One hundred axolotls. The feathery gills are the reason this animal works so well as a coloring page: they break the head into a dozen small shapes, so there is somewhere for every colour to go.
The gills are the reason this animal works so well as a coloring page. Six feathery branches on each side break the head into a dozen small shapes, so there is somewhere for every colour to go before you even reach the body. One hundred designs: chubby ones, long slender ones, sleepy ones with their eyes closed, a few wearing a bow, and close-up faces where the gills fill most of the page.
Ways to use these
One colour per gill branch. The gills are the only part of this animal that comes pre-divided. Working through them one branch at a time gives a young child a clear finishing point instead of a vague pink shape.
Real axolotls are not only pink. Wild ones are dark brown and grey, and the pale pink kind is only one variety. Saying so before the crayons come out usually gets a more interesting sheet back.
Use the close-up faces for small hands. On designs 7, 18, 27 and 38 the head fills the sheet, so every shape is large. These finish faster than the full-body pages.
Every design downloads as a US Letter PDF that also scales cleanly to A4 with
“Fit to printable area”. Print in grayscale, there is no color in the files. Ordinary copier
paper is fine for crayons and pencils; use cardstock or slip a spare sheet underneath for markers.
Free to print at home, in a classroom or in a library, see the license.
Frequently asked questions
What is the feathery part on its head?
Those are external gills, which is what makes an axolotl look the way it does. It is a salamander that keeps its larval gills for life instead of losing them, and on these pages the gills are drawn as separate enclosed branches so they can be coloured individually.
Which is the simplest page?
Design 65. A baby axolotl among reeds, which are drawn as a few straight lines rather than dense planting. The baby designs generally are the ones to reach for: small round bodies and short gills, so a young child finishes the animal itself quickly.
Are any detailed enough for an adult?
Yes. The close-up faces and the speckled designs carry fine internal work that rewards pens over crayons.
Is there more than one axolotl on a page?
Often. Twelve designs show two axolotls side by side and seven show a large one with smaller ones, which is useful when two children want the same sheet.
