A curious glance · Pond news · Your moment of color
Frog with a newspaper coloring page
What has this little frog spotted in the newspaper? With enormous eyes and one hand tucked beneath its chin, it looks ready to ponder the pond’s latest news. Download the drawing and try fresh greens, bright eyes and a newspaper that stays softly shaded.
- Free download
- Color example
- Alternative Atlas palette
The download contains a grayscale drawing with gentle shading.
From drawing to paper
The whole frog, with room around it
Choose the A4 or US Letter PDF and print at Actual size or 100%. In both files, the complete image is 18 cm (7.1 in) tall, with space around it. Check that the eyes, feet and newspaper are fully visible.
You can also save the original 1447 × 2048 px JPG. Enlarging it to fill an A4 sheet will soften the finer details.
Notice the small shifts in color
Bright greens, red eyes and a gray newspaper
The eyes hold the strongest color. The green shifts from yellowish highlights to deep shadows, while the newspaper stays softly shaded.
- Reflections that bring the eyes to life
White highlights stand out against the dark pupils. Red covers much of each eye and contrasts with the green edges.
- A face with room for light
The middle of the face blends bright greens with yellow-green. Cream appears below the mouth and on the chest.
- Folded paper and a gentle shadow
Gray separates the newspaper’s overlapping pages. A soft violet shadow beneath the frog settles it onto the ground.
An alternative from the Atlas
Forest greens for a quieter version
The Atlas palette “Witch cloak · Forest green” also works for this frog. Try its pale greens on the face, the deeper greens around the limbs and a little sepia in the folds of the newspaper. Keep the eye color as a separate choice.
Holbein Artists’ Colored Pencils
- OP272 · Misty Green
- OP292 · Cactus Green
- OP264 · Sap Green
- OP267 · Forest Green
- OP182 · Sepia
This is an alternative suggestion, not the materials used in the colored example. The pencil brand, color codes and paper used for that example have not been supplied.
Open the forest green palette in the AtlasTest two layers before you begin
Try a light green over a small gray patch. See how much of the base shows through, then record your choices on the color chart.
Pencil practice sheet
Compare pressure, layers and blends before working on the frog.
Download the practice sheetBlank color chart
Keep a swatch and the name of each color in your version.
Download the color chartThese are practice suggestions for your own version, not a record of the techniques used in the example.
From the first layer to the last fold
Color the frog in five steps
Use light pressure to preserve the drawing’s gray tones and adjust the intensity as you go.
Save the light areas
Leave the eye reflections, the middle of the face and parts of the fingers uncovered. Find the lightest newspaper pages too.
Build a gentle skin layer
Lay light green over the head and body. Add cream below the mouth and on the chest, then deepen the green around the eyelids and beneath the chin.
Bring out the gaze
Apply red around the pupils with a sharp point. Deepen their edges gradually and keep the white reflections clear. Check both eyes together before adding more intensity.
Separate hands, legs and feet
Follow their rounded shapes with your pencil. Add shadows between the fingers and where a hand touches the face or holds the paper; keep the tips of the feet light.
Finish the newspaper and ground
Deepen the overlapping sheets with gray and keep the columns soft. Add a gentle shadow below the feet and newspaper.
Four details worth a little care
The gray base
A light layer lets you make use of the shading already in the drawing.
The eyes
Work carefully around the reflections; a small white space is enough to keep their sparkle.
The mouth
Follow its curve without making it too thick, so the smile stays gentle.
The newspaper
Keep the lifted edge lighter and deepen the shadow beneath the fold.
For more practice with gentle layers, explore the colored-pencil learning guides.
Color with Lapiceros Unidos
Join the community on Javier Origin’s Instagram for coloring challenges and live sessions. Bring the pencils you already have and share your own frog.
Lapiceros Unidos · InstagramSave your frog for your next coloring break
Get your colors ready and spend a little time with the pond’s latest news.
