Lion

Download PDF - US Letter Download PDF - A4

PNG 300 DPI SVG vector

Suggested age: 5-8
Difficulty: 3 / 5
Detail: medium
Areas to colour: 64
Ink coverage: 22.4%
Line weight: Medium
Narrowest gap: 0.5 mm
License: CC0 public domain - free for classroom and commercial use

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This is a free printable Lion coloring page. It has 64 separate areas to colour, medium outlines, and covers about 22.4% of the sheet in ink. It prints on one page at 300 DPI on both US Letter and A4.

Printing this page

Use 24 lb / 90 gsm paper or heavier. There is a lot of ink on this page, and on thin copy paper it can show through the back and buckle slightly as it dries.

Print at 100% scale rather than "fit to page". Both downloads already leave a 0.25 in (6 mm) margin, which is inside the unprintable edge of every common home and office printer, so nothing gets clipped. The file contains no colour at all, so the black-only setting prints it faster and cheaper.

If it does not print right

With this much ink on the page, watch for two things: the sheet curling as it dries, and the back of the previous sheet picking up ink in the output tray. Both are fixed by heavier paper or by letting each sheet dry flat before stacking it.

What's on the page

There are 64 enclosed areas on this page - the separate pockets the outlines divide the drawing into. That is what decides whether a page feels quick or absorbing, far more than the subject does.

The narrowest channel between two lines measures about 0.47 mm at full print size. We measure this on every page because it is what decides whether a marker will bleed across an outline.

The composition is centered, which is worth knowing before you print - it determines how much white space sits around the edge of the drawing.

What to colour it with

For this page we would use coloured pencils or fine-tip markers. A broad marker will cross the narrower gaps before you can stop it.

Who this page suits

We put this page at roughly the 5-8 age range, based on the line weight and how many separate areas it has - not on the subject. Plenty of adults colour pages meant for children and the other way round; the band is a starting point.

This suits an early-years classroom as an early-finisher task or a settling activity after break. It is long enough to occupy a child properly and short enough to finish in one session, which matters more than it sounds.

What to look for in this drawing

Anatomy is where animal line art succeeds or fails, so it is worth a look before you start: check that the limbs attach where they should and that the head sits on the body at a believable angle. Colouring exaggerates whatever is already there - a strong outline becomes a strong drawing, and a weak join becomes obvious the moment two colours meet across it.

How to colour this page well

Work from the centre of interest outwards, and leave the background until last. That way the background colour is chosen to support what is already on the page instead of fighting it. If you want depth, press harder at the edges of each shape and lighter towards the middle - it is the fastest way to stop a flat fill looking flat.

Stay just inside the outlines rather than aiming exactly at them. A one-millimetre margin of white next to the line reads as crisp; crossing the line reads as messy.

What to do with it once it is coloured

Cut the finished animal out and mount it on coloured card to make a simple wall piece. Younger children can glue on scraps of wool or felt for fur and feathers, which turns a ten-minute colouring page into an afternoon.

Printed at full size the artwork sits within a 0.25 in margin, so there is a clean border to cut along if you are mounting or framing it.

Frequently asked questions

This page is a single black-and-white line drawing of Lion, drawn with closed outlines so every part of the animal can be coloured separately. There is no shading and no grey - just clean outlines on a white background.

Best for roughly ages 5-8. There is enough going on to hold attention without becoming overwhelming.

Use coloured pencils or fine-tip markers. A broad marker will cross the narrower gaps before you can stop it. On this Lion page the narrowest gap between two lines measures about 0.47 mm at full print size, which is what that recommendation is based on.

Use 24 lb / 90 gsm paper or heavier. There is a lot of ink on this page, and on thin copy paper it can show through the back and buckle slightly as it dries. This Lion page measures about 22.4% ink coverage. Print at 100% scale (not "fit to page") and leave colour off - the file is pure black and white, so a greyscale or black-only setting prints it faster and cheaper.

Both. This Lion page is rendered twice - once for US Letter (8.5 x 11 in) and once for A4 (210 x 297 mm) - instead of scaling one file to fit the other, so neither version prints with empty bands down the side. Pick the download that matches your paper. Both are portrait and both keep a 0.25 in margin so nothing is clipped by the printer.

Roughly 42-98 minutes. This Lion page has 64 separate enclosed areas to fill, and that estimate assumes the age range above - a careful colourist will happily take longer.

Once it is coloured, Lion pages work well as wall art, card fronts, gift tags or laminated placemats. The SVG download can also be cut on a Cricut or Silhouette, because it is real vector line art rather than a picture of one.

This page was drawn with AI assistance and then reviewed, cleaned and print-tested by a person before it was published - our editorial process page explains exactly what that involves. It is free for personal and classroom use, with no attribution and no signup. You may not resell the file itself.