Geometric Coloring Pages Inspired by the Dazzling Labyrinths of Bismuth Crystals

The geometric patterns of nature always inspire me. Here are two geometric coloring pages inspired by the dazzling stepped crystals of a very special natural element - Bismuth.

I hope you find a sense of peace and order in these labyrinths of growing squares.

Bismuth Crystal

The Coloring Pages:

These images are previews. To download the print-quality file, please click the blue "download" button. A new browser tab will open and automatically download the zip file to your computer. 

(I do this because the print quality files are much too heavy to display on a webpage.)

Tips for Drawing a Metallic Effect

In order to get a shiny, metallic look to your drawing, here are some things for you to try:

• Don't blend the colors too much. Reflections tend to have sharp edges, especially the brightest lights and the darkest darks.
• Create sharp contrasts, go for black shadows and white reflections.
• Let the colors follow the contours of the crystals - go with the flow :)
• Specifically, Bismuth is not a mirror surface. It's highly reflective, for sure, but the surface does have its own color. 
  If you do want to draw a mirror-surface, think what it is you want to reflect and keep the directions consistent.
  For example, if you start with blue on the right side the shape, always draw the blue on the same side for all the shapes in the coloring page.

What is Bismuth?

This heavy metal has been known since ancient times, and it has a variety of uses. Different Bismuth compounds are used as pigments, in cosmetics, as semiconductors, and in medicine.

The beautiful stepped crystals form because the edges of the material are more active than than the middle.
These gorgeous creations are usually grown in a lab, although, of course, they do occur in nature. 

The brilliant rainbow colors are the result of the oxidized layer that naturally coats the metal when it is exposed to the air.

It's much less toxic than other heavy metals, and it has a very very low radioactivity, so low that it's considered stable - it's half life is more than a billion times the age of the universe! - so, no worries there.

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