A Quiet Hour with Korea's Twelve Months: Setting, Tools and Time for Adult Coloring

Haewon and Jinwoo: how the two series differ

Both series have twelve Korean seasonal scenes, January to December, 24 pages in all. The scenes have the same titles in each month; only the main character differs. Haewon is a Korean woman, and Jinwoo is a Korean man in modern clothes that change with the season. Each scene is a pair of a finished color reference and a simplified line drawing with large areas.

Either way you get the same landscapes, so choose the character or clothing you like. You can alternate between the series, or two family members or friends can each take one character, color the same month, and compare colors afterward.

Time: 20 minutes a day, a page in three or four sittings

If you try to finish a page in one go, the break turns into homework. Set a timer for 20 minutes and stop when it rings, even in the middle. Spreading one page over three or four sittings makes one page a month easy.

A similar time each day, such as after dinner or before bed, works well. If you miss a day, just skip it. We cannot claim that coloring has a particular effect on body or mind. Here it is presented only as a break in which you put the phone down and spend 20 minutes working with your hands.

Setting up your space

• Light: place the lamp on the side opposite your drawing hand so your hand casts less shadow. Angle a desk lamp so the paper does not glare.
• Posture: sit back in the chair and tilt the paper slightly. Loosen your shoulders and wrists every 30 minutes.
• Distractions: put the phone face down on silent and keep only today's tools and page on the desk.
• Extras: a cup of tea or music without lyrics is plenty. It is fine to have neither.

Tools and paper

These pages are simplified into large areas so they can be colored comfortably with colored pencils and water-based markers. Choose 12 to 24 colored pencils to work edges carefully, or water-based markers to fill color quickly. For scenes where you want a soft run of color, such as hydrangeas or spring rain, watercolor pencils and a wet brush are an option.

Plain copy paper is enough for pencils; for markers and watercolor pencils, paper of 100 gsm or more is recommended. Print on one sheet of A4 and avoid enlarging, since lines stay sharper that way. Keeping the eraser out of sight takes some pressure off.

Spring colors: March, April, May

• March, forsythia along the Han River (Haewon): start with just three colors, forsythia yellow, fresh-leaf green and pale sky blue, and it feels like spring at once.
• April, palace wall in spring rain: color the stone wall in a gray with a touch of blue, and the path a tone darker as if wet. Good practice for a calm rainy mood.
• May, green tea fields (Jinwoo): make three greens from one, light, mid and deep, and layer them. It is practice in shading a single color.

Summer colors: June, July, August

• June, hydrangea hanok lane in rain (Haewon): hydrangeas show blue, purple and pink even inside one flower. With no fixed color, any choice looks natural.
• July, Jeju stone walls and summer sea: Jeju's stone walls are built of dark, grayish stone. Play up the contrast between a dark gray wall and bright turquoise water.
• August, hanok porch in moonlight: color the night scene in navy first and leave the porch where the moonlight falls pale yellow so the light stands out.

Autumn colors: September, October, November

• September, Chuseok full moon and songpyeon (Jinwoo): pale yellow for the moon. Songpyeon rice cakes come in white, mugwort green, pink and more. Chuseok follows the lunar calendar, so its date changes each year; color it close to the real holiday for the best fit.
• October, ginkgo palace path (Haewon): layering yellow and orange deepens the warmth of the leaves. This is the scene that fits this season best.
• November, quiet hanok book cafe (Jinwoo): use muted browns, beige and deep green, and paint only the lit areas in warm yellow for a cozy mood.

Winter colors: December, January, February

• December, snowy Seoul and palace (Haewon): do not color the snow white; leave the paper bare. Coloring the surroundings a deep blue-gray makes the snow stand out.
• January, snowy hanok courtyard: leave the snow blank in the same way and use dark brown and gray for the tiles and pillars.
• February, plum blossoms and tea (Jinwoo): plum blossoms come in white, pink and deep red, so any of those colors works. For the tea setting, brown with a little tea green gives a warm finish.

When you finish a page

Twelve pages make a year. Slide them into a clear file in month order, or hang only this month's page and change it monthly, and you have a calendar. Next year you can color the same month's page in different colors and compare.

Common mistakes

• Thinking you must match the reference. The reference only helps with choosing colors. Color your own way.
• Rushing a whole page and tiring your eyes and hand. Split it into 20-minute sittings.
• Using markers on thin paper. The ink shows through and may mark the desk. Use thicker paper or put scrap paper beneath.