Honestly my kids are obsessed with anything that has giant sparkly eyes right now. Every time I turn around someone is drawing a little smiling face on a piece of toast or a rock.
It got to the point where I just needed a massive pile of kawaii coloring pages to keep them busy while I drink my lukewarm coffee.
There is something weirdly calming about these tiny cute designs. I think staring at those little happy faces actually lowers my blood pressure a tiny bit.
I printed a huge stack of these last Tuesday when it poured rain all afternoon. It was literally the only way to stop my three kids from completely destroying the house.
Featured Kawaii Coloring Pages
Highlighted Kawaii Coloring Pages
Sleepy Floating Jellyfish
This little floating guy… he just drifts. The bubbles scattered around him make it feel like he is finally drifting off to sleep.
My youngest daughter loves coloring the tentacles in weird rainbow patterns. It is a really good kawaii coloring sheet for practicing curved lines.
Sleepy Mushroom in the Rain
Here we have a tiny sleepy mushroom hiding under an oversized umbrella. The little scattered raindrops and the puddle give it this cozy rainy day vibe.
I always tell my kids to color the puddle a bright crazy color. Finding weirdly cute kawaii coloring pages for kids like this is exactly why we run this site.
Happy Little Dumpling
A heavy pair of chopsticks holding a single plump dumpling. And of course the dumpling has the sweetest little blushing face.
It reminds me of the loud dim sum place we frequented before we had three messy children. Kids usually color the dumpling bright pink or neon green for some ungodly reason.
Rosy Cheek Peach
This peach has huge anime eyes and tiny rosy cheeks. The little jagged leaf on top looks exactly like a tiny hat.
Fruit with faces is just an easy win with exhausted toddlers. Honestly these make perfect free kawaii coloring pages for sticky birthday party tables.
Blushing Strawberry
A classic thick strawberry with little uneven seeds scattered all over. It features a tiny blushing face and a leafy top.
Coloring the seeds is surprisingly great for practicing fine motor skills. Or they just aggressively scribble over the whole thing with a dull red crayon.
Teapot and Smiling Cup
This round teapot is pouring tea right into a matching little cup. The steady stream of tea actually bends backward to form a heart shape.
Both the hot pot and the tiny cup are smiling right back at you. It is one of those printable kawaii coloring pages that just feels warm.
Grumpy Bird on the Roof
That is Badtz-Maru sitting stubbornly up on a tiled roof looking grumpy. The sharp crescent moon in the background makes it a fun midnight scene.
Kids absolutely love a grumpy little character mixed in with all the aggressively happy ones. It completely breaks up the overwhelming sweetness a little bit.
Benny the Bigfoot in the Pines
Benny the Squishmallow is peeking out from behind some misty dense pine trees. He looks incredibly soft, fuzzy and perfectly round.
My oldest child has about seven different squishmallows crushing her bed right now. Having these printable kawaii coloring pages around basically saves me from buying more stuffed animals.
Tips for Coloring Kawaii Pages
1. Make Those Cheeks Pop
Kawaii is all about the rosy cheeks. If your kid just presses hard with a red crayon it looks a bit scary. I usually show them how to take a soft pink and just lightly rub it in tiny messy circles.
It creates a softer blended look. And what follows from this? The whole face just looks way friendlier.
2. Leave the White Spots Alone
The big shiny eyes are literally the most important part of these chunky drawings. Those white circles inside the eyes need to stay totally white. It can be incredibly hard for little shaky hands to avoid coloring over them.
Sometimes I give them a white gel pen to just go back over the eyes at the very end. A good picture lives or dies by those little eye sparkles.
3. Stick to the Pastels
You really don’t want harsh neon colors for these little guys. The whole aesthetic works best with soft powdery pastels like mint green or baby pink. It keeps the whole visual vibe very gentle and sweet.
Try breaking the dark crayons so they are basically forced to use the lighter ones. Yes it is sneaky… but it works. This is why these are the best kawaii coloring pages for kids to relax with.
4. Outline with Markers
After they finish coloring with whatever crayons or pencils, I like to have them trace the outer black lines. Using a thick black marker just makes the whole flat image pop right off the page. It gives it that satisfying sticker look.
Just make sure the ink doesn’t bleed through to your nice dining table. Around 97-98 percent of my wooden table is already ruined from permanent marker bleed.
5. Food Does Not Have to be Real Colors
Look closely at the little dumpling or the round peach. Kids always get stuck thinking a peach absolutely has to be peach-colored. I just tell them a magical fruit can be bright blue or dark purple.
It completely frees up their rigid imagination. Letting them choose weird impossible colors is just a good habit to build. Plus a blue strawberry is just genuinely funny.
6. Soft Background Swirls
For the jellyfish or the tiny mushroom in the rain, don’t let them just color a solid heavy block of blue. It totally ruins the delicate look of the art. Tell them to draw light curly swirls instead.
It gives the cool illusion of moving water or wind without making the page look muddy. This might cause some inconvenience if they only want to fiercely scribble. But honestly it looks so much better when it is finally done.
7. Use Different Mediums
Who actually says you only have to use cheap crayons? We do a messy mix of colored pencils for the tiny details and fat crayons for the big spaces. Sometimes we even use a little bit of wet watercolor if the paper is miraculously thick enough.
It makes the flat characters look like they have actual physical texture. Like Benny the Bigfoot should look fuzzy, not just flat. Mixing supplies randomly keeps them busy for at least another 23 minutes.
8. Messy is Good
Sometimes my kids get really frustrated if they accidentally color outside the thick lines on these cute faces. They immediately think they ruined the entire picture. I always gently remind them that messy art is still art.
The characters still look adorable even with some wild scribbles outside the lines. Do I think they need to be perfect? No idea. But today… just getting the color on the paper is completely enough.