\n On her account, she shares \u201ccolor with me\u201d videos \u2014 quiet, cozy clips of her filling in pages \u2014 alongside updates on her recovery, coping strategies, and the coloring tools she\u2019s testing.\n <\/p>\n
\n Much of what fills her feed belongs to what TikTok users call \u201ccozy coloring\u201d \u2014 pages with thick outlines and soft themes, designed for slow, low-pressure evenings. It\u2019s the same bold, easy style dominating ColorTok right now.\n <\/p>\n
\n Coloring books for adults aren\u2019t a new phenomenon. As historian Katherine Ott notes in The Public Domain Review<\/a>, early \u201cpaint books\u201d<\/a> were marketed to grown-ups in the late 18th century, often framed as educational or moral tools.\n <\/p>\n \n Satirical adult coloring books surfaced in the 1960s, but adult coloring really caught on around 2015, when Johanna Basford\u2019s intricate drawings in her books \u201cSecret Garden\u201d and \u201cEnchanted Forest\u201d became sensations. That year, sales of adult coloring books in the US jumped from around 1 million to more than 12 million copies, according to Nielsen BookScan data<\/a> from the\u202f2015 US Book Industry Year Review<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n They seem to be going strong. TechSci Research<\/a> reported the global adult coloring market to be worth $151 million in 2024, with it projected to reach $320 million by 2030.\n <\/p>\n \n But recently, a \u201ccozy coloring\u201d aesthetic has dominated adult coloring charts \u2014 simple line art with large shapes meant for quick, relaxing fills. Coco Wyo<\/a>, a leading publisher that dominates bestseller lists, markets a Bold & Easy line<\/a> for adults. Of Amazon\u2019s best-sellers<\/a> in October 2025, nearly half of the top adult coloring books emphasized the \u201cbold & easy\u201d style \u2014 a pull toward accessibility over intricacy, intended to soothe tired minds.\n <\/p>\n \n A London-based independent illustrator who posts on TikTok under the alias Miss Kitsch<\/a>, who didn\u2019t want us to use her real name in this article, has watched the market shift firsthand.\n <\/p>\n \n Her books blend bold outlines and soft, whimsical scenes that evoke nostalgia and calm. She said her books are designed to feel \u201ccomforting\u201d rather than complex, reflecting a growing demand for simplicity in adult coloring.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhen I first started, my focus was on kids and teenagers,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I quickly realized coloring books are hugely popular amongst adults. Today, the majority of my audience is adults, so I like to think of my books as a way to nurture the inner child within all of us.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n She said the nostalgia is powerful: \u201cMany customers tell me that coloring makes them feel like a little kid again. For adults, it\u2019s not only a way to unwind after a busy day, but also a chance to reconnect with creativity they may not have explored since childhood.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Her inbox is full of stories about the wellness benefits. \u201cSome of the most memorable messages come from people who are chronically ill and use coloring as a positive distraction during treatments,\u201d she noted.\n <\/p>\n \n Meg, based in South Wales, who began independently making coloring books less than a year ago under the name Suzie Slug<\/a>, creates fantasy-themed images from her home \u2014 filled with goblins, strange creatures, and tongue-in-cheek humor.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI\u2019ve always loved goblins and I realized there\u2019s no goblin coloring books \u2026 so I made one,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI tried to add some whimsy \u2014 something that would make children happy but also give adults a little giggle,\u201d she added. For her fans, the appeal goes far beyond aesthetics. \u201cSo many people in my \u2018Slug Club\u2019 use coloring as an escape and a time to switch their brains off, and it\u2019s nice to do something relaxed \u2014 and then at the end you get to be like, look I made this.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n From buddy-coloring sessions on Discord to independent creators publishing their own books, online communities have formed around calm, creativity and care.\n <\/p>\n \n Ciara McCabe, professor of neuroscience at the University of Reading, in the UK, said research is catching up with what hobbyists already feel. \u201cWe know that people who engage in hobbies and leisure activities have lower rates of depression,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you have a good social network, you\u2019re less likely to develop disorders like depression. We know hobbies work.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Coloring, she suggested, works because it\u2019s low stakes. \u201cAll you have to do is keep in between the lines. That\u2019s actually very relaxing because it\u2019s taking away all the other things we have to worry about on a daily basis.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n And it\u2019s not just soothing, but protective. \u201cHobbies, social connections, doing stuff that\u2019s pleasurable, motivating, something that gives your life purpose \u2014 those are protective factors. They can help prevent depression in the first place.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n For Girija Kaimal, professor of the Creative Arts Therapies\u202fat Drexel University, in Philadelphia, and author of \u201cThe Expressive Instinct: How Imagination and Creative Works Help Us Survive and Thrive<\/a>,\u201d coloring\u2019s appeal runs deeper than nostalgia.\n <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/new-in-42.jpg\")
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