Okay, full disclosure – when I first started this thing, I had zero clue what I was doing. Still don’t, half the time.
It was 2020, I think? Maybe 2021. Time’s become weird lately. Anyway, I was freelancing, doing illustrations for clients who’d change their minds seventeen times before settling on something that looked exactly like my first draft. You know the type.
One day I’m stress-doodling during yet another “quick sync” that went on for two hours, and my roommate looks over and goes “that’s really cool, you should put it online or something.” Classic roommate advice, right? Except I actually did it.
Why We Do This
Look, I could give you some polished mission statement about inspiring creativity and making art accessible. That’s all true, I guess. But honestly? I was just tired of paying fifteen bucks for coloring books that had maybe ten decent pages.
These days, between work deadlines and life generally being… well, life, we all need something that helps us zone out for a bit. Some people binge Netflix. Others go for runs. We make coloring pages. And apparently, a lot of you like coloring them, which is pretty awesome.
The therapeutic stuff isn’t just marketing speak either. Emma (you’ll meet her in a sec) swears that working on mandalas helped her through her divorce. Marcus says drawing silly animals keeps him sane when dealing with particularly energetic preschoolers. There’s real science behind this – something about repetitive motions and focused attention quieting the anxious parts of our brains. But honestly, even if there wasn’t, watching a blank page come to life is just… satisfying.
Meet the Crew
Salma Ali – The One Who Started This Mess
That’s me! Former freelance illustrator, current coffee addict, and person who apparently can’t stop creating new coloring page ideas. My sketchbooks are everywhere – kitchen counter, car glove compartment, bedside table. My friends have given up trying to have normal conversations with me because I’ll inevitably spot something that would make a great pattern and start sketching on whatever’s handy.
I spent way too many years in the corporate world doing illustrations for people who wanted everything “more dynamic” and “on-brand.” Now I draw what makes me happy, and somehow that resonates with other people too. Go figure.
Emma Johnson – Pattern Perfectionist
Emma joined us about two years ago after I posted a desperate plea on a design forum looking for help. She responded with three sample mandalas that were so intricate they made my eyes water – in the best possible way.
She’s got this background in graphic design, but more importantly, she actually understands printers. Like, really understands them. Before Emma, half our downloads looked terrible when people tried to print them at home. Now she obsesses over things like line weights and margin spacing that I didn’t even know were things to obsess over.
Fair warning: if you email us about printing issues, you’ll probably get a very detailed response from Emma about printer settings. She can’t help herself.
Marcus Davis – Kid Consultant
Marcus used to teach preschool. Quit because the pay was terrible, which is criminal when you think about how hard that job is. But he kept the superpower of understanding what makes kids tick.
His animals have attitudes. Like, real attitudes. The lions look slightly annoyed. The pandas are clearly judging you. Kids love it because they can relate, I think. Animals with feelings are apparently more interesting than perfect, generic ones.
He lives next door to this family with three kids, and they’ve basically become his unpaid focus group. They’re brutal critics too. Last month they rejected his butterfly design because “butterflies don’t look grumpy.” Back to the drawing board.
Sophia Williams – Word Wizard
Sophia writes all our page descriptions and manages our social media, which means she’s the reason we don’t sound like robots when we post things. She’s also got infinite patience for answering the same questions over and over again.
She has this master’s degree in creative writing that she’s probably overqualified to use for describing coloring pages, but she makes even a simple flower design sound like something you absolutely need in your life.
Plus, she’s the one who convinced me to actually respond to comments instead of just lurking nervously. Turns out people like hearing from real humans. Who knew?
Ryan Thompson – Tech Guy Who Also Makes Art
Ryan keeps the website from falling apart, which happens more often than you’d think. Turns out running a site that thousands of people download stuff from requires actual technical knowledge. Who could have predicted that?
He also makes art for video games, which is way cooler than what we do but he seems to like helping us anyway. Maybe he feels sorry for us. Either way, he’s the reason you can actually find and download things without the site crashing.
Aria Lopez – Education Ninja
Aria makes educational stuff that doesn’t feel like homework. This is apparently very difficult because most educational materials are boring as hell. Hers aren’t.
She taught elementary school before this, so she knows what actually works with kids versus what adults think should work with kids. Big difference, apparently.
Speaks like four languages or something ridiculous like that. Always pushing us to think about kids who aren’t native English speakers, which honestly hadn’t occurred to me until she brought it up. Good thing one of us is thinking.
Getting in Touch
We love hearing from people who use our stuff. Seriously – your emails make our day. Found a bug? Have a design request? Just want to share a photo of your latest coloring project? Send it our way.
We read everything, even if it takes us a while to respond sometimes. (Blame Emma – she insists on crafting thoughtful replies instead of just sending “thanks!” like I suggested.)
