On this page
This electric guitar coloring page is pure stage energy. A guitar with two long horns cuts across the sheet from the lower left to the top right, and rings of sound spread out from its body. Lightning bolts strike on both sides, and a set of level meters bounces in the corner. It looks like the moment right after a huge chord.
The design belongs to no brand, so you can treat it as your own custom build. The large rings go quickly, while the neck and pickups call for a sharp point. Plan on forty minutes or so.
Parts of the guitar
Start at the top with the headstock, where six tuning pegs hold the strings. The neck runs down from there with its frets and round position markers. If you play, you can check the markers against a real guitar.
Two pickups sit on the white plate, each with two rows of small round pole pieces. Below them, the strings cross the bridge and end at the tailpiece. Four knobs sit on the lower body, plus a small switch up near the top horn. A flame design licks up from the end of the body, and a raised edge runs all the way around.
Electric guitar coloring page finishes to try
Paint jobs on guitars are an art form all their own. Here are a few to steal.
- Sunburst: pale yellow in the middle, fading through orange to deep red at the edge.
- Black and chrome: dark gray body, silver parts and a bright white plate.
- Galaxy: purple and blue with white dots flicked on top.
- Hot rod: gloss red with the flames in yellow and orange.
A sunburst is the best skill builder here. The outer band of the body already gives you a border to work with, so you can blend from it toward the center with light circles.
For the background, pick colors that step from dark to light as the rings move outward or inward. Three tones from the same family will do. Purple works well, because it makes orange and yellow look brighter. Keep the bolts a hot yellow and the meters in green, yellow and red, as they would be on a real sound board.
Shine and metal
The pickups, bridge and knobs are metal, so they need sharp contrast. Put a dark gray next to a white streak, and skip the soft blending. A glossy body works the same way. Leave one long curved highlight running along the edge of the body and do not color over it.
Color the fretboard in a warm brown, leaving the frets as thin pale lines. Gray pencils work well for the strings. Go slow and use a ruler as a guide if your hand shakes.
How it makes noise
The electric guitar dates to the early 1930s. George Beauchamp designed an aluminum lap steel known as the Frying Pan in 1931, working with Paul Barth, and production started the next year. Early fans included jazz players who wanted their solos heard over a big band.
Pickups are the key. Each one is a coil of wire around a magnet, and it turns the movement of the strings into an electrical signal. A solid body guitar has no hollow chamber to make the sound louder, so it needs an amplifier. Solid bodies also avoid much of the unwanted feedback that troubles amplified acoustic guitars. The electric guitar article on Wikipedia goes deep on the history.
Make it yours
Start a band on paper. Name it, design a logo for the headstock and write the title of your first album along the top of the page. Then add a set list of five song names on the back.
Music teachers can use this as a labeling sheet. Have students mark the headstock, frets, pickups, bridge and knobs, then explain in one sentence what each part does.
Need more attitude on your wall? Pair this with the cool skateboarder coloring page, or go abstract with the geometric coloring page.
Questions
Is this a real guitar brand?
No. The body shape, with its two long horns, is an original design, and there are no logos on it. Add your own brand name if you like.
Which way should I color the wood parts?
Follow the length of the neck. Long, light strokes in tan or brown look like wood grain.
How do I keep the strings neat?
Color the fretboard first, then leave the strings alone. A very sharp gray pencil can go over them at the end if you want them to shine.
