Coloring is cool these days. Really, coloring is cool any time. But what’s a budding artist to do on the go? If you want to color, but you don’t want to carry around all your coloring books, your colored pencils, your paint and brushes, there’s a solution: Pigment (Pixite LLC, 2015; iOS only).

You can start by going to “Library” or “My Work.” The “My Work” page already has a few designs started for you, and it’ll save whatever else you make. You can duplicate a page it, delete it, or even share it, though a watermark will appear unless you choose a premium subscription. The “Library” has a whole bunch of “books” full of designs — Landscapes, Waves, Doodles, Mandalas… A few designs in each book are available without a premium subscription, and you can always start a “fresh page” and color the same design over again; each design you do will be saved.





Once you choose a design, the fun begins. Select your color palette, from the bold hues of “Roller Rink” to the earth tones of “Rainforest,” each of which has plenty of colors that you can adjust from dark to light. You can switch from one tool to another — the “Fill” tool is the easiest, but if you want to practice your fancy fingerwork (or styluswork), there’s “Marker,” “Pencil,” or “Brush.”

The “Linear Gradient,” “Radial Gradient,” and “Airbrush” tools are harder to control, but they do make for some cool-looking backgrounds. You can choose thickness and opacity, and even mix colors if you don’t go too opaque. You can zoom, pan, and rotate. You can color outside the lines, intentionally or not.

This app bills itself in iTunes as “the only true coloring experience for adults,” but is rated 4+. An adult or teen certainly can have fun with this, but the ability to zoom in means that even the most complex designs can be made easy to work with. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a portable, compact coloring experience and can manipulate a touchscreen.

Available for iPhone and iPad (requires iOS 8.0 or later); free. Recommended for primary users and up.