Making a bird coloring book

[GracesWarbler]

For a little while now, I've been interested in the idea of making a bird coloring book.  You can find some of my drawings below, and I'd love to hear some input.  In particular, two things:

First, there are a ton of bird coloring books, and I'd like to stand out.  So what's a good hook?  I think it would be fun to have birds from every continent (provided I can get good photos to use, see below) and I'd like to have educational pages about bird feathers, wings, beaks, feet, behavior, etc.  Other ideas: trivia about each bird and real birders' stories from the field.  Any other ideas?

Second, I'd love to have a wider variety of species.  Most of my photos are from Arizona and some other U.S. states.  If you have any photos that I can trace (or even better, galleries I can look through), please post them in this thread.  I'm looking for interesting, colorful, in-focus birds, perhaps with something interesting in the background as well.  Exotic or notable species are a plus.

Anyway, I'd love to hear what people think.  This is just a hobby for now, and I can't promise that I'll ever finish the book, but I'm interested in chatting about the idea.

[lonestranger]

I wonder if local birds to specific areas might be more of a hook than exotic birds, especially if you want the educational part to be more relevant to the person doing the coloring. Coloring birds from the other side of the world might provide for some interesting coloring, but learning about local birds might have more of a hook in the long run. I also think it'd be easier for kids to identify with local birds that they see regularly when it comes to coloring them. Then again, local birds might be too boring to be an actual hook for marketing purposes. Whatever hook you try for, I'd suggest directing it at the adults purchasing the coloring book and not the children coloring in them. If you go with an educational hook, remember to keep things age relevant. Just some quick thoughts, as requested.

[lonestranger]

Feel free to use any of my photos for your coloring book @GracesWarbler, as long as that's all they're used for, and I get a copy of the coloring book if you do use them. ?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/27232701@N04/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/182354370@N02/

 

[Birds are cool]

You can use my photos as long as they are not used for anything else, and I would like to get a copy when you are done.

[Birds are cool]

9 hours ago, GracesWarbler said:

For a little while now, I've been interested in the idea of making a bird coloring book.  You can find some of my drawings below, and I'd love to hear some input.  In particular, two things:

First, there are a ton of bird coloring books, and I'd like to stand out.  So what's a good hook?  I think it would be fun to have birds from every continent (provided I can get good photos to use, see below) and I'd like to have educational pages about bird feathers, wings, beaks, feet, behavior, etc.  Other ideas: trivia about each bird and real birders' stories from the field.  Any other ideas?

Second, I'd love to have a wider variety of species.  Most of my photos are from Arizona and some other U.S. states.  If you have any photos that I can trace (or even better, galleries I can look through), please post them in this thread.  I'm looking for interesting, colorful, in-focus birds, perhaps with something interesting in the background as well.  Exotic or notable species are a plus.

Anyway, I'd love to hear what people think.  This is just a hobby for now, and I can't promise that I'll ever finish the book, but I'm interested in chatting about the idea.

What do you use to make these photos. I want to make a book for the birds of Georgia.

[The Bird Nuts]

2 hours ago, lonestranger said:

I wonder if local birds to specific areas might be more of a hook than exotic birds, especially if you want the educational part to be more relevant to the person doing the coloring. Coloring birds from the other side of the world might provide for some interesting coloring, but learning about local birds might have more of a hook in the long run. I also think it'd be easier for kids to identify with local birds that they see regularly when it comes to coloring them. Then again, local birds might be too boring to be an actual hook for marketing purposes. Whatever hook you try for, I'd suggest directing it at the adults purchasing the coloring book and not the children coloring in them. If you go with an educational hook, remember to keep things age relevant. Just some quick thoughts, as requested.

I also like the idea of local birds.  Even birds of Arizona rather than birds of North America.

Not all coloring books are for kids.  I think adults would be interested in something like this as well.

9 hours ago, GracesWarbler said:

I'd like to have educational pages about bird feathers, wings, beaks, feet, behavior, etc. 

This is a great idea!  Like a whole page showing different beak shapes (with the birds' head so they can be identified) to color in and info on what the different birds eat.

[Birds are cool]

2 hours ago, Birds are cool said:

You can use my photos as long as they are not used for anything else, and I would like to get a copy when you are done.

Link to my photos. 

https://media.ebird.org/catalog?sort=upload_date_desc&regionCode=US-GA&userId=USER2267711

[GracesWarbler]

6 hours ago, lonestranger said:

I wonder if local birds to specific areas might be more of a hook than exotic birds, especially if you want the educational part to be more relevant to the person doing the coloring. Coloring birds from the other side of the world might provide for some interesting coloring, but learning about local birds might have more of a hook in the long run. I also think it'd be easier for kids to identify with local birds that they see regularly when it comes to coloring them. Then again, local birds might be too boring to be an actual hook for marketing purposes. Whatever hook you try for, I'd suggest directing it at the adults purchasing the coloring book and not the children coloring in them. If you go with an educational hook, remember to keep things age relevant. Just some quick thoughts, as requested.

Thanks for the idea.  Birds of the Southwest could definitely make a cool theme, and it might be fun to throw in some more southwest flavor, such as cactus flowers, etc.  I'm not sure if southwest birds have enough visual interest to sustain a coloring book, though.  Even something like Red-winged Blackbirds (a common sight here) are mostly black.

Another interest of mine (my job, actually) is weather and climate, so I think it would be fun to show warm-climate birds (e.g., from the desert), cold-climate birds (e.g., from Antarctica), and wet-climate birds (e.g., from rain forests), showing how they've diversified to inhabit everywhere in the world.  Anyway, these are just ideas.  I'll think about it a bit more.

Thanks, @lonestranger and @Birds are coolfor your offer to use your photos.  I'll take a gander.  If anyone else has photos they think could make cool coloring book pages, or other ideas, I'd love to see them!

[GracesWarbler]

Here's a new one: some Double-crested Cormorant!

[stitch58]

You can use mine too if you like. Here's the link;

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gregs_ebirds/

 

[GracesWarbler]

On 7/9/2022 at 6:39 AM, Birds are cool said:

What do you use to make these photos. I want to make a book for the birds of Georgia.

I use a tablet.  I open up a photo of mine and trace over it.  It take a bit of time and patience, though, and I did draw a bit when I was younger, so keep that in mind.  If you don't have a tablet, consider tracing paper!  For pretty much any habit, try it out as much as you can before spending much money.  That way you can figure out whether you enjoy it or not.  Too often I've invested in some new gadget only to discover I didn't want to pursue the idea. ?‍♂️

17 hours ago, stitch58 said:

You can use mine too if you like. Here's the link;

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gregs_ebirds/

 

Thanks!

Here's a new one: a Great Egret.  Since it's a white bird, I guess I'll call it a "beginner-friendly" coloring book page. ?

Edit: For some reason, these line images don't look too good on the forum.  Click on the image to see a slightly higher-quality version.

Edited July 10, 2022 by GracesWarbler

[SirVive]

1 hour ago, GracesWarbler said:

Since it's a white bird, I guess I'll call it a "beginner-friendly" coloring book page. ?

?

[GracesWarbler]

A mother and baby Mallard from Gilbert, AZ!

[GracesWarbler]

Here's a bird with a bit more color: a Western Bluebird!

I'm starting to like the idea of making the book focus on the Southwest U.S.

Question for everyone: what birds do you think of when you think about the southwest U.S.?  I'm going to have some common birds and some uncommon birds, but I don't want readers to be disappointed in the selection. 

[Birds are cool]

Stellers Jay, California gull, and lots of hummingbirds!

Edited July 12, 2022 by Birds are cool
Typo

[The Bird Nuts]

11 hours ago, GracesWarbler said:

what birds do you think of when you think about the southwest U.S.?

I always think of Verdin

[Connor Cochrane]

Gambel's Quail, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Costa's Hummingbird, Gila Woodpecker, Elf Owl, Greater Roadrunner, and Pyrrhuloxia are some birds that I think of

[GracesWarbler]

15 hours ago, Birds are cool said:

Stellers Jay, California gull, and lots of hummingbirds!

 

13 hours ago, The Bird Nuts said:

I always think of Verdin

 

10 hours ago, Connor Cochrane said:

Gambel's Quail, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Costa's Hummingbird, Gila Woodpecker, Elf Owl, Greater Roadrunner, and Pyrrhuloxia are some birds that I think of

Thanks for the suggestions!  I have photos of some of these, but may have to ask for others later on.  I love to see an Elf Owl!  And suggestions for good spots in/near Phoenix?

For the moment, something a little different: beaks!  I'll probably add some text to this page talking about the different sizes and shapes of bird beaks.

Can you name all seven birds?  (Hint: I've seen all seven in Arizona.)

[pictaker]

You can use any of my pics,my flickr link is in my sig...

[Kevin]

53 minutes ago, pictaker said:

You can use any of my pics,my flickr link is in my sig...

Same, only mine are on eBird.

[Seanbirds]

On 7/11/2022 at 10:48 PM, GracesWarbler said:

what birds do you think of when you think about the southwest U.S.?

Cactus Wrens and Scott's Orioles! At least for me anyway.

[The Bird Nuts]

11 hours ago, GracesWarbler said:

Can you name all seven birds?  (Hint: I've seen all seven in Arizona.)

Awesome! American White Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Common Raven, Neotropic Cormorant, Curve-billed Thrasher, Black-chinned hummingbird, and Red Crossbill?

[GracesWarbler]

3 hours ago, The Bird Nuts said:

Awesome! American White Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Common Raven, Neotropic Cormorant, Curve-billed Thrasher, Black-chinned hummingbird, and Red Crossbill?

The hummingbird photo I used was an Anna's Hummingbird, but I don't think there's enough visual information to distinguish that, so I'm going to say perfect!  Full marks!

[GracesWarbler]

A Wilson's Warbler!  On the back of each coloring book page, I plan to add a neat fact or two.  On this page, I'll probably mention the other common warblers in the southwest, so I can cover them without having to draw a million little warblers.  (Even though I love warblers!)

@lonestranger @Birds are cool @stitch58 @pictaker @Kevin @The Bird Nuts: I've started looking through people's photos (who've said I can use theirs), but there are literally thousands of pictures!  (Great stuff, btw!)  To save a little time, have any of you taken photos of birds in the southwest U.S.?

 

 

[Connor Cochrane]

@GracesWarbler You are also welcome to use some of my pictures if needed. I do have photos of most birds of the southwest, though I haven't seen some species in awhile and I know I could definitely improve on some photos of those birds.

16 minutes ago, GracesWarbler said:

To save a little time, have any of you taken photos of birds in the southwest U.S.?