A Mindful Gemini Tutorial for Any Book You Love
You just finished a book you loved.
The story stays with you, the quiet moments, the landscapes, the feeling of being there.
But there are no illustrations. No way to see those places. Nothing to hold onto except memory.
You’ve looked at generic colouring books. Flowers. Mandalas. Abstract patterns. They’re beautiful, but they’re not your story. They don’t bring back that feeling—that moment when the character stood on the hill, or walked into the café, or said the thing that made you cry.
You can’t buy a colouring book of your favourite scenes. They don’t exist.
Until now.
What if you could create colouring pages from the books you love—in less than 10 minutes?
No drawing skills. No complicated software. Just you, Google Gemini (a free AI colouring page generator), and a story that matters to you.
What if you could see the café where they met? The forest path from chapter seven? The hillside at sunset?
I tried this with David Nicholls’ You Are Here—a quiet, beautiful novel about walking trails, small cafés, and second chances. Within minutes, Gemini created soft pencil-sketch scenes I could print and colour.
Gemini’s interpretation of a café scene—a soft, story-like glimpse inspired by the book’s mood.
The results surprised me. Not perfect, but meaningful. Line art that captured the feeling of the story—the quiet, the gentleness, the sense of being somewhere that matters.
That’s when I realised: you don’t need to be an artist to bring your favourite books to life.
In this tutorial, I’ll show you exactly how I did it—and how you can do it with any book.
A note about me: I’m not a therapist or psychologist, just someone who uses creative, mindful tools in daily life. Colouring helps many people, but not everyone. If you feel worse while colouring or practising mindfulness, please pause and speak to your GP or a qualified counsellor (UK).
TLDR: Quick Summary
What is this? A simple tutorial showing how to create AI colouring pages from any book using Google Gemini.
Why it works: You describe scenes in words, Gemini draws them as printable line art. No artistic skills needed.
Cost: Free tier available; paid plans exist if you need more features.
Time needed: 10 minutes from start to printed page.
Best for: Anyone who loves a book and wants to see its scenes as colouring pages.
What You’ll Create
- Tool: Google Gemini (free tier available to try; paid plans exist if you need more)
- Time: 10 minutes
- Result: Custom, printable colouring pages from any book
- Skill needed: None—just copy and paste
Table of Contents
- What Are AI Colouring Pages?
- Why I Tried This
- The Simple Prompt That Works
- Step-by-Step Tutorial (10 Minutes)
- How to Refine Your Results
- Why This Feels Calm
- Try It With Your Favourite Book
- Troubleshooting
- Common Questions
- Quick Recap
What Are AI Colouring Pages?
AI colouring pages are printable line art images created by asking an AI tool (like Google Gemini) to draw scenes for you.
Instead of buying pre-made colouring books or drawing by hand, you can use a free AI colouring page generator to create custom designs in minutes.
You describe what you want in words, and Gemini creates black-and-white line art you can download and colour.
How it works:
- You describe a scene from a book
- Gemini generates black-and-white line art
- You download and print it
- You colour it
Why create AI colouring pages:
- Make pages from books that don’t have illustrations
- Create personal colouring books no one else has
- Gemini offers a free tier to get started (paid plans available if needed)
- Generate custom colouring pages for any book or theme
Why I Tried This
David Nicholls’ You Are Here doesn’t include any illustrations. As I read about walking trails, quiet cafés, and second chances, I kept wishing I could see these places.
That’s when I thought: What if I could use AI to create those scenes?
I wanted to test whether AI could capture the feeling of a story—not just draw generic landscapes, but create something that matched the book’s quiet, gentle mood.
The results were surprisingly good. Sketchy hills, soft skies, and cosy cafés that looked like they’d slipped out of a dream.
Note: Nicholls has said the book’s places are fictional, so these are mood-based interpretations inspired by the story—not literal depictions of specific locations.
The Simple Prompt That Works
After testing different versions, this prompt gave me the cleanest, most printable results:
Copy This Prompt
Create 5 separate, printable colouring pages inspired by You Are Here
by David Nicholls. Each page should be in soft vintage pencil-sketch
style and fully black-and-white with no shading or colouring.
Focus on these themes:
- A walking trail in the countryside
- A hand-drawn map of a fictional town
- Outside view of a small village café
- Two silhouettes sharing a quiet moment on a hillside
- A peaceful landscape with rolling hills
Keep the drawings simple and clean. No colour fills or gradients.
Pure outlines only. Leave plenty of white space for colouring.
Note: The book’s locations are fictional. Use generic descriptions (e.g., “village café,” “country trail”) rather than specific named venues from the story.
Why This Works
This prompt tells Gemini exactly:
- What to draw: Trail, café, landscape, map, people as silhouettes
- How it should look: Soft pencil lines, black-and-white only
- How it should feel: Calm, printable, minimal
The key is being specific. Vague prompts create random results.
Important: Don’t use direct quotes from the book. Use neutral descriptions like “Quiet path” or “Café scene” rather than copyrighted text.
Imagine this:
Tonight, you’re not scrolling through your phone. You’re sitting with coloured pencils and a scene from your favourite book.
The café from chapter three. The forest path they walked in the rain. The hillside where everything changed.
You’re bringing the story back—slowly, one colour at a time. Your hands are busy. Your mind is quiet. You’re back in that world.
That’s what this creates. Not generic patterns. Not someone else’s vision. Your story, made visible.
And it takes 10 minutes to create.
Step-by-Step Tutorial (10 Minutes) }
Step 1: Go to Gemini
Visit gemini.google.com and sign in with your Google account.
Gemini offers a free tier to try this; paid plans are available if you need more features. No credit card required to start.
Step 2: Choose 3-5 Scenes From Your Book
Think about moments or places from your book:
- A setting you loved
- A scene that moved you
- A mood or feeling from a chapter
Examples from different books:
- Pride and Prejudice → “A Regency drawing room,” “Garden path”
- The Hobbit → “Mountain trail,” “Forest clearing”
- The Secret Garden → “Overgrown garden,” “Hidden doorway”
Keep it simple: “Cosy bookshop,” “Forest path,” “Sunset over hills”
Step 3: Paste and Customise the Prompt
Copy the prompt above and change:
- Book title → Your book’s name
- Author → Your book’s author
- Themes → Your 3-5 scenes
Example for a different book:
Create 5 printable colouring pages inspired by The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Soft vintage pencil-sketch style,
black-and-white with no shading.
Focus on:
- An overgrown garden with climbing roses
- A hidden doorway in a stone wall
- A robin perched on a garden spade
- Children playing in a secret garden
- Rolling English moors
Simple, clean outlines. Lots of white space for colouring.
Step 4: Hit Enter and Wait
Gemini takes 30-60 seconds to generate images.
You’ll see 5 colouring pages appear.
Step 5: Download and Print
- Right-click on each image → Save Image As
- Save as PNG files
- Open and print with “Fit to page” selected
Optional: Combine into a PDF using Google Docs if you want all pages in one file.
How to Refine Your Results
If your first results aren’t perfect, you can refine them with short follow-up prompts:
If there’s grey shading:
“Remove all grey. Pure black outlines only.”
If it’s too detailed:
“Simplify the lines. Fewer small details.”
If you want more white space:
“Add bigger margins. More space for colouring.”
If faces look odd:
“Use silhouettes only. No facial features.”
Generate 3-5 versions and pick the best ones. AI output varies.
Finding this helpful? If this tutorial saved you time or sparked an idea, you can buy me a coffee to support more simple AI guides like this
Why This Feels Calm
Colouring isn’t just craft time—it’s a form of active rest.
Your hands stay busy while your mind drifts. You naturally slow down. You focus on something simple: staying inside the lines, choosing colours, creating something.
Research shows that structured colouring reduces anxiety in adults. Your brain enters a meditative state similar to mindfulness practice.
Creating colouring pages from stories you love adds another layer. You revisit the narrative slowly, one line at a time, instead of scrolling past it on a screen.
NHS guidance: The NHS recognises that mindfulness can help with stress, anxiety, and depression for many people (not everyone). If mindfulness activities make you feel worse, pause and speak to your GP or counsellor.
Try It With Your Favourite Book
The beauty of this method: you can use it with ANY book.
Quick Prompt Template
Create 5 printable colouring pages inspired by [BOOK TITLE]
by [AUTHOR]. Soft vintage pencil-sketch style, black-and-white
with no shading.
Focus on:
- [SCENE 1]
- [SCENE 2]
- [SCENE 3]
- [SCENE 4]
- [SCENE 5]
Simple, clean outlines. Lots of white space for colouring.
Example Ideas for Different Books
Classic novels: Gardens, drawing rooms, landscapes, maps
Fantasy books: Forests, mountains, castles, magical objects
Mystery novels: Old houses, streets, moody settings
Nature writing: Trails, wildlife, seasons, countryside
One small change to the style can completely change the feel:
- “Vintage botanical illustration” → detailed plants
- “Minimalist line art” → simple and zen
- “Children’s book style” → playful and friendly
If you enjoyed creating colouring pages from your favourite story, you’ll love the AI Storybook Maker tutorial — it shows you how to turn those same prompts into a full illustrated storybook.
Troubleshooting
Problem: Grey Areas or Shading Appears
Fix: Add to your prompt: “No grey tones. Pure black outlines on white background.”
Problem: Too Detailed (Hard to Colour)
Fix: “Make the lines simpler. Larger shapes. More white space.”
Problem: People Look Wrong
Fix: “Show people as silhouettes only, no facial details.”
Or avoid people entirely: “Show two mugs on a table” instead of “two people talking.”
Problem: Text Appears on the Image
Fix: “No text. No words. No letters on the image.”
Problem: Low Quality (Blurry When Printed)
Fix: “High resolution, printable quality, A4 size.”
Common Questions
How can I use AI to create simple, printable colouring pages?
Use Google Gemini (free) to generate colouring pages by describing what you want in text. Go to gemini.google.com, describe a scene from a book (e.g., “Create a printable colouring page of a forest path in vintage pencil sketch style, black and white only”), and Gemini will generate line art you can download and print.
Is Gemini really free?
Yes. Google Gemini is free to use with a Google account; usage limits may vary by product and plan. No credit card required to start. There’s also a paid Gemini Advanced version, but the free version works well for creating colouring pages.
What prompts work best for AI colouring page generators like Gemini?
The best prompts include five elements:
- What to draw: “A cosy café” or “Forest trail”
- Style: “Vintage pencil sketch” or “Simple line art”
- Technical specs: “Black and white only, no shading”
- Mood: “Calm,” “peaceful,” “gentle”
- Format: “Printable, A4 size, lots of white space”
Example: “Create a printable colouring page of a garden path. Soft vintage pencil style. Black and white line art only. Simple, calm, plenty of white space for colouring.”
Can I create AI colouring pages from any book?
Yes! Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, classics, modern novels—anything that inspires you. Just describe the scenes, mood, or settings you want to visualise. Gemini understands themes from all types of books.
How does colouring help with mindfulness and anxiety?
Colouring engages your hands while allowing your mind to enter a meditative state. When you focus on staying inside lines and choosing colours, your brain reduces activity in stress centres and increases focus. Research shows that structured colouring significantly reduces anxiety levels in adults. The repetitive motion creates “active rest”—you’re engaged but relaxed.
What styles of line art work best for colouring pages?
Best styles for relaxation:
- Vintage pencil sketch (soft, nostalgic)
- Botanical illustration (nature-focused)
- Minimalist line art (simple, zen)
- Storybook illustration (gentle, narrative)
Avoid: Heavy cross-hatching, excessive fine detail, or aggressive angular lines—these create tension rather than calm.
Are there copyright issues with AI colouring pages?
Images you create from your own prompts are yours to use personally. Don’t sell colouring pages based on copyrighted characters or claim the book’s story as your own. Personal use (colouring for yourself, gifts) is fine. Sharing prompts and techniques is fine.
What if my results look weird or have too much shading?
AI isn’t perfect on the first try. Use refinement prompts:
- For shading: “Remove all grey. Pure black outlines only.”
- For complexity: “Simpler lines. Fewer details. More white space.”
- For better faces: “Show people as silhouettes only.”
Generate 3-5 versions and pick the best one.
How long does it take to create AI colouring pages?
About 10 minutes total:
- 2 minutes to write your prompt
- 1 minute for Gemini to generate images
- 5 minutes to download and print
- 2 minutes to refine if needed
Can I use this for gifts or book club activities?
Yes! You can create colouring pages for:
- Personal relaxation and mindfulness
- Gifts for book-loving friends
- Book club discussion activities
- Literary-themed events
- Personal creative projects
Just respect copyright—don’t sell pages based on copyrighted characters.
Do I need artistic skills or tech knowledge?
No. You describe what you want in plain English, and Gemini does the drawing. If you can type a sentence, you can create colouring pages.
How do I print AI-generated colouring pages effectively?
- Download images as PNG files (right-click → Save Image)
- Open in your computer’s image viewer or Google Docs
- Print with “Fit to page” selected
- Use regular printer paper (80gsm) or thicker cardstock (120-160gsm) for better colouring results
- Print in black and white mode for best line clarity
Quick Recap: Key Takeaways
What it is: AI tool (Gemini) creates printable colouring pages from book descriptions
How it works: Describe scenes in words → Gemini draws line art → Download and print
Time needed: 10 minutes from idea to printed page
Best prompt formula: Scene + Style + “Black and white only” + Mood + Format
Why it helps: Colouring reduces anxiety, creates mindful rest, connects you to stories you love
Works with: Any book—fiction, non-fiction, classics, modern novels
Cost: Free tier available with Google account; usage limits may vary To print: Save as PNG, open in viewer, print with “Fit to page”
Pro tip: Generate 3-5 versions, pick the best one. AI output varies.
Your Next Step
Picture this:
It’s Sunday afternoon. You have your favourite book beside you. A cup of tea. 10 minutes.
You open Gemini. You describe a scene from your story—the one that’s stayed with you. The quiet moment. The place that felt like home.
You press Enter.
60 seconds later, it appears. Not perfect, but meaningful. Line art that captures the feeling. Clean. Simple. Ready to print.
Tonight, you’re not scrolling. You’re colouring. Your hands move across the page. Choosing colours. Staying inside the lines. Your mind drifts, but in a good way.
You’re revisiting the story you loved—slowly, mindfully, one colour at a time.
This isn’t complicated. You don’t need to be tech-savvy. You just need curiosity and a book that moved you.
Start now:
- Think of one scene from a book you love
- Go to gemini.google.com
- Copy the prompt template (scroll up)
- Replace [BOOK TITLE] and [SCENES] with yours
- Press Enter
In 60 seconds, you’ll see it appear.
Take a breath. Open Gemini. See what happens when you ask.
Sometimes the most peaceful discoveries begin with a single line.
If you tried this and it worked (or didn’t work!), I’d love to hear about it. You can support this work with a coffee—it helps keep Everyday Mastery with AI calm, ad-free, and full of simple creative tutorials like this.
Disclaimer: This is an independent creative experiment using AI to interpret literary themes. “You Are Here” © David Nicholls. This content is not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or publisher.