Creating coloring books can be a fun and rewarding hobby or even a great business opportunity. With the rising popularity of adult coloring books in recent years, there is high demand for unique and creative coloring books. Fortunately, advances in print-on-demand technology and digital publishing tools have made it easier than ever for regular people to make their own coloring books, often at no cost.
In this article, we will explore several excellent free online resources and apps for crafting custom coloring books from scratch. Whether you want to make a few copies for friends and family or develop a full coloring book business, these free options allow you to design beautiful books with your own art and content. Read on to find the perfect free coloring book maker for your needs and skill level!
Benefits of Creating Your Own Coloring Books
Before jumping into the free options, let’s first look at why you may want to create your own coloring books in the first place:
– Express your creativity – Coloring books allow you to showcase your unique art style, perspectives, and content ideas. You don’t have to conform to someone else’s vision.
– Give personalized gifts – A custom coloring book filled with inside jokes or personal memories makes for a thoughtful present.
– Reach a wide audience – If you create a book with broad appeal, you can potentially sell copies worldwide through print-on-demand services.
– Make money with a side business – Successful coloring book artists and writers can earn passive income from book royalties.
– Relieve stress through art therapy – Drawing the book content can be a meditative process. Coloring it in is relaxing too!
– Gain a sense of accomplishment – Seeing your coloring book printed out professionally gives an immense feeling of pride and achievement.
With so many excellent reasons to make your own coloring book, let’s look at some stellar free tools to make it happen.
Best Free Online Coloring Book Makers
Here are the top free web-based apps for crafting custom coloring books:
Canva
Canva is an intuitive graphic design platform that lets anyone create professional visual content for both digital and print media. Though not built exclusively for coloring books, Canva contains all the design tools needed to make simple coloring books quickly.
Key Features:
– Massive library of templates, fonts, images, and design elements to customize your pages
– Drag-and-drop format makes it easy to rearrange and update pages
– Ability to upload your own art or photos
– PDF download for printing through self-publishing sites
– Resize individual elements or entire pages for perfect book dimensions
– Hundreds of free images and design options; paid upgrades for more content
With Canva’s print book templates, you can produce a complete coloring book PDF in just a few hours. The learning curve is minimal even for total beginners. Canva works seamlessly on desktop and mobile too. Overall, it’s the easiest way for non-designers to craft custom coloring books.
Make Beliefs Comix
Managed by the nonprofit Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, MakeBeliefsComix.com offers a novel approach to coloring book creation. The site allows you to populate comic-style templates with your own characters, dialog, and storyline.
Key Features:
– Fun comic themes like school, family, holidays, space, pets and more
– Customizable characters, objects, and text
– Printable PDF downloads when finished
– Encourages storytelling and imagination
– Kid-friendly site great for schools and families
MakeBeliefsComix provides pre-made comic strip layouts with empty panels for you to fill in digitally. This interactive design style results in imaginative stories ideal for coloring books. Since the site is geared for kids, the comics tend to work best as children’s coloring content. Teachers also use MakeBeliefsComix for class projects.
Fiverr
Fiverr is an online freelancer marketplace where you can hire artists to create custom coloring book designs affordably. While not a coloring book maker per se, Fiverr gives you access to thousands of talented illustrators.
Key Features:
– Get unique custom designs from seasoned freelancers
– Low starting prices, often just $5 per basic gig
– Built-in messaging system to communicate with designers
– Clear pricing and package options
– Artists can provide completed coloring books or just illustrations/linework
– Sellers have reviews and ratings for quality assurance
To get a coloring book made on Fiverr, search keywords like “create coloring book”, then order a custom gig. Provide the artist with any concept details, images, and specifications. Collaborating with an experienced illustrator ensures professional, one-of-a-kind results. The finished files are yours to print or self-publish as desired.
InDesign/Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe’s InDesign desktop publishing software offers advanced tools for designing, laying out, and formatting print books of all types. As part of Adobe Creative Cloud, it seamlessly integrates with other Adobe programs like Photoshop and Illustrator.
Key Features:
– Precise drag-and-drop layout with full typographic control
– Easy image importing and editing
– Built-in drawing/shape tools for illustrations
– Export printable PDFs, eBooks, etc.
– Helpful templates for all book formats
– Integration with Photoshop and Illustrator for advanced image editing
With some learning, InDesign gives full control over print book elements like margins, grids, fonts, color spaces, and more. Adobe also has tutorials specific to creating coloring books in InDesign. The main drawbacks are the monthly subscription cost and steep learning curve. Still, InDesign remains the leading professional-grade solution.
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word has basic desktop publishing capabilities for arranging text and graphics into book layouts. For simple coloring books without much text, Word provides a free option.
Key Features:
– Most people already own Word and know how to use it
– Insert and position images plus add text boxes easily
– Various book templates and themes to choose from
– Export to PDF for self-publishing or local printing
– Spell check helps fix typos and errors
While you won’t get the dimensions, bleeds, advanced color controls, and other benefits of advanced software, Word can work for making basic coloring books for personal use. Just insert each drawing on a page with blank space around it. Then add borders and export a printable PDF.
Tips for Creating Great Coloring Books
Once you’ve selected a free coloring book maker, keep these tips in mind to achieve the best results:
– Use thick lines with blank areas for coloring rather than intricate designs
– Vary the complexity between pages to engage different skill levels
– Include a fun story or informative content to give the book purpose
– Ensure consistent page dimensions, margins, and layout
– Add page numbers, text boxes, and decorative elements if desired
– Use higher resolution images when possible for crisp printed output
– Choose binding options like glue or spiral so pages open flat
– Print a test copy yourself before mass production to check quality
– Explore self-publishing on Amazon, IngramSpark, Barnes & Noble Press, etc. to sell your book
By applying these tips in any software, you’ll create a better quality coloring book more suitable for printing and selling online.
Get Started Designing Your Own Coloring Book Today!
We just covered several excellent free platforms for crafting custom coloring books. Options range from Canva’s simple browser-based design tools to InDesign’s professional layout capabilities. With any of these DIY solutions, you can turn your imaginative art and stories into printed reality.
The coloring book market provides huge opportunities for independent artists, writers, and creatives to reach broad audiences while retaining control over their work. Plus, it’s just plain fun bringing your ideas to life in a format people love!
So grab your favorite drawing tools, think up some cool themes and characters, and start making your own coloring book masterpiece today. The free options above make the process easy for any skill level. Before you know it, you’ll have a unique coloring book ready for sharing with the world.