Unicorn With a Butterfly Coloring Page

Nobody is in a hurry in this picture. On this unicorn with a butterfly coloring page, a unicorn rests in a spring meadow with her legs folded under her and her chin lifted. She is watching a big butterfly drift past her horn. Two smaller butterflies fly nearby, and a sun with twelve rays sits high in the sky.

The page fits kids from about 4 to 9. The body is a large, calm shape, and the wings offer plenty of small spaces for those who want a challenge. Allow about 25 minutes.

What to look for

The butterfly is the star, so take a close look at it. Each top wing has a shape inside a shape inside a shape, like a set of nesting bowls. The lower wings have round spots. Because the left side matches the right side, it makes a great little lesson in symmetry.

Behind the unicorn, a row of tulips runs along the hill and a round tree holds five red fruits. Down at the bottom, seven big daisies grow on thin stems with tufts of grass between them. Her tail curls around her back legs and rests on the ground.

Unicorn with a butterfly coloring page color ideas

Real butterflies are often bold, so go bright here. Pink top wings with yellow centers and teal lower wings look lovely against a pale sky. Whatever colors you pick for the left wings, repeat them on the right. Kids usually enjoy working out the match.

Keep the unicorn light so the butterfly stays the center of attention. White with a lilac and pink mane is a safe choice. A pale gold coat is pretty too.

Try these for the meadow:

• Two greens for the hills, with the darker one in front
• Tulips in a repeating row of pink, yellow, purple and red
• White daisies with orange centers along the bottom

Tips from the coloring table

Use colored pencils for the butterfly and crayons for the hills. A crayon covers a hill in a few strokes, while a sharp pencil can get into the small wing spots. Turn the paper as you go. It is much easier to stay in a curved line when your hand moves in a natural arc.

When you color the sky, stop just short of the sun rays and the butterfly, then fill the gap with careful small strokes. This keeps the edges clean. If your child likes shading, add a little darker green under the unicorn so that she looks settled in the grass.

Old unicorn tapestries were full of plants

Meadows and unicorns have gone together for a long time. A famous set of seven woven pictures called The Hunt of the Unicorn was made in the Southern Netherlands around 1500. More than a hundred kinds of plants appear in those tapestries, and botanists have named 85 of them. The weavers used wool, silk and metal threads, with dyes made from plants such as weld, madder and woad. So even the colors came from a garden. The set now hangs in New York at The Met Cloisters.

An easy nature activity

Take your finished page outside and look for real butterflies or flowers. Older kids can make a tally of the colors they spot, then compare the list with their picture. If it is winter, cut butterfly shapes from folded paper instead. Open them up and paint one side, then press the fold shut to print the other side.

In a classroom, this page pairs well with a short lesson on life cycles. Ask students to draw a caterpillar and a chrysalis somewhere in the grass. There is room near the tulips.

Keep going with these pages

Another quiet scene is the sleeping unicorn coloring page. For more flowers, print the unicorn in a garden coloring page next.

Questions