With so many coloring options to choose from, it becomes challenging to figure out which one(s) to use.
Here are my top three choices for coloring mandalas that are printed on paper:
- Color Pencils
- Markers
- Gel Pens
…and the pros and cons for each:
Color Pencils
- Pros
- affordable (although the higher the price, the better the quality)
- portable
- easy to use, no special skill required (although there are some advanced techniques that allow you to do some interesting effects…the quality of the pencil will matter)
- can be easily stored
- depending on the pencil brand, it has the potential to be erasable
- only tool you need is something to sharpen the pencils
- Cons
- can be hard on your hands to use, especially if you want to get a good solid color on the page
- the leads can break inside the wood casing, making it frustrating sometimes to sharpen
- depending on the brand (usually the cheaper ones), the tips tend to break easily if pressed too hard on the paper
- depending on the brand, it’s challenging to blend the colors
- depending on the brand, the texture can be chalky rather than smooth.
- if you’re not careful it’s easy to smudge the colors when the “crumbs” of the color pencils on the paper are brushed off.
Markers
- Pros
- coloring with them is easier on your hands
- depending on the size of the marker tips, coloring is larger areas is faster and easier
- the colors tend to be more vibrant
- some brands have dual tips giving you more coloring options: fine tip & broad tip, or brush tip & broad tip, or fine tip & calligraphy tip
- in general, it much faster to color with markers
- Cons
- depending on the paper, if too much marker is used in one spot, it could turn the paper to pulp
- depending on the paper, the marker could bleed through to the other side
- if using an inkjet printed mandala, markers will smear the design outline (if you set the printer to use black ink only…it’s less like to happen)
- ideally best to use marker-safe paper, which is pricier than regular paper
- if not properly cared for, the markers can dry out quickly
- depending on the brand, limited color selections
- like a lawnmower that leaves tracks, so can markers…for a cleaner look, be aware of the coloring directions…it’s the difference between your coloring looking neat/controlled or messy
- they tend to be pricier than color pencils (again depending on the brand)
- some markers are alcohol-based which behave differently from non-alcohol based markers (there are pros and cons to that as well)
Gel Pens
- Pros
- great for doing detailed colorings, especially patterns and doodles
- portable
- more flexibility
- greater variety of pen styles: regular, metallic, glitter, pastel, neon, etc
- work well over other media, like markers, watercolors, even color pencils
- Cons
- some brands clog easily, rendering them useless (especially cheaper brands)
- because they have a smaller nib, it takes longer (time and ink) to fill in larger areas
- if not stored properly they can dry out quicker
- can be pricy, especially for the higher quality ones
- fewer color choices (unless you by the set of 100 pens for ~ $20 — down side? quality issues)
So as you can see, each have their own pros and cons. For me, of late anyway, I tend to color in stages. In the first stage I usually fill in all the areas of the mandala using makers. When it dries, I go in with my gel pens to add details.
What do you like to use? What do you think are their pros and cons?
Regardless of your coloring medium of choice, I hope you always enjoy coloring mandalas.