Primary colours

What Tintinophile hasn't dreamt of one day, of becoming an apprentice colourist at the Hergé Studios? With the release in the 1950’s of the first boxes of coloured pencils and the first colouring books bearing the image of their hero, this wish was partly granted. On the occasion of World Colouring Day, let's take a look back at these creative derivative products signed by Hergé.

Colouring is a healthy occupation. Just the word itself instantly brings to mind the early activities of childhood. But for Hergé, who was often asked about his art, it is above all the ideal way to lead his readers to discover, for themselves, the exciting artistic adventure of drawing.

And to begin this initiation, there is nothing better than the dry technique. In 1955, he began to create several illustrations for the boxes of coloured pencils, which were soon produced and distributed by well-known brands such as Staedtler and Hardtmuth.

Light, easy to handle and fun - especially when placed in young hands - coloured pencils soon aroused public interest. However, reproducing your favourite heroes is not that easy when you are just starting out.

Never mind! Hergé extended the learning process and the experience by publishing colouring books. If the first volumes only allow you to colour in black line patterns, the ones which followed, on the other hand, proposed to go a little further in terms of technique.

Therefore, thanks to the connecting dots, budding artists become familiar with shapes and contours, with the so-called grid method, while the more experienced among them learnt to observe ratios and proportions

This is a great way to get people interested in drawing!