Landscape Coloring Pages

• Mountains: snowy peaks, slopes covered in pines and a valley in between.
• Lakes and rivers: still water with reflections, or a river curving out of sight.
• Hills and farmland: fields, barns and a road running through.
• Coast: cliffs, a lighthouse, a fishing village and a quiet cove.
• Desert: flat-topped mesas, narrow buttes and deep canyons.
• Country lanes: a road that narrows between two rows of trees.
• Simple landscapes: two hills, a tree and a sun, for a first try.

A landscape has three zones, and artists treat each one differently. This is the single most useful thing to know.

• Foreground: the closest part, at the bottom of the page. Use your darkest, warmest, strongest colors here and show the most detail.
• Middle ground: fields, trees and buildings a little way off. Use medium colors and less detail.
• Background: distant hills and mountains. Make them pale, soft and slightly blue or violet.

That fading has a name, atmospheric perspective. Air isn't perfectly clear, so the farther away something is, the lighter and bluer it looks. Color three rows of hills dark green, gray-green and pale blue, and the page will suddenly look miles deep.

More tips:

1. Color the sky first, darker blue at the top and nearly white at the horizon.
2. Choose a light source. Put the sun on one side, then keep every shadow on the opposite side of the trees, rocks and hills.
3. Reflect in water. A lake repeats the colors above it, a little darker and broken by horizontal streaks.

For blending and layering, see how to color with colored pencils.