These Realistic Coloring Books Let You Learn While You Color
Coloring can be relaxing and meditative , or an artistic expression that doesn’t require skill. But it can also be a great way to learn something. Explore these books to learn about anatomy, nature, and more while you meditate with pencils.
Anatomy coloring books have long been the easter egg in the “recommended but not required” curriculum in your science class. The classic is the Anatomy Coloring Book by Capit and Elson, and this is my battered, half finished copy in the photo above. At the same publisher has books on botany , the human brain , zoology , microbiology , and much else . Coloring is a great way to learn anatomy because you have to pay attention to the shape and location of every muscle, bone, or cell; you don’t just look at the diagram and move on. In these books, you can also color the names of each part on the diagram to improve your memory.
If you prefer to color things that look beautiful in real life (because most things in anatomy are sticky and red; you just apply vibrant colors to help you distinguish one part from another), try coloring books based on field guides. These for butterflies , seashells , wildflowers and mammals use realistic line art and provide full color decals so you can see what color each creature should be. The Sibley Birds Field Journal works the same way (color illustrations on the inside of the obverse), but some bird watchers like to use it to record what they saw in nature: exactly what their bird looked like, even if it differs from the guide provided.