Hot New Category for Artists: Adult Coloring Books

Color her successful! SURTEX exhibitor Debra Valencia is coloring a lot of green within the lines of her latest publishing venture: coloring books for adults.

“Coloring books with sophisticated or theme-specific subject matter are a hot category of art-related craft activities for adults any age or gender,” the Los Angeles-based artist reports.

Adult coloring books also comprise a new — and lucrative — B2B product category for artists and designers. Featured on mainstream national and international news, some titles have been selling more than six million units to date. The craze is spawning social clubs with home-based parties, meet-ups at bars, and online groups with as many as 10,000 members each, Debra pointed out in a recent media release. Eight of the 20 top-selling books on Amazon currently are coloring books designed for adults, she reports.

It’s “part of larger movement of getting back to an age of innocence, slowing, down, making something by hand, and unplugging from our digital devices,” she believes.

An additional bonus, Debra cites, are “amazing wellness benefits… an inspiring adventure of patterning, shading and coloring (unleashes) the inner artist, (leading adults to) stress-free peace and quiet meditative hobby time.”

In addition to coloring books, an array of spin-off products includes coloring greeting cards, notecards, stickers, posters, wall décor, plates, and calendars — Debra’s art was featured in the first coloring calendar for 2016, published by Design Originals. Her coloring books include Boho Paisley, Modern Flowers, World Beat Designs: Mandalas and More, and Stylized Animals, due out in May.