13 Creatively Unique Ways to Get Paid to Color

Coloring has come a long way from being seen as something only kids do. Many adults now use it as a simple way to slow down for a few minutes. The repetitive motion helps calm the brain, settle the mind, improve focus, and reduce stress. Some people even use coloring as part of their evening routine because it helps them wind down before bed. In many ways, it works a lot like meditation.

Because of that, coloring has quietly grown into a much bigger space online. Entire communities now exist around adult coloring pages, printable art, and relaxing creative hobbies. Platforms like Instagram, Etsy, and digital marketplaces have made it easier than ever for artists and hobbyists to turn their love of coloring into a small income stream.

If you already enjoy coloring, there has never been a better time to explore the possibilities. The strategies below walk through several real ways people are earning money from coloring pages, printable art, and digital coloring content today.

13 Ways to Get Paid to Color in Your Spare Time

Those who enjoy coloring and who could also use some extra cash should check out the below apps that will pay them to color.

1. Start a Faceless Instagram Account and Post Coloring Reels

If I wanted to get paid to color, this is exactly what I would do.

First, spend a little time understanding the big picture of how faceless digital marketing works. The easiest way to do that would be learning from a system like The Faceless Authority System. The goal at this stage is simply to understand how people build niche pages, attract the right audience, and monetize them without needing to show their face online.

Next, open a brand new Instagram account dedicated entirely to coloring a specific theme of pictures.

The bio should clearly state the niche. Something simple like coloring inspiration, relaxing art, and printable pages. Then begin following and interacting only with people who enjoy coloring. Hobby artists, coloring book fans, art therapy accounts, and creative pages.

The content could be very simple.

Post short sped-up videos showing a coloring page going from blank to finished. These clips are easy to make. You can record a quick process video while coloring and speed it up before posting.

The coloring pages themselves could be ones you generate with AI tools like MidJourney and turn into printable pages. Or you could buy PLR packets of colorings pages that you can resell over and over as your own. Over time those pages become small digital products.

Each finished design would be added to an Etsy shop as a printable coloring page. Instead of selling them one at a time, bundle several together to create higher-value packs. A pack of 20 themed pages often sells far better than a single page.

The Instagram account would then link to the Etsy shop through the bio.

As the page grows, people will naturally ask questions about the process. That is when you might begin mentioning that coloring has turned into a small income stream for you. At that point you could also recommend The Faceless Authority System, the same system you used to learn the business side of things and earn affiliate commissions from it.

Over time the page becomes three things at once: a relaxing content account, a storefront for digital coloring pages, and a place where beginners discover how simple faceless online businesses can be.

The best part is that the daily “work” still looks a lot like the hobby that attracted the audience in the first place.

1. Download Coloring Apps that Pay You Money

InboxDollars is one of my favorite websites to visit any time I’m on the hunt for a new app to test. This site will often offer cash bonuses for using the apps you were already planning to try.

As I researched opportunities to make money coloring, I found that InboxDollars will pay you $8 to download and play the Magic Cross Stitch coloring app. This offering comes with some fun pictures to color, and offers a soothing break during my busy days.

Join InboxDollars before downloading the app so you can earn a $5 signup bonus, plus the $8 reward to play Magic Cross Stitch. You will need to earn 8,000 coins in the game in order to earn that payout. Cash out your $13 total for a PayPal deposit, or select a gift card to Amazon, Home Depot, Best Buy, or another retailer of your choice.

Smartphone rewards app Mistplay will pay you to color both off-and online, using just your mobile device. Set up a free account on Mistplay and download coloring apps like Tap Color, Cross Stitch Coloring Mandala, and Cross-Stitch: Coloring Book. Each one will provide you with a calming activity that can lead to real cash rewards.

Mistplay members earn units for the time they spend coloring online. Those units can later be exchanged for Visa cash cards or free gift cards to merchants like Amazon, Starbucks, and eBay.

Join Mistplay and download these free apps to start getting paid to color by number on your phone.

2. Become a Coloring Product Tester

Become a product reviewer and test out the fun, new coloring products that come onto the market. Apply for sponsorships with different brands and showcase their products on your YouTube channel or social media page.

You can also sign up with sites like Pinecone Research and Opinion Outpost to get paid to test various companies’ items, including coloring supplies.

4. Start a Niche Site for Coloring Fans

Start a website to publish coloring tutorials and review coloring products like books, pencils, and markers. Use affiliate marketing and get paid whenever one of your followers purchases a product through your link.

Advertise coloring products like adult coloring pages, pens, markers, crayons, and other types of related art supplies. Affiliates can earn anywhere from 3 to 50 percent commission, depending on the product. Join Amazon’s and Etsy’s affiliate programs and start recommending their coloring supplies to your readers.

Display ads on your site and get paid when your readers view or click those ads. Starting a niche site will provide you with an abundance of ways to get paid to color online.

5. Sell Coloring Pages on Etsy

If you’re not yet ready to create your own coloring pages, you can purchase commercial rights to existing offerings from sites like Createful Journals. Check out the available adult coloring pages such as mommy and me, holiday, calendar, and even adult libations. Check back often to see the newest options.

Each Createful Journal purchase will include a commercial/PLR license, which will allow you to sell the designs on another eCommerce platform like Etsy. Easily set up your own Etsy shop and start selling coloring pages.

6. Dropship Coloring Supplies

Anyone can purchase coloring supplies year-round, making a dropshipping business a profitable venture to pursue. Think of teachers looking to supply their classroom, parents wanting to keep their children entertained, and even pediatricians who keep their waiting rooms stocked with kid-friendly activities.

Use a Shopify site to sell coloring supplies to all of these potential buyers. Learn how to start your Shopify store with just a few simple steps.

7. Become an Interior Designer

This out-of-the-box suggestion will give you the opportunity to get paid to color by becoming an interior designer. Think about the tasks designers have to complete, and the methods they use to complete them. Many designers choose to use colored pencils and paper to draw up new concepts and designs for their clients.

This method helps customers visualize their final spaces and envision the designers’ concepts. Get paid to color new decor for clients’ homes or offices, creating options with different color schemes and patterns and adding as much detail as possible. Interior design offers a unique way to be creative and explore your artistic abilities.

8. White Label and Sell Your Own Coloring Supplies

White labeling allows companies or individuals to take a product another organization has made and rebrand it as their own. Once you’ve white-labeled a product, you can then sell it through Fulfillment By Amazon.

Amazon FBA will take care of storing, completing orders, delivery, and even returns for you.

Related: Get Paid to Build LEGO Sets

9. Start Your Own Coloring Subscription Box Business

Another way to get paid to color is by starting your own coloring subscription box. Turn this into a business and create subscription boxes for both children and adults.

Think outside of the literal box and create special monthly or quarterly offerings. Stand out from the crowd and entice more sales. Add as many fun, interesting coloring products as you can to keep your customers coming back for more.

10. Host a Wine Tasting With Coloring

Everyone loves to create a masterpiece, especially when a little wine is involved. Host a wine tasting/coloring event and get paid to color with your friends and clients.

Charge a small fee for everyone who attends, and let them choose the coloring page(s) they want to complete during the wine tasting. This would be a great time to use Createful Journal’s Wine Tasting Design pages.

11. Start a YouTube Channel

Post tutorials, product testing, or a meditative video of you coloring beautiful pages onto a YouTube channel. Generate an income by including ads, sponsored videos, and affiliate links to your favorite coloring pages and art supplies.

Lead traffic from your channel to your blog or coloring products on Etsy, Shopify, or your Amazon FBA. Coloring jobs online are real moneymaking opportunities.

12. Host Coloring Meets for Kids

Set up paid playdates in your area and host coloring meets for kids. Pick a day on which parents can drop off their kids at a park or mall, and supply the coloring activities while the adults shop.

Charge a fee per child and encourage the parents to purchase coloring products directly through you.

13. Enter Or Host an Online Coloring Competition

Online coloring competitions can be hosted for a variety of reasons, such as to spark interest in your coloring products, to advertise the cool designs you offer, or to just get your name out there as someone who is available to supply birthday parties or other kids’ events.

Charge an entry fee for each competitor, set a deadline, and send the children a digital coloring page you’ve created. Once the deadline has passed, display the entries online and have a panel of preselected judges pick the winners. As the host, you can make money for this successful online coloring competition. You could also host one for adults.

Combine Ideas to Possibly Replace Your Income by Coloring

Coloring is fun for anyone, no matter their age. Don’t limit yourself to choosing just one way to get paid to color. Double dip with some of these ideas, like designing your own coloring pages to sell on a blog or YouTube channel that is already being funded with ads.

Combine several options from the above list to make the most money. If you treat your efforts like an actual business and not just a hobby, you could possibly replace your full-time income in the future. Running a business takes dedication, so make sure you are up for the task.

If you enjoy coloring as much as my sister does, then it’s time to turn something you love into a lucrative endeavor.

Related: How to Become a Graphic Designer