If you have ever spent a Sunday afternoon debating adult colouring books vs reading comics, congratulations: you are officially living your best cosy goblin life. One minute you are shading in a sassy llama, the next you are on the sofa with a stack of graphic novels, wondering why your brain has gone from chaos to chilled custard.
Adult colouring books vs reading comics: why our brains go “aaaah”
On paper, colouring and comics look different. One is you quietly filling in shapes, the other is you racing through panels to see who gets punched next. But your brain thinks they are cousins. Both offer bold outlines, bright colours and simple, bite sized scenes that are ridiculously easy to process.
Your brain loves low effort wins. Thick black lines tell your eyes exactly where to look. Big blocks of colour feel satisfying and complete. Simple stories mean you are not juggling fifty plot twists and three timelines. It is like swapping a spreadsheet for a picture book. The reward system in your brain goes off every time you finish a panel or a page, which is why “just five minutes” turns into “oops, it is midnight”.
Bold lines, bright colours and the nostalgia cheat code
Both activities sneak in a nostalgia buff. Colouring books fling you straight back to school, when your biggest problem was staying inside the lines. Comics do the same with memories of Saturday mornings, cereal bowls and capes that definitely did not meet health and safety standards.
Nostalgia is like emotional bubble wrap. It softens the sharp edges of grown up life and reminds you of a time when your biggest villain was a broken felt tip. That warm, fuzzy feeling lowers stress hormones and makes your brain more willing to relax. It is not just cute, it is chemistry.
Stress relief: micro missions for a fried brain
Modern life is basically a boss battle made of emails. Colouring and comics offer micro missions your brain can actually finish. One page. One panel. One tiny victory. That sense of completion is rocket fuel for stress relief.
With colouring, you get rhythmic, repetitive motion that tells your nervous system, “We are safe. No one has ever been attacked by a colouring pencil.” With comics, you get a simple plot that is easy to follow, so your brain can stop overthinking and just enjoy the ride. Both gently drag you out of doom scrolling and into a story you can control.
Mindfulness without sitting on a cushion
If the word “mindfulness” makes you picture sitting still and thinking about your breathing until you remember every embarrassing thing you have ever done, there is good news. Colouring and comics are sneaky mindfulness.
When you colour, you are fully present: choosing shades, following lines, fixing that bit where you went over the edge and pretending it was an artistic choice. When you read comics, your attention is glued to the page, hopping from panel to panel, reading faces, spotting background jokes. Your focus is here, not on that email you forgot to send.
Mindfulness is basically “pay attention to one thing on purpose”. Both hobbies do that while tricking you into thinking you are just having fun. It is meditation in spandex.
Creativity power up: from fan to creator
Here is where the “adult colouring books vs reading comics” debate gets spicy: they are both creativity training, just in different costumes. Colouring lets you play with palettes, moods and styles without having to draw from scratch. You can turn a chilled scene into a neon cyberpunk fever dream just by changing colours.
Comics, on the other hand, teach you pacing, framing and character. You learn how a tilt of the head can tell a joke, how a splash page feels epic, how silence in a panel can be louder than dialogue. The more you read, the more your brain quietly collects tricks for your own doodles, stories or games.
Adult colouring books vs reading comics FAQs
Are adult colouring books really as relaxing as comics?
For many people, yes. Colouring offers slow, repetitive motion that calms the nervous system, while comics offer light, visual storytelling that distracts you from stress. They work slightly differently, but both can help your brain shift out of worry mode and into a more relaxed, playful state.
Can I use both colouring and comics to help with mindfulness?
Absolutely. Colouring focuses your attention on shapes and colours, while comics focus it on panels and expressions. In both cases you are paying attention to one thing on purpose, which is the core of mindfulness. If formal meditation is not your thing, these are great, low pressure alternatives.
Do I need to be artistic to enjoy adult colouring books or comics?
Not at all. Colouring books give you the outlines so you can simply enjoy choosing colours, and comics are designed to be easy to follow regardless of your drawing skills. You are there to relax and have fun, not to produce masterpieces. If it makes you smile, you are doing it right.
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