Am I Taking Work Away From Artists?

This is one of the opinions I've seen about my colouring books, and I wanted to address it.

My answer is no.

I have a huge amount of respect for artists. I have friends who are artists, and I don't consider myself one. I don't claim to be an illustrator, and none of my colouring books are advertised as hand-drawn.

People often tell me to "just commission an artist instead." The reality is that I'm a small business owner, not a large publishing company. Commissioning dozens of original illustrations for every colouring book simply isn't financially realistic for me.

I also don't believe my books are the same as many AI-generated colouring books available online. There are websites where people can download ready-made designs—or even complete colouring books—and publish them with very little creative input. That's not how I work.

Every colouring book I create starts with an idea. Sometimes it's inspired by my own experiences, sometimes by relatable situations, and sometimes by themes I think people will enjoy. I spend my time developing the concept, deciding what belongs in the book, writing quotes where appropriate, planning the pages, refining the designs, and building the finished book.

Every idea begins with me. AI doesn't create the concept, the humour or the feeling—it's simply the tool I use to bring those ideas to life.

What I'm trying to create isn't just something for people to colour. I'm trying to create a feeling while they're colouring. Whether that's nostalgia, comfort, humour, recognition or simply seeing themselves reflected in a page, that's the part that matters most to me.

I don't believe I'm taking work away from artists because I'm not trying to replace what they create. I believe we're creating different types of colouring books with different purposes. Their illustrations are the focus of the colouring experience. My focus is creating ideas, relatable themes and feelings, with designs that bring those ideas to life.

I'm not an artist, and I don't claim to be. I'm simply using the tools available to bring my own ideas to life.