St. Patrick’s Day is about to get a whole lot luckier with these optical illusion shamrock coloring pages! Grab your green pencils and get ready, because this is one coloring activity that’ll have everyone doing a double-take.
The clever combination of a dimensional shamrock and a checkered background pattern creates a jaw-dropping illusion that makes the shamrock look like it’s floating right above the page. Two colors, one template, and a whole lot of wow factor!
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These optical illusion coloring pages are perfect for older kids, as while easy to make do require some patience when it comes to coloring. The result is so impressive, you’ll want to frame it!
How to Color the Optical Illusion Heart
What you need:
- our printable optical illusion shamrock coloring page template
- coloring supplies (markers, colored pencils, or crayons)
- pencil or a black colored pencil
Step by Step Coloring Tutorial
Print the template. Print out the optical illusion shamrock coloring page. There are a few different ones to choose from, but all are colored in the same way to achieve the 3D effect.
Choose your colors. You can eaither pick one color or two to bring this project to life. If you are picking two colors, pick contrasting colors for the best optical illusion effect! This is a great opportunity to talk about contrasting colors or even warm and cool colors. We’re using green as it fits St. Patrick’s day theme the most and leaving the other squares uncolored. The key is having good contrast between the two colors.
Start coloring the background. Begin with the checkered background pattern. Color alternating squares in your first color (we’re using green first). This creates the checkerboard effect that makes the illusion work!
Complete the background pattern. If you choose two colors, fill in the remaining background squares with your second color.
Color the clover sections. Here’s where the magic happens! Start coloring the dimensional sections of the clover. Follow the curved lines and alternate between your two colors.
Add depth with shading. This is where the true magic happens. With a pencil or black colored pencil, add some shading to the bottom and sides of the clover. This makes it look like it’s really popping off the page! Don’t press the pencil too hard, make gentle strokes and slowly make the shading.
Continue adding shadows where the heart would naturally cast them (on the side of the leaves, next to the stem).
Gently add shading inside the clover as well. We’re starting at the point where the leaves meet and on the sides of the leaves.
Next, also add some shading at the top and the sides. Be gentle with the pencil to give it a transparent look.
Optional: finish up by giving your heart glow – use a white colored pencil or chalk pastels to add a few curved lines.
Optical Illusion Coloring Pages
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