Whether you’re a pro like Van Gogh or an absolute beginner, painting, drawing and colouring can be a fantastic way to break up a revision session and calm your mind. Learn to draw things from anatomy to animals with a variety of templates and tutorials to follow, you can go from creative novice to artistic pro!

Certain studies have examined the role of painting, drawing and colouring in the adult world and it’s place for managing stress and anxiety. They show that there is a ‘validity to the notion that coloring has therapeutic value which is not limited to child’s play’ (Conner et al, 2017, p. 414). From styles like Picasso to those like Banksy take you own stance on these artistic forms and print off a couple of free colouring pages to get you started (see our resources section to get more free templates). Get away from your desk and go into a new environment to help challenge that negative headspace and let your mind feel free from the constraints of your coursework. Go wild and use a variety of crazy colours and assert your artistic potential! You can use templates or follow simple YouTube tutorials for drawing too, for tracing or copying that you can then colour in. Or invest in a set of paints and paintbrushes and become your very own Bob Ross. Take a breath and paint some of those happy little trees and let your mind submerge itself within your creative entities and spaces.

References

Conner, T. S., Flett, J. A. M., Hayne, H., Lie, C., Riordan, B. C. & Thompson, L. M. (2017) Sharpen Your Pencils: Preliminary Evidence that Adult Coloring Reduces Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety, Creativity Research Journal, 29(4), 409-416. DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2017.1376505