All the Basics about The Colouring Community: A Practical, Source-Based Overview

Adult colouring has evolved into a global creative movement over the last decade, blending mindfulness, art practice, and online community.

1. The Big 4 Colouring Tutorial / Community Channels

YouTube has grown into the primary learning platform for colouring enthusiasts. These channels offer consistent technique tutorials, tool reviews, and colouring tips. They have also been around for a long time enough to earn a lot of trust from the community.

  • My Colourful Country Life: beginner → advanced techniques, blending demos, supply reviews. Over 800 videos.
  • Sarah Renae Clark: detailed shading and advanced coloured pencil techniques. YouTube + workshop videos. Over 340 videos.
  • Colour with Claire: marker and pencil techniques, product reviews, how-to videos. Over 1000 videos.
  • Coloring Bliss (Jennifer Stay): technique deep dives, art supply guidance, structured tutorials. Over 600 videos.

2. Most Trusted Colouring Art Supplies Tools (Pencils & Markers)

These brands are commonly recommended by experienced colourists for quality, blendability, and longevity.

Pencils

  • Faber-Castell Polychromos

  • Prismacolor Premier

  • Caran d’Ache Luminance

Markers

  • Copic (various series)

  • Ohuhu Marker sets

Brand reputation consistently appears in community discussions and supply review guides.

3. Biggest Colouring Book Authors in the Last 15 Years

These authors shaped the modern adult colouring movement.

  1. Johanna Basford (2013)

  2. Millie Marotta (2014)

  3. Kerby Rosanes (2015)

  4. Maria Trolle (2017)

  5. Hanna Karlzon (2015)

Basford’s Secret Garden is often cited as the title that sparked the global adult colouring trend.

4. Best Selling Colouring Books in the Last 15 Years

Top adult colouring books (both fantasy and general) often appear in Amazon bestseller lists for colouring books. Key examples include:

  • Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Colouring Book by Johanna Basford. One of the bestselling adult colouring books ever.
  • Enchanted Forest by Johanna Basford, considered the sequel to Secret Garden.
  • Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford.
  • Animorphia by Kerby Rosanes.
  • Magical Jungle by Johanna Basford.

5. Recent Trends in Colouring (The recent 5 Years)

  • Hand-drawn non-AI art emphasis.

  • Fantasy and narrative colouring books.

  • Community-led coloring challenges (tags, colour-alongs).

  • YouTube technique tutorials over short-form social content.

  • Amazon indie coloring books & self-published creators.

Community discourse repeatedly emphasizes manual art and skill techniques over AI outputs.

6. Active Indie Colouring Authors in the community (Last 5 Years)

These creators self-publish and have community visibility (includes Amazon and social discussion mentions):

... to be continued. This article will be updated regularly. Please leave comments or email me if you have any suggestion on these lists.

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