Color Before the Lines

Color first. Draw what you imagine.

Color Before the Lines is a reverse coloring app for iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo. Start with a finished watercolor, then add the lines, shapes and details it inspires. Follow an edge, sketch a creature, add a pattern or simply let your hand wander.

There is no right way to begin, and no perfect result to chase. Make a few marks or fill the page with lines. Take all the time you need.

A LITTLE COLOR, A LITTLE TIME FOR YOURSELF Choose from ten expressive watercolors and find a starting point that catches your eye.

SIMPLE TOOLS, YOUR OWN TOUCH Draw with a pen or pencil, adjust the stroke width and explore a grayscale palette that lets the watercolor shine. Use the eraser, undo a mark or return to the untouched canvas whenever you want to begin again.

On iPhone, just draw with your finger. On iPad, Apple Pencil makes drawing feel even more natural, but it is not required: you can draw with your finger there too.

MADE FOR IPHONE DUO Stand it like a small laptop: draw on the half resting on the table and watch your whole drawing come to life above, line by line, with every tool in reach. Hold it like a book for tools on one page and the sheet on the other, or open it flat for a bigger page.

SHARE THE DRAWING AND THE MAKING Share your finished drawing, or watch it take shape again as a timelapse. Preview the recording, choose a playback speed and share your creative process.

A QUIET SPACE TO DRAW A soft, uncluttered interface keeps your attention on the watercolor and the next line. No hurry. No right or wrong. Just a little room for imagination.

COMFORTABLE FOR EVERYONE Enhanced readability brings larger, darker text and clearer outlines, and Reduce Motion turns off interface animations. No account needed, and your drawings stay on your device.

MORE WATERCOLORS, WHEN YOU WANT THEM Ten watercolors are free. Three themed collections (Sea & Shore, Sky & Night and Seasons) are available as one-time purchases, ten watercolors each. No subscription.

WHY COLOR AND DRAW? Curious what studies say about coloring and free drawing? We collected them, with full references, at colorbeforethelines.com/research