Parade Of Decorated Elephants In Celebration Coloring Page

Five elephants walk in a line toward you, each one dressed for a procession. The two nearest wear jeweled headplates and beaded straps, and one carries a domed canopy on its back with a finial on top. Pennants on tall poles rise between them, and the animals behind fade back with less detail as the line recedes.

This is busier than it first appears. The outlines are clean and simple, but the decoration adds up, so the page suits about ages seven and up rather than the youngest colorists.

The receding line is a gift. Work the two leading elephants strongly, keep the ones behind pale, and the parade gains depth that the drawing alone does not have.

Ceremonial elephants have been part of temple festivals in southern India for centuries, most famously at Thrissur Pooram, where the animals wear gold headplates and the crowd counts in the tens of thousands.