You can survive without knowing how to read, but reading is extremely helpful. You can be creative without knowing how to draw, but drawing is extremely helpful when doing creative work. Researchers have found that careful visual observation drawing is done in the right hemisphere of the brain where intuitive and creative thinking occurs. Rational thinking, on the other hand, happens in the left hemisphere of the brain where the trite schematic drawings are stored in the brain (childlike stick figures, triangle nose images, etc.). This may indicate that observation drawing practice develops the intuitive part of the brain. This may be true, but if not, their are other basic reasons to learn drawing in order to be more creative.

Here are lots of links to free masks and mask designs that are ready to be printed out and colored in! There are animal faces, Valentine's day masks, African masks and more. Plus great tips and tricks to making your mask stronger and fit better.

Imagine that you are now in a dream. It’s the autumn season and maple leaves are falling. As you see your enemy together with your best friend walking down the path covered with leaves, you also notice the vehicles passing by. However, what puzzles you the most is not why your enemy is with your best friend, but why everything is in black and white. Where’s the reddish color of the maple leaves? How about the dirty green color of your enemy’s favorite jacket? Your newly dyed auburn hair?

In our household, receiving coloring books for every event requiring a gift is a very normal practice. We love using them, but we do we do once they're all filled up? What do families do when their children have grown out of them and aren't interested in coloring anymore?

Don't throw them away!

I find that most children benefit by early instruction and practice in observational drawing and modeling, but it is important to remember their age. Children who have not learned that drawing skill is based on practiced observation will be very frustrated when they reach the next developmental stage. They will wish they could draw more realistically. As they get older, they mistakenly believe that they lack talent while others are gifted in drawing. They give up because they see others who can do better. Art educators refer to this as the "crisis of confidence".

Viktor Lowenfeld
Creative and Mental Growth

Scribbling stage
First disordered scribbles are simply records of enjoyable
kinesthetic activity, not attempts at portraying the visual world. After
six months of scribbling, marks are more orderly as children become more
engrossed. Soon they begin to name scribbles, an important milestone in
development.

A steady stream of English translations of Japanese manga (comics) and magazines on anime (animated films) have made their way across the Pacific to the United States. In November 2002 Shukan Shonen Jump, a weekly magazine in Japan, made its debut in the United States as a monthly magazine with the title Shonen Jump. In the same month Shukan Comic Bunch appeared as Raijin Comics in America, where it maintained its original weekly format. And the English-language version of the anime-related magazine Newtype went on sale in October.

I grew up in Easton, Pa. home of Binney & Smith the company who makes Crayola Crayons. My earliest childhood memories include playing hide and seek and other childhood games behind piles of stacked crayon boxes in my next-door-neighbor's attic.

More than one afternoon was spent coloring pictures of kitties and doggies when I was supposed to be napping. I kept my coloring book and crayon stash under my bed.

So you want to make your own coloring book with your photos? With these few easy steps you can be on your way to making the best coloring books you've ever seen. No longer do you have to leave the house to buy coloring books, all you have to do is open your Photoshop and have a picture to make your own. Imagine the smile on the kid's faces, when they open a coloring book and see a picture of you or them to color in. All you need are crayons, markers or colored pencils to let the fun begin.

Just wanted to share links to a couple of amazing sites with tons of free coloring pages:

www.kidscolorpages.com

www.cartooncritters.com