Gorilla Coloring Page (3 of 4)

Most of a gorilla is dark, but it need not be one flat black - layer a deep brown over the black and let the face and chest go a touch lighter so the form reads as solid and three-dimensional. The silverback's pale back is the chance for a real highlight. Take the face slowly, and color it as you like.

About the Gorilla

Gorillas are the largest of the great apes, living in the forests of Africa in close family groups led by a mature male known as a silverback, for the pale saddle of hair that develops across his back with age. For all their size and strength they are gentle, mostly peaceable plant-eaters, and they share a great deal with us - expressive faces, strong family bonds and a clear, thoughtful intelligence.

That combination of power and gentleness has given the gorilla a warm place in the public imagination, a familiar and much-loved presence at zoos and in nature films. It is widely seen as a calm, protective figure rather than a fierce one, an image shared across every generation, which makes it a thoughtful and approachable subject to color.

Benefits as a Coloring & Brain Training Activity

For coloring, the gorilla rewards patience with dark tones - layering deep brown over black to keep the fur from looking flat is good, gentle practice in shading, and the silverback's pale back gives a satisfying highlight to aim for. The expressive face is the heart of the sheet, and the bold, powerful result has real presence on a wall.