Get those pens, markers, and colored pencils ready! And if you don’t have any, go right out and get some. The adult coloring book craze is here, and you will definitely want in on it. Remember how you felt when coloring as a child? It was calming; it allowed you to experiment with colors and color combinations. As an adult, you can now do the same.

When you are stressed over an intense project. When you are in the midst of a boring project and need a break. When you need to calm yourself to get ready for bed. When you just need a quiet diversion, your coloring book is there. It’s great therapy, it’s fun, and it gets your creative juices going.

There are several adult coloring books that have hit Amazon’s top 20 list. One publisher, in fact, has sold over 3 million since the beginning of 2015. Here are 7 of the most creative coloring books for adults, so sharpen those colored pencils!

1. ColoringNotebook

ColoringNotebook is the “new kid on the block” in the world of adult coloring books. It is a new startup now taking pre-orders for hand-sewn, made-to-order notebooks with incredible coloring pages inside. The hardback cover is made from Japanese paper and covered in soft leather and you can choose blank, doted or lined paper for jotting notes.

The coloring pages have been designed by graphic artists from all over the world and include animals, mandala, abstracts and patterns, as shown above. This happy combo of a coloring book and notebook will bring you hours of fun and mental relaxation!

Pre-order price: $19.95

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Regular price: $25.95

2. Yellow Bird Indie Rock Coloring Book

If you haven’t visited the Yellow Bird website you should. The site is dedicated to supporting indie rock musicians – individuals and bands – primarily by T-shirt sales advertising the musicians and designed by great illustrators. Now, Yellow Bird has created both a coloring book and a coloring poster book, featuring some of the great designs from its illustrators. The poster book is unique, in that each poster is removable for framing (or not). If you are into indie rock and/or music in general, you will love these designs and have great fun adding your personal touch by selecting your own palette of colors for each design.

The story of Yellow Bird is inspiring in itself. Two college grads decided to set up a site to promote indie rock musicians and to support an array of charities at the same time. As the illustrators design the T-shirts, and now the coloring and poster books, the sales support both the site owners and the musicians. As well, each sale results in a donation to a charity of the musician’s choice.

Indie Rock Coloring Book: 32 pages – $10.00

Indie Rock Poster Coloring Book: 30 removable posters – $25.00

3. Outside the Lines Coloring Book

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Here are 256 pages of illustrations by true contemporary masters of cartooning, graphics, music, photography, street artistry, and animation. Assembled by author Souris Hony-Porretta, a blogger about arts and culture, Outside the Lines coloring book holds 256 pages of just phenomenal pictures, patterns, designs, cartoon characters, and more that will inspire your creative juices as you select just the right colors.

What a great book to keep at the office, just for those times when you need a break from a really intense or boring project, or when everything is just “getting to you.” Or what a great way to “wind down” in the evening before going to bed. There is a lot to be said for art therapy for kids. Now you have your own art therapy without the cost of a therapist.

Amazon Price $12.40

4. The Sneaker Coloring Book

Have you ever shopped for tennis shoes and just not found what you wanted? Have you ever just wished you could design your own tennis shoe? Well, here’s the next best thing! The Sneaker Coloring Book has100 pages of every style and type of tennis shoe from every major manufacturer since 1916 – all ready for you to color, customize and design.

And who knows? If you come up with something really cool, you could even submit it to a manufacturer for consideration. Each shoe is on its own page, with a side view, for full design. Let the unrequited designer and artist in you shine with this 216-page book.

Retailer price: $19.95

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5. The Art of Nature Coloring Book

Contemporary interior design is now re-inventing the look of nature, both in color schemes and in wall décor. Perhaps inspired by a growing concern for our environment people value scenes from nature, in both traditional form (scenery and still life floral designs), photography, and in newer more contemporary depictions of both land and water animal life. This has perhaps inspired Adams Media to create The Art of Nature coloring book of 60 illustrations for the adult artist in you.

Each can be hued according to their color suggestions or according to your own creative flair. Several of them together would make a great wall grouping – they are simple, natural, and certainly versatile, just like nature. One of the best examples of the illustrations can be found on the book cover itself (shown above). Wonderful detail!

Retailer price: $11.45

6. Big Fashion Book

Minjee Kang is a South Korean fashion designer who has published several books of inspiring fashion designs. If you have always been passionate about fashion and like the idea of creating your own color palettes for clothing, accessories, make-up, and so forth, Big Fashion Book is a must for you! Pages and pages for coloring, and who knows? You might just be inspired to create some of your own design. You know the fashionista in you is dying to get your hands on this great adult coloring book!

Retailer price: $16.00.

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7. Thrill Murray

Who doesn’t love Bill Murray? What an actor/comedian legend! Some of the greatest comedies of all times (Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, Lost in Translation, Life Aquatic). Thrill Murray is a stunning coloring book for yourself and as gifts for all of your Bill Murray fan friends. Over 20 illustrators collaborated to create these 20 illustrations of Murray straight from the movies for which he is most known.

If you don’t feel too creative, that’s okay too. As you can see by a sample page from the book – one half is colored by the illustrators, the other half in black and white for you to color. You can either copy the colored image or get creative and turn Bill Murray into what you want him to be!

Retailer price: £5 (aprox. $7.68)

Amazon price: $12.89

Featured photo credit: Marianna Spiritakis via flickr.com