Revisiting your childhood has never been more fun. Colouring books are proving to be the new stress busters for millions of people. The “colouring for adults” phenomenon started in mid-2015 with books like The Secret Garden; today, adults have their own colouring books. The problem with these books, however, is that they can be used only once.
If you want to colour a landscape in another set of shades, you will have to buy another book. Or, you could simply download an app. Yes, there are apps that allow you to colour on your phone or tablet, and you can even share the results on social media. Here are some of them.
PIGMENT
iOS /Free
Perhaps the most popular colouring app, it is structured in the form of a book—what you get are sets, each of which contains figures, doodles or geometric shapes that can be coloured. The interface is relatively simple, although the app provides just six brush options at present. The colouring experience itself is an attempt to recreate one of colouring with pencils. And if you have an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil, you can use the latter to create some serious colouring magic. You get a certain number of drawings to colour in the free version of the app, but if you want more, you will have to pay a monthly or annual subscription fee.
COLORFY ME
iOS/ Free
If you want to find out what all the fuss is about, this is the app to go to. This is not to be confused with Colorfy, which is a different app altogether. You can use this app without paying a penny but, on the flip side, you will have to put up with a few annoying ad banners. Colouring is simple—just select a colour and tap the portion of the picture you want to fill. There are no brush options to choose from, and the colours are limited compared to those on some of the paid apps in the list, but for its sheer simplicity and the absence of a price tag, this app is in a league of its own.
RECOLOR
iOS/ Free
If you find an app like Pigment too tedious, this is a simpler alternative. Here, too, you have a selection of drawings and figures that you can colour, but the process is simpler—you do not have to search for a brush or a pencil. Just pick a colour of your choice (there are some amazing palettes available) and tap the area you want coloured. A single tap is all it takes to colour a particular section; no fussing around with pen strokes. It lets you have a quick colouring session, and ensures that more often than not, you will complete your painting in one go. You will need to subscribe if you want to access all the content all the time.
1000 DOT TO DOT
iOS/ Free
This app gives a whole new spin to the colouring process. In addition to choosing the colours, you will also need to create the image, by joining dots, just as you did in the picture puzzles in childhood. And, as the name indicates, each sketch involves joining up to a thousand dots—a very intense process in itself. Once you join the dots, just sit back and watch the cluster of dots evolve gently into a detailed painting. The implementation can get a little smudgy, but if you have a large-screen phone or tablet, this is definitely a different way of using colours. You can try some of the puzzles for free, but you will have to pay for additional ones.
COLORFY
iOS and Android/ Free
It gives you sketches and drawings to colour, and you can choose from a varied palette. By default, not one but three colours are at hand when you are colouring, but what makes this app special is that it allows you to do more than just colour what’s been given in the app. You can make your own sketches or write messages. Don’t worry if you are not artistic; just click a picture and the app will convert it into a drawing for you to colour. You can also share your creations with other users. A lot of the content is free, as is the facility to make your own drawings, but you can also take a periodical subscription or pay to download specific content.
QUERKLES
iOS/ Free; optional in-app purchases (Rs.120 onwards)
Just as 1000 Dot To Dot requires you to join dots to create a piece of art, Querkles requires you to colour, in portions, what at first glance seems to be a haphazard collection of shapes. Once you are done colouring, however, you will be staring at a beautiful piece of art. As you keep adding colour to different parts of the shape, you will see a famous image or a familiar building forming. You can, for instance, see a collection of random shapes suddenly morph into an Elvis Presley as you fill it with colours. Some of the pictures available in the app are free, but an optional payment option opens access to other options.
