Top 10 Colouring Book Ideas

The whole point of a custom colouring book is that it's yours. Shop-bought books have generic mandalas and cartoon characters. Yours has your holiday, your dog, your kids. Here are ten themes that work well, with tips on which photos to pick for each.

A custom book tells a story that matters to you. Each page is something you recognise, which is why kids in particular stay interested for longer than they would with a generic book.

Here are ten themes to get you started.

1. Travel Memories

Holiday photos make great colouring pages. Landmarks, street scenes, beaches, markets - they all convert well because they have strong lines and clear shapes.

Think the Eiffel Tower from your Paris trip, the markets of Marrakech, or a temple in Kyoto. Travel books work because each page takes you back to a specific moment. You're not just colouring a picture - you're revisiting a place you've been.

Photo tips: Pick images with strong shapes - buildings, doorways, market stalls. Mix wide shots of landmarks with close-up details. Avoid photos that are mostly sky or flat surfaces.

Best for: Travel enthusiasts, honeymoon memories, family holidays, gap year photos

2. Family Portraits and Milestones

Wedding photos, baby's first year, graduations, family gatherings. These make books that get kept for years because they document something real.

A wedding colouring book is a good first anniversary gift. A baby's first year book is something grandparents will want copies of. The milestone format works because it documents a specific time.

You can also do a chronological book - monthly photos of a baby's first year, or a couple's relationship from dating to marriage. These tell a story across pages.

Best for: New parents, anniversary gifts, family reunions, milestone birthdays

3. Garden and Botanical Photography

If you've got a garden, photograph it. Flowers, leaves, bark textures, and garden layouts all produce detailed colouring pages. It's a way to enjoy your garden when it's too cold or dark to actually be in it.

Document your garden through the seasons - spring bulbs, summer blooms, autumn foliage, winter structures. Close-ups of petals and leaf veins create the kind of intricate patterns that are satisfying to colour.

These also make good gifts for gardening friends, especially if you include photos of plants you've shared.

Best for: Gardeners, nature lovers, anyone with a garden they're proud of

4. Pet Portraits

Photos of your dog, cat, rabbit, or horse convert well into colouring pages. The emotional pull is strong - kids will spend ages getting the fur patterns right on a picture of their own pet.

Pet books are also a way to remember a pet after they're gone. Include photos that show their personality - the head tilt, the favourite sleeping spot, the look they give before stealing food.

If you've got multiple pets, do a book with all of them. Or document one pet from puppyhood to their senior years.

Best for: Pet owners, animal lovers, memorial gifts

5. Architecture and Cityscapes

Buildings convert well. The lines are clean, the shapes are clear, and there's plenty of detail to colour. Pick Victorian facades, modern glass, cathedrals, or industrial buildings - each style gives a different colouring experience.

The structure of buildings makes them satisfying to colour. Focus on doorways, window displays, fire escapes, and street art for variety. Architecture students could even use them as study aids.

You can document a favourite city through doorways, street art, and interesting shop fronts. It's a way to revisit places you've been without looking at a phone screen.

Best for: City lovers, architecture fans, history buffs, photographers

6. Seasonal and Holiday Themes

Use your own festive photos. Autumn leaves, winter snow, spring blossoms, summer beach scenes. Christmas books with your family's own decorations and tree are particularly popular.

A Christmas colouring book with your own family photos can become an annual tradition. Bring it out each December. An autumn book with pumpkin patches and changing leaves works for October half-term.

Parents and teachers use seasonal books for activities too. A spring book with local wildflowers, a winter book with snow scenes. They make good gifts at the start of each season.

Best for: Holiday gifts, family traditions, classroom activities

7. Hobby and Interest Collections

Photograph your hobby and turn it into a book. Classic cars, vintage fashion, sports, instruments, craft projects. A book about what you actually love doing is more engaging than a generic one.

Car enthusiasts can use photos from car shows. Knitters can document finished projects. Musicians can feature their instruments. Sports fans can compile action shots from games they've been to.

These work as gifts within hobby communities. If someone you know loves birdwatching, vintage motorcycles, or model trains, a book featuring their interest shows you've paid attention.

Best for: Collectors, hobbyists, club members, anyone with a niche interest

8. Children's Artwork and Drawings

Turn your child's drawings into a colouring book. Their art becomes pages they can colour again and again. It's a confidence boost - seeing their own work printed in a real book.

This also solves the problem of what to do with the piles of art projects kids bring home. Instead of storing boxes of drawings or quietly recycling them, pick the best ones and put them in a book. Kids feel proud seeing their work in print.

Teachers can compile student artwork into a class colouring book for end-of-year gifts. Each child sees their work in print, and parents get a keepsake that's more useful than another folder of paintings.

Best for: Parents, teachers, art classes, school fundraisers

9. Local Landmarks and Community Pride

Photograph your hometown - landmarks, local shops, parks, community events. These make good gifts for people who've moved away, or fundraising items for local groups.

Feature historic buildings, local shops, murals, and parks. These books get people talking about their area - useful for newcomers and kids learning about where they live.

Schools and universities can do campus versions for orientation or alumni gifts. Local tourism boards can use them to promote attractions. They become collectibles, especially when they document places that change over time.

Best for: Community groups, schools, local businesses, tourism boards, alumni groups

Tips for Choosing Your Theme

A few things to keep in mind when picking photos:

• Pick photos that mean something: The whole point is personal connection. Choose images that matter to you or the person you're making the book for.
• Mix detailed and simple: Include some intricate pages for focused colouring and some easier ones for quick sessions or younger kids.
• Clear shapes work best: Photos with distinct subjects and good contrast convert better than busy or cluttered images.
• Avoid stressful images: Colouring should be relaxing. Skip photos that might bring up negative feelings.
• Think about order: A chronological flow or thematic grouping makes the book feel more deliberate than random pages.

Photo Quality Matters

You don't need a professional camera. Phone photos work fine as long as they're clear and well-lit. Blurry or dark photos won't convert well. The key is having a distinct subject with good contrast between the subject and the background.

Busy backgrounds can make messy colouring pages. If in doubt, crop the photo to focus on the main subject before uploading.

Combining Multiple Themes

You don't have to stick to one theme. A "Year in Review" book might include travel, family milestones, seasonal moments, and hobby highlights all in one. It becomes a personal story told through colouring pages.

A wedding book might include the venue, flowers, family portraits, and honeymoon photos. A retirement gift could combine workplace memories, hobbies, family, and travel plans.

If you're mixing themes, group similar images together or arrange them chronologically so the book feels deliberate rather than random.

Making Your Colouring Book a Gift

A custom colouring book shows you've put thought into a gift. You picked the photos, you chose the theme, and the result is something no one else could have given them.

Think about who it's for. A new parent might love a book of their baby's first months. A friend going through a hard time might appreciate calming nature scenes from places you've been together. Someone hitting a milestone birthday could get a book spanning decades of photos.

Pair it with a set of coloured pencils and a note explaining why you picked those photos. That context makes it more than just a book - it makes it a gift with a story behind it.

Start Creating Your Colouring Book

Upload your photos, preview the line-art pages, and order when you're happy with what you see. Each book is printed and bound - you get one copy or several, whatever you need.

Whether you pick one of the themes above or come up with your own, the process is the same: upload, preview, order. The hard part is choosing which photos to use.

Start creating your colouring book today and turn your photos into something you can actually sit down and colour.