Altered Coloring Book Art #1 – Belle

This is an idea just for fun if you want to make unique art but are low on energy.

Often when I want to be creative, I’m too tired to make something original. I decided to turn this frustration into an opportunity to use my imagination. I love coloring books, but sometimes I get tired of having to literally color within the lines.

Part of the joy of being creative is making something new. I started thinking back to my childhood and how I loved to change things in coloring books—I’d make the characters’ dresses different colors than they were in the movies or add detail to the background.

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If you’re like me and deal with chronic illness and/or chronic pain, you’ve probably heard a doctor emphasize the importance of managing stress. Studies do indeed show that coloring can help with stress and lower anxiety. When managing illness, I’ve learned its also important to take time to do something you enjoy. I love the oppurtunity to get creative, so coloring is a great low-key option.

I started flipping through a Disney coloring book and just let my mind wander. Hmmm, why is the tree Belle sitting on so huge? It makes her look the size of a fairy. Aha! I could draw her with fairy wings!

And I wanted to try my hand at drawing blonde hair. It was always so frustrating as a child having to draw my hair as yellow!

I also tried to make Belle’s dress look like it was made out of petals, but that didn’t turn out as well as I hoped. Oh well! It was a fun experiment.

I’d love to see your alterations if you give it a try! I searched online to see if anyone else was doing this, but I was bummed to discover the only variations were “twisted” coloring book pages. How about we start a trend of altering coloring book pages and making them more beautiful and imaginative! Comment with a link to your artwork!

Also, in case you’d like to try altering this page yourself, this coloring page is from the Wonderful Princess World coloring book.

I hope this post inspires you to find a new way to be creative and relieve stress. Happy coloring!

What do you think of the idea of altering coloring book pages?
Also, what character(s) would you like to see me alter next?

PS Thank you to Karen for sending me the “before” picture. I’m glad we have the same coloring book!