How to colour a One Pen page
By the Happily Drawn studio. Updated .
Pick one dark pen. Find a shape with a dot in it and fill the whole shape. Leave shapes without a dot white. Work shape by shape, in any order, until every dotted shape is filled, and the picture comes through. Any dark felt tip or fineliner, 0.5 to 1 mm, works in a One Pen Pages book.
What do I need?
One dark pen and the book. Any dark felt tip or fineliner with a tip between 0.5 and 1 mm will do, and black gives the boldest picture. Pens are not included in a One Pen Pages book, so use one you like the feel of.
The paper is thick (170 gsm) and each scene is printed on one side only, so there is nothing on the back to spoil. Pens vary, so try yours on a corner of the blank back of a page first. The spiral lets the book lie flat, and a good lamp helps you see the small dots.
New to the idea? Start with what a one-colour colouring book is.
How do I colour a page, step by step?
Six steps, and you will only need to read them once.
- Choose your penStep 1: Any dark felt tip or fineliner with a tip of 0.5 to 1 mm. Try it on a corner of the blank back of a page first.
- Pick a pageStep 2: New to it? Start with a page marked with one dot in the margin. Those are the easy ones, with bigger shapes.
- Find a dotStep 3: Look for a shape with a small dot inside it. That shape gets coloured. A shape with no dot stays white.
- Fill the whole shapeStep 4: Go round the edge first, close to the line, then fill the middle. Your pen covers the dot as you go.
- Move to the next dotStep 5: Work in any order. When the shape next door has a dot too, fill it, and the two join into one dark area.
- Keep going until the dots are goneStep 6: When there are no dots left, the page is finished. Hold it at arm's length: that is when the picture is clearest.
Where should I start on a busy page?
The three-dot pages have lots of small shapes, which can look like a lot at first. Three ways in:
- Start with the biggest dotted shapes. They give the picture its outline, and the small ones fall into place around them.
- Work from one corner across the page, so you always know where you have been.
- Turn the book as you go, so your hand comes at each shape from a comfortable angle.
A sheet of scrap paper under the side of your hand keeps fresh ink from smudging. If a shape is too small to see a dot clearly, look again in better light before you fill it.
What if I go over a line or miss a dot?
Carry on. A stray mark into a white shape hardly shows once the shapes around it are filled, because your eye reads the whole picture rather than one edge. If you spot a dot you missed at the end, fill it then. The order never matters.
What if my pen runs out halfway?
Finish the shape with a new pen of the same colour if you have one. Two black pens are rarely exactly the same black, so start the new pen on a fresh shape rather than halfway through one. Any difference then sits along a line, where nobody will notice it.
I'm left-handed. Is there anything different?
In an ordinary copy the spiral runs down the left edge, which can get in the way of a left hand. So every title comes in a left-handed copy at the same price, with each scene on the left-hand page and the wire away from your hand. Choose it where the page asks which hand you colour with.
Working from the right of the page to the left also keeps your hand away from fresh ink. Try it and see what feels natural.
Can I finish a page in one sitting?
That depends on the page and on you. A one-dot page makes a gentle start for a quiet evening. A three-dot page has many more shapes and can stretch over a few evenings. Nothing dries out, so stop whenever you like and come back to the same shape tomorrow.
If you are buying for someone else, our gift guide for Mum or Nan compares our two books.
Questions
Do I have to colour the shapes in order?
No. Fill the dotted shapes in any order you like. The picture is the same at the end.
Can I use a colour other than black?
Yes. Any dark colour works the same way, as long as it stands well apart from the white paper. Black gives the boldest picture.
Will the pen go through the paper?
The paper is thick (170 gsm) and each scene is printed on one side only, so there is nothing on the back to spoil. Pens vary, so try yours on a corner of the blank back of a page first.
Are pens included?
No. Add any dark felt tip or fineliner with a tip of 0.5 to 1 mm.
More guides
What is a one-colour colouring book, and how does it work?
A one-colour colouring book has a dot in every shape to fill. You colour them all with one dark pen and a picture comes through. Here is how it works.Colouring with one pen. UpdatedA colouring book gift for Mum or Nan
Two colouring book gifts for a mum or nan who likes a quiet hour: a ready-made One Pen Pages book, or a book drawn from your own family photos.Gifts. Updated