Start with the lightest color in your pencil or marker set and lay down a soft base before you add any shadows. The plush toys look best when they keep that soft, pillowy feel, so your main job is to avoid harsh lines and heavy pressure. Press hard with a dark color and you lose the squishy illusion. Build up color gradually, and save the deepest shades for the creases where a real plush toy would fold.
What makes Squishmallow coloring different from other pages
The characters are round, soft, and usually have a tiny face, stubby arms, and a smooth belly. Unlike figures with lots of sharp details or busy backgrounds, these pages are mostly about big shapes and smooth gradients. That means your technique matters more than your ability to stay inside the lines. You want to mimic the look of a plush toy: even, soft, and slightly shiny. A flat, patchy fill will look more like a drawing than a Squishmallow. So think about light direction, soft shading, and a limited palette that matches the character’s official colors.
Best tools for Squishmallow pages: Colored pencils, markers, or crayons?
| Tool | Why it works | What to watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Colored pencils | Great for soft shading and blending; you can layer light pinks and blues for a plush look. | Keep the pencil sharp and use small circular strokes to avoid streaks. |
| Markers | Excellent for flat, even color on large areas like the belly or ears. | Markers bleed through thin paper, so place a protective sheet underneath and work fast. |
| Crayons | Good for beginners and kids; they give a waxy, matte finish that suits the toy aesthetic. | Crayons make fine details hard; use them for large sections and a pencil for the face. |
If you want the most control for shading and blending, colored pencils are your best bet. For a quick, bold fill, markers work well. Crayons are fine for a casual session, but they can make small details like the eyes or blush look chunky. You can also combine tools: use markers for the base, then add pencil shading on top. If you need help choosing, the guide on colored pencils, markers, or crayons for coloring pages breaks down the trade-offs in more detail.
Pick a palette that matches the squishmallow’s personality
The plush come in many forms, but they all share a pastel-friendly design. The classic look uses soft pinks, mint greens, baby blues, lavender, and cream. For a standard Squishmallow, stick to two or three main colors: one for the body, one for the belly, and one for the ears or feet. Avoid using pure black for outlines or shading; instead, use a dark purple, dark blue, or warm brown to add depth without making the drawing look heavy. If you are coloring a specific character, like an axolotl or a frog, use the colors from the plush toy as a base. For example, an axolotl might have a pink body with darker pink gills, while a frog could be a soft green with a lighter belly. You can find specific pages for Squishmallow Axolotl coloring pages and Frog Squishmallow coloring pages to practice with those characters.
Details that make your Squishmallow look plush, not flat
The key details on a Squishmallow are the face, the belly patch, and the ears or feet. The face is usually simple: two small eyes, a tiny nose, and a smile. Keep the face clean and symmetrical. Use a sharp pencil or a fine-tip marker for the eyes, and add a tiny white dot for a highlight to make them look shiny. The belly patch is often a different, lighter color. Shade around the edges of the belly to give it a rounded, puffy look. The ears and feet should be slightly darker than the body, or at least have a shadow underneath them, so they look like they are attached to the plush. Do not outline every shape with a thick black line; that will make it look like a cartoon, not a Squishmallow. Instead, use a colored pencil that is a few shades darker than the fill color to define the edges.
Step-by-step: How to color a typical Squishmallow page
Here is a simple method for a single Squishmallow character, like one from the Squishmallows coloring pages category.
Step 1: Choose your light source
Decide where the light comes from, usually the top left or top right. This will tell you where to put highlights and shadows. For a Squishmallow, the top of the head and the upper belly are the lightest areas.
Step 2: Lay down the base color
Use your lightest main color to fill the entire body with a soft, even layer. Use a sharp pencil and small circular motions. Do not press hard; you want a smooth base. If you are using markers, apply the color quickly to avoid streaks.
Step 3: Add the belly and face
Color the belly patch with a lighter shade, like cream or a very pale tint of the body color. Then, draw the face with a dark brown or dark gray pencil. Keep the eyes small and round. Add a tiny white dot for the highlight. If the character has blush, use a soft pink and blend the edges with your finger or a blending stump.
Step 4: Shade the bottom and sides
Take a slightly darker shade of your main color and add shadows along the bottom edge, under the ears, and along the sides where the plush would curve away from the light. Blend the shadow into the base color with short strokes. The goal is a soft gradient, not a hard line. You can learn more about this in the guide on how to shade coloring pages for more depth.
Step 5: Finish with highlights and details
Use a white pencil or a white gel pen to add a few bright highlights on the top of the head, the top of the ears, and the center of the belly. This makes the surface look shiny, like real plush fabric. Then, go over any rough edges with the base color to clean up the outline. If you want a more polished look, read about how to blend colored pencils on coloring pages to smooth out your shading further.
Which Squishmallow pages to start with
If you are new to coloring Squishmallows, start with the simplest design: a single large character with few details. The Squishmallows coloring pages category has eight pages that are perfect for beginners. If you want to practice with a specific animal, the Frog Squishmallow coloring pages are great because frogs have a simple body shape and a big belly to shade. For a bit more challenge, try the Squishmallow Axolotl coloring pages – the gills give you a chance to practice layering and blending. Seasonal pages like Halloween Squishmallow coloring pages and Easter Squishmallow coloring pages add small accessories (like pumpkins or eggs) that are fun to color but still keep the main character simple. If you want to explore more pop-culture inspired art, the Pop Culture coloring pages category has a wider range of styles, and the guide on how to color kawaii coloring pages well explains how to keep cute characters looking soft and friendly.
If you are a beginner who wants a quick, relaxing session, you can skip the shading and just use flat colors – that will still look good. If you are a more experienced colorist who loves realism, you might want to add more complex shadows and highlights, but remember that Squishmallows are supposed to look soft and simple, so do not overdo it. If you are a parent coloring with a young child, let the child choose the colors and do not worry about staying inside the lines; the goal is fun, not perfection. And if you are using markers, be aware that the paper may bleed, so use a thicker paper or place a protective sheet underneath. For those who want to improve their general coloring skills, the guide on how to choose colors that look good on coloring pages is a good next step. But for Squishmallows specifically, the golden rule is simple: keep it soft, keep it light, and let the plush cuteness shine through.
If you prefer a more structured approach to shading, you can also apply the same principles used in other character guides, like how to color Fortnite coloring pages well or how to color Minecraft coloring pages well, but remember to tone down the contrast for Squishmallows. The same goes for how to color Roblox coloring pages well – those characters have hard edges, while Squishmallows need soft transitions. And if you ever feel stuck, just look at the reference image of the plush toy and copy the light and shadow you see. That will always give you the most convincing result.
Once you finish one page, you can move on to the Squishmallow Easter coloring pages for a slightly different layout, or try the Squishmallow category page to see all the options available. Each page is a new chance to practice your blending and shading, and you will get faster and more confident with every one you complete. Just remember to keep your strokes light, your colors soft, and your highlights bright – that is the secret to a squishy, huggable look. And if you want to compare different tools before your next print, the guide on how to color celebrity coloring pages well has some useful tips on skin tones that can also apply to pastel animal colors. Now grab your favorite pencils and give it a try – you will see how quickly your Squishmallows start to look good enough to squeeze.
If you are coloring a page with multiple characters, like the ones in the Halloween Squishmallow coloring pages or Easter Squishmallow coloring pages, color each character separately and give them slightly different shades so they do not blend together. Use a darker outline for the character in front and a lighter one for the one behind to create depth. And if you want to add a background, keep it very simple – a few stars, hearts, or a soft gradient – because the Squishmallow should stay the star of the page. For more background ideas, the Pop Culture coloring pages: categories and who they suit guide explains how to match the setting to the character’s mood. But for most Squishmallow pages, a plain white background with a soft shadow under the character is enough to make it pop.
Finally, do not be afraid to experiment with unusual colors. A purple Squishmallow with orange ears might look strange on paper, but if you blend it well, it can look like a custom plush. The key is to keep the values consistent: light on top, dark on the bottom, and a clear highlight. If you do that, any color combination will look good. So go ahead and print a few pages, pick your favorite character, and start coloring. The more you practice, the better you will get at controlling the pressure and blending the colors. And if you ever need a refresher on the basics, the guide on how to shade coloring pages for more depth is always there to help you improve your technique. Happy coloring – but remember, the most important thing is to enjoy the process and make each Squishmallow your own.
If you are coloring with children, let them lead the way. They often have bolder color choices and less patience for shading, and that is perfectly fine. For them, the joy is in the act of coloring, not the final result. For adults, the meditative repetition of shading and blending can be a relaxing way to unwind. And if you are a collector who wants to use the pages as wall art, consider using high-quality colored pencils and a light touch so the colors stay vibrant and the paper does not warp. Whichever approach you take, the most important thing is to have fun and let your creativity flow. The Squishmallow pages are designed to be simple enough for anyone to enjoy, yet detailed enough to keep you engaged for a while. So pick a page, choose your colors, and start bringing those squishy friends to life.