Helicopter
From Aircraft Up Close · With a grown-up
Both pages are in the free PDF: the outline page and its matching colour-guide page. Big rotor blades and windows make easy first areas to fill.
FREE · A4 + US LETTER · NO EMAIL
Colouring pages with a matching colour guide
A colour guide is the same picture as the colouring page, already filled in with flat colours. Children can copy it, borrow an idea from it, or ignore it completely. Every Puddleleaf colouring book comes with one, and below you can print ten free outline pages that have a matching guide.
The free pages come from real Puddleleaf books, not a separate freebie set. Choose A4 or US Letter, print at 100%, and keep the guide on screen or on paper beside you. (If you are searching from the US, these are coloring pages with a color guide: same thing, different spelling.)
What a colour guide is, and why it helps
A blank outline can be exciting for one child and stressful for another. Some children aged 4 to 8 love deciding everything themselves. Others hover over the page, unsure where to start, or keep asking “what colour should this be?” A guide answers that question without a grown-up having to.
- A starting point, not a rule. The guide shows one way the picture could look. Your child decides how closely to follow it.
- Something to talk about. Point to parts of the guide together: “The guide made the sky orange. Why do you think it did that?” It is an easy way to practise naming colours.
- A matching game. Older children often enjoy finding each area on the guide and matching it on their own page.
- A reference for real things. On fact-based pages such as aircraft, birds or vegetables, the guide gives a sensible palette to start from.
People also search for these as colouring pages “with example”, “with sample” or “with a colour reference”. They all mean the same thing: an outline plus a finished example to look at.
Free outline and colour guide pairs
These five free PDFs each contain a short intro page, one outline page and its matching colour-guide page, so you can print the pair together.
Hatchback
From Cars and Road Vehicles · With a grown-up
Both pages are in the free PDF: the outline page and its matching colour-guide page. A good one for talking about which parts of a car are glass, metal and rubber.
Sunflower
From Flowers Up Close · With a grown-up
Both pages are in the free PDF: the outline page and its matching colour-guide page. Petals repeat, so children can practise one colour many times.
Before Sunrise
From From Dawn to Night · With a grown-up
Both pages are in the free PDF: the outline page and its matching colour-guide page. Shows how a guide can suggest a time of day with colour.
Grand Canyon
From Nature's Big Views · With a grown-up
Both pages are in the free PDF: the outline page and its matching colour-guide page. Large bands of rock and sky suit crayons and broad strokes.
More free outlines with a guide to view
For these five, the free PDF includes the outline page. The matching guide page is shown here as a full-page image: click it to open it at full size and keep it on screen, or print it with “fit to page”. The image is a preview, so the PDF outline will print more crisply than the guide image.
Tugboat
From Boats and Ships · With a grown-up
The outline page is in the free PDF. The matching guide page is shown here; open it full size to view or print it. The tugboat is the second picture in the free sample.
Ankylosaurus
From Dinosaurs Up Close · With a grown-up
The outline page is in the free PDF. The matching guide page is shown here; open it full size to view or print it. The Ankylosaurus is the second picture in the free sample.
Leafy lettuce
From Know Your Salad · Ages 5–9
The outline page is in the free PDF. The matching guide page is shown here; open it full size to view or print it. Many greens in one picture: a nice way to try light and dark shades.
Giraffe
From Zoo Wonders · With a grown-up
The outline page is in the free PDF. The matching guide page is shown here; open it full size to view or print it. Patches can follow the guide or become a pattern of their own.
Robin on a berry branch
From Birds of Many Feathers · Ages 5–9
The outline page is in the free PDF. The matching guide page is shown here; open it full size to view or print it. A small bird with clear sections for breast, wings and berries.
Colour your way, or follow the guide
There is no wrong way to use a guide. A few approaches that work well at home and in classrooms:
- Copy it. Match each part of the picture to the guide. Good for children who like order and finishing a page “properly”.
- Borrow one idea. Use the guide for one part, such as the sky or the leaves, and choose everything else.
- Do the opposite. Look at the guide, then make a completely different version: a purple giraffe, a night-time sunflower. Then compare the two.
- Hide it until the end. Colour first, then reveal the guide and talk about what is the same and what is different.
For more ideas by age, read how to use colour guides with kids aged 4–8.
Books that include colour guides
Every colouring book in the shop comes with a separate matching flat-colour guide in A4 and US Letter. A good one to start with from each collection:
- Vehicles: Cars and Road Vehicles: 20 road vehicles with facts. Also Aircraft Up Close and Boats and Ships. All vehicle books.
- Animals: Zoo Wonders: 20 animals plus two drawing pages. Also Birds of Many Feathers, Aquarium Wonders and Dinosaurs Up Close. All animal books.
- Nature: Flowers Up Close: 20 flowers with facts. Also Know Your Salad, Fruit Rainbow and Nature's Big Views. All nature books.
- Stories: The One Red Crayon: a sharing story for ages 4–8. In the story books, open drawing spaces stay blank in the guide, so children’s own ideas are never “wrong”. All 24 story books.
Not sure how to print them? See how to print a colouring book at home and the best paper for colouring pages.
Questions parents and teachers ask
Do I need to print the colour guide in colour?
Only if you want a paper copy. Many families keep the guide open on a tablet, laptop or phone beside the printed outline, which saves colour ink. If you do print it, print just the pages you need.
Is the colour guide an answer key?
No. Each guide shows one possible palette. Real flowers, birds and cars come in many colours, and a child’s own choices are just as good. The guide is there for children who like a starting point.
Can I use the colour guide with the online Studio?
Yes, side by side. The Studio companion that comes with a book holds the outline pictures to colour on screen. The guide is a separate PDF, so keep it open in another window or on another device, or print the page you need.
Are these free pages A4?
Every free sample comes in two separate PDFs: A4 for Australia, the UK and most of the world, and US Letter for North America. Print at Actual Size or 100% on matching paper.
Do all Puddleleaf colouring books include a colour guide?
Yes. Every colouring book in the shop comes with a separate matching flat-colour guide in A4 and US Letter. The guide repeats the same drawings with colour added, so it is not extra pictures.
What age are colour guides best for?
Our books are made for children around 4 to 8. Younger children often use a guide as something to talk about (“what colour is the sky in this one?”), while older children may enjoy matching it closely or deliberately doing something different.