5 Online Adult Coloring Apps to Help Calm the Nerves and Anxiety
Being a person who easily gets agitated, I have always looked for simple and interesting ways to calm my nerves. I read an article somewhere on the Internet stating that coloring is very therapeutic for overcoming anxiety. Well, the article wasn’t wrong, and it wasn’t just me, but a great many people consider this a fun and helpful activity. In my personal journey, I noticed an improvement in staying focused, practicing mindfulness, relieving stress, and getting myself to relax. Being an adult, it’s kind of weird using a coloring book to color or paint, right?
Well, before I started on this, I concluded that most of you would think, like “coloring is for kids”, “It is such a chore to color in lines”, “why are there so many colors”, or “why would an adult like me indulge in coloring to calm myself?” If you’re one of these, this article is for you. Trust me when I say that coloring is one of the most calming therapies one can practice, and have fun with it too.
For this reason, I searched various digital versions of coloring books that might be helpful in practicing calmness and relieving stress. Plus, online coloring is way more fun and creative. It also helps save on the cost of getting paper coloring books and colors.
P.S. To truly enjoy the activity and have your session not turn into frustration instead, you should ensure your internet is seamless. I have one of the best internet providers, because they offer high-speed connection and smooth service. With Verizon Internet, I can spend hours and hours just coloring away on those platforms.
Let’s now explore the top 5 apps that you should download right away –who knows, you might find joy in this little activity too.
5 Online Coloring App for Adults
1. Pigment – Adult Coloring Book
Availability: For iOS users only
The Pigment is an adult coloring app that indulges you in the realm of creativity and calmness. With the largest design library, unlimited colors, and customizable brushes, it is the perfect app for you to use when you are feeling anxious. The app has a variety of brushes through which you can color the designs realistically.
Watercolor, oil, and pastel brushes are available that will make you think you are painting on a real canvas and not on a digital canvas. For funky and glittery effects, glitter and plasma brushes can also be used. Pigment also supports Apple Pencil to make the coloring therapy experience seamless and enjoyable.
Pigment also offers “grayscale coloring,” which you can say is a painting with anonymous and random colors. This feature can let users create a unique piece of art. With its easy-to-use interface and an extensive pigment gallery, this app can be your new go-to whenever you want to relax.
Here, you can create your color palette, or if you are new to coloring/painting, you can use already-made ones. The app also has a community that allows its users to connect with other users, share experiences, and find inspiration and support within the community.
2. Adult Coloring Book: Chroma
Availability: For iOS users only
Chroma has AI integration that can bring your creativity to life. All you have to do is tell Amber, the AI bot of Chroma, what type of design you want, and she will create it for you. You can then color by mixing colors, gradients, and textures to make a unique artistic piece.
In Chroma app, users can even hand-draw the designs to color. Its collaborative features include buddy coloring, where you can split a page and color it with your coloring partner. It is great for connecting with a person going through the same anxiousness as you.
From various artistic tools like smudge, watercolor, airbrush, pencil, markers, etc., to a paint bucket to fill the colors, Chroma has every tool you need to color a perfect picture. Its designs include mandalas, animals, flowers, and the list goes on. What makes this app more interesting is that you can create and share time-lapse videos of your coloring.
This coloring app will help you calm your nerves with an enjoyable experience.
3. Colorfy: Coloring Book Games
Availability: For both Android and iOS users
A coloring app with AR integration? It is a must-have to visualize your designs in the real world. What makes this app different from other coloring digital books is that it can work offline. It allows users to create their mandalas and patterns, or they can choose from the already given templates to color.
With different brush styles, a huge artistic community, and integration with digital networks, this app is a good choice to relax your mind. Its subscription offers new updates every week and extra features to enjoy.
4. Happy Color: Color by Number
Availability: For both Android and iOS users
I use this app whenever I want to relax my mind and soul. I have always been an artistic child, the one who always used to paint or color. I used to connect numbers to make borders of the design and then color them. Happy Color is the same numbering color game, with a slight change of coloring on the mentioned numbers instead of connecting them.
This app helps me relive my childhood memories and brings me that nostalgic experience. One of its best parts is that it has many Disney art templates, and if you are a Disney fan, you can resonate with the excitement of coloring your favorite Disney characters and places. Other than these, there are nature designs, fashion templates, etc.
The app has a simple interface; just tap on the design you want to color in and number-color it. It has the best coloring-by-numbers approach since it will help you enhance focus and relieve stress and anxiety.
1. Lake: Coloring Books for Adults
Availability: For iOS users only
Lake is another award-winning coloring app for adults to express their creative visions in this digital coloring book. The app is known for displaying independent illustrators’ hand-drawn designs. It is a great platform to practice mindfulness, relaxation, and relieving anxiety.
Explore the community of illustrators from all over the world and discover a huge variety of palettes that cater to your every mood. Through this app, you can draw and paint freely, color on numbers, or blend the shades; it’s all in your hands. Use Apple Pencil as your magic wand and express yourself through Lake.
Check out these apps and find the one that suits you best. But one thing is for sure, these apps will bring you calmness and help get rid of the “over the edge” feeling.