About these rainbow coloring pages
Rainbow coloring pages are often the first pages where children use every crayon in the box, and that is exactly the fun of them. A rainbow has a fixed order of colors, big curved bands that are easy to fill and a happy feeling that suits birthdays, get-well cards and rainy days. Our free printable rainbow pages go from one wide rainbow with a cloud at each end for toddlers to detailed scenes with unicorns, hot-air balloons, waterfalls and rainbow mandalas for older kids and adults.
Every page prints on US Letter or A4 paper, and you can color any of them online with a tap-to-fill brush, which is a quick way to get seven clean bands without going over the lines. While they color, children can learn the order of the colors, why rainbows appear after rain and why you only see one with the sun behind you.
The order of the colors
In a main rainbow the colors always come in the same order, from the outside of the arch to the inside: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Many children learn it with the name "Roy G. Biv", one letter for each color. Indigo is a deep blue-purple; if your box has no indigo, a dark blue works well.
Smaller children do not need seven bands. Easy pages often have four or five wide stripes, and red, yellow, green and blue are enough to make a rainbow that looks right. Older kids can add all seven or blend the edges of each band into the next one with colored pencils.
Rainbow pages also teach the color wheel without any extra effort. Next to each other on the page, children can see that orange sits between red and yellow and green sits between yellow and blue, which is a natural moment to try mixing those colors with paint or by layering two crayons.
- Easy: 4 to 5 wide bands, one cloud or a sun, about 10 minutes
- Medium: a rainbow over a house, a field or animals, 20 to 30 minutes
- Detailed: rainbow mandalas, landscapes and patterns, 45 minutes or more
How a rainbow is made
A rainbow appears when sunlight shines into falling raindrops. Each drop bends the light, bounces it off its back and bends it again on the way out. White sunlight is a mix of all the colors, and because each color bends a little differently, the light comes out spread into a band of colors.
That is why you see a rainbow only when the sun is behind you and rain is in front of you, usually in the morning or late afternoon when the sun is low. You can make one at home with a garden hose on a sunny day, a glass of water on a windowsill or a prism, then color the page to match what you saw.
Rainbows also show up without rain: in the spray of a waterfall, in a fountain on a sunny afternoon or in the mist from a lawn sprinkler. A waterfall or fountain page is a nice way to talk about this after the simple rainbow pages.
Rainbow facts to share while you color
- A rainbow is really a full circle; from the ground we usually see only the top half, but from an airplane you can sometimes see the whole ring.
- In a double rainbow the second, fainter arch has its colors in reverse order, with red on the inside.
- The sky between the two arches of a double rainbow looks darker than the rest of the sky.
- Isaac Newton named seven colors in the rainbow, partly to match the seven notes of a musical scale.
- No two people see exactly the same rainbow, because each person sees light from a different set of raindrops.
- A rainbow made by moonlight is called a moonbow; it is so faint that it often looks white to our eyes.
- The center of a rainbow is always exactly opposite the sun, at the shadow of your own head.
Which rainbow page for which age
- Toddlers (2–3)
- One big rainbow with four wide bands and two clouds. Chunky crayons; it is fine if the colors mix.
- Preschool (3–5)
- Rainbows with a sun, raindrops or a smiling cloud. Learn the color order and count the bands together.
- Kids (5–10)
- Rainbow scenes with animals, houses and balloons. Try all seven colors and a blue sky with gray rain clouds.
- Teens and adults
- Rainbow mandalas, patterns and landscapes. Blend each band into the next for a smooth, glowing look.
Coloring tips and color ideas
- Color the bands in order from the outside in: red first, violet last, so you never lose your place.
- Line up your crayons or pencils in rainbow order before you start.
- For a soft look, overlap the edges of two bands slightly so they blend, for example yellow over orange.
- Leave the clouds white or add a very light gray underneath so they look fluffy.
- A pale gray or blue sky behind the rainbow makes the colors look brighter, like after a storm.
- Markers give the boldest rainbow; for blending, colored pencils or crayons are easier.
Ideas for home, school and parties
- Science lesson: color the rainbow in the right order, then make a real one with a glass of water in a sunny window.
- Rainy-day box: keep a few rainbow pages ready for days when children cannot play outside.
- Get-well and thank-you cards: a colored rainbow folded in half is a cheerful card for a friend or a nurse.
- Rainbow party: print one page per guest and hang the finished rainbows across the room as a banner.
- Turn a photo of your child under a real rainbow, or in a rainbow outfit, into a coloring page: upload it and Coloriki traces it in seconds.
How to print rainbow coloring pages
- Open the page you like and press Print it. A PDF opens, sized for US Letter; the A4 PDF is next to it.
- In the print window choose "Fit to page" or 100% scale, and plain white paper. Thicker paper (100 to 120 gsm) is better for markers and paint.
- Print a few copies: kids like to try different colors on the same picture.
- Prefer screens? Press Color it online and color with a tap on a phone, tablet or computer.