of colors allows for unique styles.
- Eyedropper tools – Sampling colors directly from a drawing is helpful for precision.
Advanced coloring apps will offer these types of features to provide full creative freedom when applying colors.
DIY Approach with Drawing Apps
Along with dedicated coloring apps, full-featured drawing apps can also allow you to pick any colors for coloring digitally. Apps like Adobe Illustrator, Clip Studio Paint, and Autodesk Sketchbook provide all the coloring tools you could need for freeform art.
The benefit of using these types of apps is that you can illustrate your own art from scratch and color it however you want. So if you prefer not to be limited to pre-made coloring book images, drawing your own creations may be more enjoyable.
Here are some of the best drawing apps for applying custom colors:
| App | Platforms | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Illustrator | iOS, Windows |
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| Procreate | iOS |
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| Autodesk Sketchbook | iOS, Android, Windows |
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| Clip Studio Paint | iOS, Android, Windows |
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Combining the freehand illustration capabilities of these apps with their coloring features can provide endless options for creating and coloring custom art.
Conclusion
There are a number of great coloring apps and drawing apps that provide the ability to pick your own colors for coloring artwork digitally. Look for apps that offer advanced color selection tools, customizable palettes and brushes, layers for overlays, and other features that enable you to color illustrations just how you envision them.
Apps like Pigment, Recolor, and Colorfly offer these capabilities alongside curated coloring books. Full featured drawing apps like Procreate, Illustrator, and Sketchbook additionally allow you to create any art you can imagine and color it with your own palettes. With the right app, you’ll have all the creative freedom you need to make coloring your own relaxing, rewarding experience.