Bengal Tiger Prowling Through Jungle Leaves Coloring Page

The jungle closes in from every edge of this sheet. Hanging leaves and looped vines fill the top corners, broad foliage banks up on both sides, and grass crowds the bottom, leaving a clear channel through the middle for the tiger. The animal walks forward along that channel with its head turned toward you and one forepaw about to land. Long stripes sweep down the back and haunch, and the tail carries its own banded pattern out to the right.

Allow real time for it. Between the foliage and the coat there are several hundred separate areas, which makes this the longest job in the set and a poor choice for anyone under about ten.

A useful trick with a busy page like this is to color the background first and the animal last. Working the leaves in two or three greens establishes the depth, and the tiger then only has to be warmer than whatever surrounds it to jump forward.

Bengal tigers hunt in exactly this kind of cover. A stalking tiger moves in short bursts between screens of vegetation, and the striped coat breaks its outline against the vertical lines of stems and grass, which is the effect the drawing sets up.