Free Coloring Pages on Google - Are They Truly Free?

At left: "Mardi Gras" drawn by Teri Sherman and published in ColorOn magazine.

Adult coloring books are available by the thousands. You can type "free coloring pages" into a site like Amazon or Etsy and find anything imaginable in adult coloring book form. Many of these are paid images, which means the artist asks for a small payment before you can access the material. To get around this, you may type this same phrase into Google and download a few you like. Unfortunately, you may be downloading stolen work. Here’s what you should know. Not All “Free” Coloring Pages are Truly Free The images you see in the search results vary greatly. You’ll find a little bit of everything there, and you may even notice some small lettering that reads “Copyright Protected”. Many of the free coloring pages you’ll find in a search engine inquiry are stolen. Colorists will order books, then scan the pages and upload them for their friends. This may seem harmless, but when those friends share with their friends (and so on) the artist’s hard work goes unrecognized. There are three main reasons why you should avoid downloading free coloring pages on Google.

• Art supplies are expensive. You’ve probably experienced this yourself. If you walk into any well-known art supply or craft store, you’ve seen how expensive a single illustration pen or a set of colored pencils can really be. When you bypass the purchase process and simply download free coloring pages, you’re taking money out of that artist’s pocket, making it harder for them to purchase the supplies they need to create new images.

• Artists deserve recognition. Free coloring pages that have been scanned from a book and uploaded to Google don’t have the artist’s name associated with them. This is heartbreaking for artists. Even as a colorist, you probably enjoy sharing your work with others. Before you download free coloring pages, remember that someone put a lot of time and effort into creating those images – and that someone deserves recognition.

• It might even be illegal. Artists who produce coloring books and images often copyright their work to protect it from theft. Just as it’s illegal to download movies and music via filesharing, it’s illegal to download and share copyrighted material. It’s better to be on the safe side and obtain your coloring pages directly from the artist, or even from online outlets like Etsy or Amazon.

Low-Cost Alternatives to Free Coloring Pages on Google Adult coloring books tend to cost more than those designed for children. That’s because adults use mediums like markers and colored pencils, which require high-quality paper. Adult coloring designs are usually intricate, which means the artist puts a lot of time into creating them. If you’re unable to purchase coloring books outright, there are some low-cost alternatives. Here are three of my favorites.

• Individual coloring pages on Etsy. Etsy is an online marketplace that artists frequently use to sell their work to adult colorists. One of the best things about shopping on Etsy is the fact that you can purchase individual coloring pages directly from the artists. These pages cost anywhere from $1.00 to $4.00, and there’s a huge selection available.

• Sales on Amazon. Amazon is another amazing place for adult coloring books. I regularly order from Amazon, and I’ve found many, many well-known books for prices that are much lower than those in bookstores or department stores.

• Free samples provided by artists. Many, many artists provide free samples on their websites to give you the opportunity to color their work before you make a purchase. I download free samples directly from artist websites all the time. In fact, this is how I’ve found some of my favorite artists! Just type “free sample coloring pages” into Google, and make sure that you only click results that take you directly to an artist’s website. If you find images on Pinterest (which is common), visit the website from which the image was pinned. There, if the image is truly a free sample, you should be able to find the download link.

My Favorite Alternative – Coloring Pages Bliss Another great alternative to free coloring pages on Google is a monthly subscription that gives you access to all the downloadable coloring pages you could ever want. My favorite website for this is Coloring Pages Bliss. It’s more than just a website – it’s an entire community, including a YouTube channel and a Facebook group. Here, artist Jennifer Stay and her husband, Steve Stay, provide access to hundreds of images hand-drawn by Jennifer herself (and, more recently, some grayscale photography) and ready to color. As of the time of writing, Jennifer has 99 videos on YouTube that consist of tutorials, product reviews, tips, tricks, coloring hacks, and more. The best part? Some of the images at Coloring Pages Bliss are truly free and require only a free membership. If you choose to become a premium member, it’s only $5 a month, and you’ll gain access to every image on the site. If you’ve downloaded free coloring pages on Google, there’s a good chance it was stolen from an artist at some point. The good news is that you can find legitimately free coloring pages directly from artists, you can find fantastic sales on digital and print coloring books through online retailers, and you can even pay $5 a month to access hundreds of hand-drawn images.

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