I am truly fascinated by the tiny, intricate details that surround us in the natural world.

Several years ago, I got my first macrophotography lens, and I’ve been sticking my nose in flowers ever since. I love being able to capture up-close snapshots of the patterns, details, and sparkle of the natural world. Since bees are part of my business and brand, I was instantly drawn to capturing them with my macro lens. Soon after bees, I started keeping my eyes out for other garden critters too. Running out with my camera whenever a new one was spotted in our garden.

These experiences, and my growing collection of macrophotography shots, were the inspiration behind my new coloring book, Life in the Garden.

Ever wonder what goes into creating a coloring book? 

I’ve broken my creative process down into four simple steps, sharing photos of my art along the way.

Step 1: Inspiration for an Idea

Getting out in nature is always a sure fire way to get me inspired.

This project started with just doing what I love — taking macro photography shots out in nature. As I started building a photo collection of garden critters, the idea emerged to draw them as well. I began outlining the project in my mind’s eye, and sought out new flowers and insects to photograph as fodder for my the project.

After I’d captured a wide array of critters, I selected my favorite photos, ones that told a bit of a story. These photos went into a folder so that I could pull them up fullscreen on my computer while I was drawing, making it as if I was sitting out in the garden watching them in real life.

Step 2: Sketch It Out

I am old fashioned when it comes to developing ideas, and I always feel my creativity flows most easily when I put pencil to paper.

The initial sketch is an important part, and as Aaron Blaise said in my recent workshop, think of your sketch as the blueprint for your project. You wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) build a house without a blueprint and I feel the same way about developing a detailed illustration. The sketch allows you to draw freely and broadly, developing the story as you get familiar with your subject. Each of these sketches took me around 20 minutes, and were done with graphite pencil – starting light and then going darker with details.

For this project, I also looked up the meaning and symbolism for each creature and added some words of wisdom from each animal to my sketch.

Step 3: Develop the Details

This is a big element, jampacked into a simple step. This is where I create all of the final artwork.

I start with digitizing my sketches by taking a well-lit photograph (I find this is faster than scanning) and sending it to my computer using cloud storage (in this case, my Adobe Creative Cloud Library). Then I add it to my project folder and open it up in Photoshop to begin “inking” the illustration. Each illustration goes through various revisions, even going back to the sketching process if necessary.

A key note to point out: At this stage I need to already know the details of my final product. That way before I start drawing, I know what the shape and size will be. I’ve often simply drawn, and then I have to go back and make a lot of time-consuming adjustments to make it fit the end product.

Drawing digitally can really set free your creativity. I find that I’m more open to experimenting and I drawing more fluidly, since I can always hit “Cmd + Z” to undo.

Before I begin, I setup my digital brush so that it is pressure sensitive and a style that I like. I change sizes as needed to draw fine details as well as thick broad strokes, similar to picking up different pens when drawing on paper. Just like with my handdrawn sketches, I start with the large strokes and simple lines, gradually adding more detail and stylization to the illustration. I create the various elements on different layers in Photoshop, that way I can toggle things on and off to see what I like best and move pieces around to adjust the design.

Step 4: Preview & Publish

The illustrations complete, it is time to put it all together.

Compared to other types of books I’ve published, coloring books are pretty straight forward. However, there are some key details. Paper and size are the biggest decisions, then it comes down to simply laying out the content in Adobe InDesign.

Working with my print shop, I selected paper type and size and determined the margins necessary for creating perforated pages. The illustrations are all single-sided, making it so that they can be torn out and saved, and the book is 5×7.25 inches so the torn out page can fit into a standard 5×7 frame. This makes it great for sharing and saving your finished pieces.

Before I send the final PDF off to the print shop, I like to print a copy of each illustration for some in-house coloring testing. This is one of my favorite parts, and is also an important piece of the process. Sometimes I’ll notice details are that are too small or places that need more (or less) white space. I’ll go back and edit the images based on what I find while coloring it, fine tuning the illustration.

Once color testing is complete, I review everything and send a print-ready PDF of my book to the printers.

And just like that, a new coloring book is created.

Creating a coloring book taps into all elements of my creative passions. I mix photography and exploration with hand drawn illustrations and digital art, then put it all together with publishing and onto marketing and selling a finished product. The best part though, is sharing my art and seeing the joy it brings others to color my creations.

If you’d like to pick up a copy, you can order both of my coloring books from my online shop.

Happy coloring!

~ZieBee

About the Author & Artist

Hello, my name is Mackenzie and I am a multipassionate fusion creative. I love animals, the great outdoors, and creating long lasting, deep connections with the people in my life. It is my goal in life to spread love and laughter, and to help brighten the world one moment at a time. My art, photography, writing, and creative projects bring me great joy to create, curate, and share.

If you have a story to tell, want to start a business, or simply want some new photos taken or new art in your life, please get in touch, I would love to work with you.