Mermaid coloring pages

Free printable mermaid coloring pages dive from simple toddler mermaids to beautiful mermaid portraits.

These free printable mermaid coloring pages fill a whole ocean: simple mermaids for toddlers, princesses and sea friends for kids, kawaii mermaids for teens and beautiful, detailed mermaids for adults. Every mermaid is an original design, not a cartoon or movie character, so any hair and tail colors are fair game. The easiest sheets show one mermaid with big scales and a few bubbles. The hardest fill the page with coral, sea turtles and flowing hair. Old sea legends and a word history explain where mermaids come from, and the last sections cover coloring scales and using the pages.

A mermaid's tail is the first thing most children want to color, so the youngest start there.

Simple mermaid coloring pages for toddlers have big tails and big scales.

The Little Mermaid Waving floats among bubbles with a wide, scalloped tail. The Mermaid Tail is just the tail itself, scale after scale, perfect for trying a new color in each one. The Baby Mermaid and Starfish hugs a smiling star, and the Mermaid on a Rock holds a shell.

Preschoolers get a friend in every picture. The Mermaid and Fish Friend swims beside a round fish, and the Mermaid and Seahorse holds hands with a curly seahorse. The Mermaid Cat is a kitten with a bow and a fish tail. The Sleepy Mermaid naps inside a giant clam shell, the Mermaid with a Pearl shows off her treasure, and the Unicorn Mermaid adds a horn. From here, kids usually want a mermaid with a whole story.

Mermaid coloring pages for kids are full of princesses, castles and sea animals.

The Mermaid Princess sits on a coral throne with a crown of shells and a starfish wand. The Underwater Mermaid Castle rises behind a mermaid with fish all around. The Mermaid Sisters hold hands, and the Merboy and Crab gives a high five with his trident. The Mermaid Treasure Chest spills coins and pearls.

Sea animals are everywhere. The Mermaid Riding a Sea Turtle glides past bubbles, and the Mermaid and Dolphin leap out of the waves together. The Mermaid and Whale rides a smiling whale under its spout. The Mermaid and Octopus plays ball with an eight-armed friend, and the Mermaid Reading shares a book with a crab. The Mermaid Ice Cream holds a cone while a fish licks its own.

Kids who want a longer project can pick a busy scene. The Mermaid's Bedroom has a shell bed and a sleeping seal. Mermaid School puts fish and an octopus at their desks, and the Mermaid Tea Party sets out tiny cups. The Underwater Bakery and the Mermaid Lagoon are just as full. Older colorers often want mermaids drawn cuter or more grown up.

Kawaii and cozy mermaid coloring pages suit teens and adults.

For teens, the Kawaii Mermaid and Jellyfish share a hug surrounded by hearts. The Kawaii Mermaid and Narwhal rides a smiling narwhal, and the Kawaii Mermaid Selfie snaps a picture with a crab and a fish. The Mermaid Music Band plays among jellyfish lanterns, and the Mermaid Library has an octopus librarian in round glasses.

Adults who like bold lines can try the Mermaid with Flowers, the Mermaid on the Moon or the Mermaid and Lighthouse. Seniors who want large, open areas can start with the Mermaid with Shells and Coral, the Mermaid Waving at a Boat or the Mermaid Sea Garden. Grown-up underwater scenes reward a slow evening. The Mermaid Cottage has a shell-shaped house, and the Mermaid Shell Market fills its stalls with treasures. The Kelp Forest Picnic, the Mermaid Hair Salon and the Mermaid's Cozy Cave are just as detailed.

The most detailed mermaid pages trade cute faces for flowing hair and real ocean life.

Beautiful and realistic mermaid coloring pages give adults hours of detail.

The Mermaid in the Coral Reef swims past a stingray, a pufferfish and clownfish. The Mermaid and Sea Turtles glides with two turtles over a reef. The Beautiful Mermaid Portrait fills the page with one face, long wavy hair and a pearl necklace. The Mermaid on the Rocks rests on a shore with a lighthouse and a tall ship behind her.

The Mermaid Mandala places a mermaid at the center of a round design of shells and waves. The Seashell Mandala turns shells and starfish into one big flower. The Zentangle Mermaid sits on a rock with a patterned tail, each scale band holding a different design. The Vintage Mermaid looks like an old storybook print, with a mermaid combing her hair as a ship sails past. Pictures like these come from stories sailors have told for a very long time.

Where do mermaid stories come from, and are mermaids real?

Mermaids are legends, not real animals. NOAA's National Ocean Service says no evidence of half-human, half-fish sea creatures has ever been found. It also explains how widely the legend spread. NOAA notes that in the ancient Far East, mermaids were said to be the wives of powerful sea dragons. The Aboriginal people of Australia call mermaids yawkyawks, a name that may refer to their songs.

The word itself is old too. The Online Etymology Dictionary traces "mermaid" to the mid-1300s, when it was spelled meremayde. It literally means "maid of the sea," from the Middle English word mere, meaning sea or lake. A sea maid can be any color the ocean suggests, which leads straight to the fun part.

How do you color mermaid coloring pages so the scales shine?

Color the tail one row of scales at a time. Start dark near the waist, then lighten each row toward the fin. Teal to light green, or purple to pink, both look like light moving through water. Leave a tiny white curve on some scales so they seem to shimmer.

Hair can be any color, because these mermaids are original. Try brown, black, blonde, silver, lavender or pastel blue. Skin can be any tone too, so a mermaid can look like the child coloring her. Crayola's Colors of the World box holds 24 skin tone crayons in three families, almond, golden and rose, from light to deep. Keep the sea around her in soft blues, and give fish, coral and starfish the brightest colors. On the mandalas, choose three ocean colors and repeat them ring by ring.

Busy underwater scenes need a plan. Color the water first in light blue, a little darker toward the bottom of the page, so the scene feels deep. Then pick one bright color for the mermaid's tail and keep it different from the fish around her, so she stands out. Coral can be coral pink, orange, purple or yellow, and sea turtles look real in olive green and brown. Bubbles stay white with a thin blue edge. On the Mermaid in the Coral Reef, give each fish its own color and the reef will look alive. With the colors done, the mermaids are ready to swim off the table.

Mermaid coloring pages make party crafts, bookmarks and bedroom art.

A mermaid birthday party goes well with a stack of pages and crayons on the table. Each guest can color the Mermaid Tail in their own colors and take it home. A colored Sleepy Mermaid or Beautiful Mermaid Portrait makes a calm picture for a bedroom wall.

Long, narrow parts of a sheet, like the tail, can be cut out as a bookmark. Print it on cardstock so it lasts. For more royal scenes, see our princess coloring pages. Cute sea friends also wait on our cute coloring pages and kawaii coloring pages.

From a simple waving mermaid for a toddler to a beautiful mermaid portrait for an adult, these free printable mermaid coloring pages fill a whole ocean. Shade the tail row by row, pick any hair color you like, and let the scales shine.