My 5-year-old daughter Maria has an endless imagination. Unicorns on clouds surrounded by sweets. Koala families splashing in puddles. Characters from movies she's just watched. She dreams up these scenes constantly.

The problem? Finding coloring pages that match what's in her head. Google searches return generic results. Pinterest has nice designs, but never exactly what she's imagining.

So we started using Nano Banana Pro via Higgsfield AI this week to generate custom coloring pages from her descriptions. She tells me what she's picturing, I type it in, and within 20 seconds we have a printable page featuring exactly what she imagined.

This has become our weekend routine. Maria describes a scene, I generate a few options, print the best one, and she spends hours coloring it in. The engagement is remarkable because it's her creation.

Here's exactly how we do it, including the prompts that work, the printing workflow that saves ink, and whether the €180/year subscription is worth it. For a deeper look at Higgsfield's full capabilities, check out our Higgsfield AI Review.

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What you'll need

Tools:

  • Higgsfield AI account (free tier available with limited generations)
  • Home printer (color or black and white)
  • Canva account for background removal (free tier works)
  • Standard printer paper
  • Coloring supplies (crayons, colored pencils, markers)

Optional but helpful:

  • TurboScribe for transcribing your child's descriptions (free tier: 3 transcripts/day)
  • PowerPoint or Google Slides for print formatting

Time investment:

  • 5 minutes to generate and select images
  • 5 minutes to prepare for printing
  • Total: 10 minutes per coloring page

Cost breakdown:

  • Free tier: Limited generations per day
  • Pro plan: €180/year (600 tokens/month, each Nano Banana Pro costs 2 tokens)

Step-by-step: Generating coloring pages

Step 1: Capture Your Child's Idea

Ask your child what they want to color. Get specific details. Maria doesn't just say "a unicorn" — she says "a beautiful unicorn sitting on a cloud with sweets and chocolates all around it."

Pro tip: For detailed descriptions, I record Maria talking and use TurboScribe to transcribe it. This captures details I might otherwise miss or simplify.

Step 2: Access Higgsfield AI

Go to higgsfield.ai and sign in. Navigate to the image generation section. If you're new to the platform, our complete Higgsfield AI review covers everything you need to know about getting started.

Step 3: Select Nano Banana Pro

In the model selector, choose "Nano Banana Pro" rather than standard "Nano Banana." The Pro version costs 2 tokens per generation but produces significantly more detailed results with cleaner lines — essential for good coloring pages.

Step 4: Write Your Prompt

Type your child's description, then add this key instruction at the end:

✏️ Prompt Ending: "This should be done as a sketch to be coloured in for a kids activity."

Alternative ending phrases that also work:

  • "This should be a colouring page for a kid's activity."
  • "The image should be for colouring for a kid's play activity."

Step 5: Generate Multiple Options

I run 4 generations per batch: 3 with standard Nano Banana (free) and 1 with Nano Banana Pro (2 tokens). This lets Maria choose her favorite while conserving tokens. The Pro version usually wins.

Each generation takes approximately 20 seconds.

Step 6: Review With Your Child

Show all options to your child and let them pick. Maria often has strong opinions about which one "looks right" compared to what she imagined.


Our prompts that worked

Here are exact prompts we used successfully:

Unicorn on a Cloud

✏️ Prompt: "A simple sketch of a beautiful unicorn sitting on a cloud in the sky with sweets, candies and chocolates surrounding it on the cloud. The image should be for colouring for a kid's play activity."

Koala Family in the Rain

✏️ Prompt: "A beautiful girl koala as per the uploaded picture. She is walking with her mother and baby sister on grass and it is raining. There are a few puddles on the ground. The mother is wearing a hat and she is holding an umbrella that is covering the three of them keeping them dry from the rain. They all have big smiles. This should be a colouring page for a kid's activity."

Koala Pool Party

✏️ Prompt: "A family of 5 koalas having fun at the pool in their backgarden - the father is holding the beautifully cute baby son in her arms in the swimming pool, the really cute daughter and older are having fun playing in the swimming pool. The mother is sitting at the edge of the pool drinking a cool drink. This should be done as a sketch to be coloured in for a kids activity."

Movie Character Recreation

✏️ Prompt: "Olivia the elephant from The Grand Prix of Europe. She is a beautiful and elegant elephant. She has one hand on her hip and she is talking to Louis the chicken. This should be done as a sketch to be coloured in for a kids activity."


Nano Banana vs Nano Banana Pro

The difference is significant. Using the same koala-in-rain prompt:

Standard Nano Banana:

  • Simpler design with decorative border frame
  • Less background detail
  • Character is cute but basic
  • Free to generate

Nano Banana Pro:

  • Much more detailed background (individual bamboo leaves, rain droplets)
  • More intricate character design
  • Cleaner lines that are easier to color within
  • Costs 2 tokens per generation

For quick, simple pages, standard Nano Banana works fine. For scenes Maria really cares about, Pro is worth the tokens.


The printing workflow

Printing directly from Higgsfield uses excessive ink because you're printing an image file. Here's our workflow to create clean, ink-efficient prints:

Step 1: Download as PNG

Save the generated image to your device.

Step 2: Remove Background in Canva

Open Canva, upload your image, and use the background remover tool. This eliminates any gray or off-white background that would print as ink coverage.

Step 3: Place in PowerPoint

Open a new PowerPoint slide, paste your background-removed image, and resize to fit the page.

Step 4: Export as PDF

Export the slide as a PDF file.

Step 5: Print the PDF

Print from the PDF. This method uses significantly less ink than printing the original PNG directly.

Time added: About 3-4 minutes, but saves substantial ink over time.

What worked

Child-Led Creativity Drove Engagement

The magic isn't the AI — it's that Maria sees her own ideas come to life. She spent hours coloring these pages because they came from her imagination, not a generic coloring book.

Proof: She colored the koala family page over three separate sessions, adding more detail each time.

Recording Her Descriptions Captured Detail

When I just listen and type, I simplify. When I record and transcribe, I capture her exact vision: "The mother is wearing a hat and she is holding an umbrella that is covering the three of them."

💡 Lesson: Kids' imaginations are more detailed than adults expect. Capture everything.

Character Consistency Using Reference Images

After generating a koala character Maria loved, I uploaded that image as a reference for future generations. This kept "her koala" consistent across different scenes — pool party, rainy walk, etc.

💡 Lesson: Build a library of character images your child connects with.

What didn't work

Uploading Photos of the Kids

I tried uploading photos of Maria to create coloring pages featuring her. Every generation failed due to content filters (Higgsfield uses Google's infrastructure).

🔄 Workaround: Generate a cartoon character that represents your child instead, then use that as a reference image.

Skipping the Print Workflow

Early on, I printed PNGs directly. The ink usage was noticeable. The Canva-to-PowerPoint-to-PDF workflow adds a few minutes but makes the activity sustainable long-term.

💡 Lesson: The extra steps are worth it if you're printing regularly.

Tips and tricks

Before you start:

  • Have your child describe the scene before opening Higgsfield — their enthusiasm is highest at the start
  • Keep a notes app ready to capture their exact words
  • Consider recording longer descriptions for transcription

During generation:

  • Run 3 free generations and 1 Pro generation per batch to compare and conserve tokens
  • Always include the "coloring page" instruction at the end of your prompt
  • Save character images you love as reference for future scenes

For best results:

  • More specific prompts = better results ("walking through puddles in wellies" beats "in the rain")
  • Include character emotions ("big smiles," "excited expression")
  • Specify relationships ("mother holding baby sister's hand")

💡 What I'd do differently: Start with the print workflow from day one, create a "character library" folder earlier, and let Maria watch more of the generation process — she loves seeing options appear.

Troubleshooting

Problem: Generation fails when uploading photos of children

Solution: This is a content filter limitation. Instead, generate a cartoon character that represents your child and use that as a reference image for future generations.

Problem: Coloring pages have colored elements instead of just lines

Solution: Make your prompt ending more explicit: "This should be a black and white sketch with no colors, designed for a child to color in."

Problem: Printed pages use too much ink

Solution: Use the Canva background removal workflow. Also check your printer settings — draft mode uses less ink and works fine for coloring pages.

Problem: Character looks different in each generation

Solution: Upload a previous generation you liked as a reference image with your new prompt. Include "as per the uploaded picture" in your prompt.

Problem: Scene is too complex to color

Solution: Add "simple" to your prompt: "A simple sketch of..." This reduces detail while keeping the core scene.

Problem: Running out of tokens quickly

Solution: Use the 3-free-1-Pro batch strategy. Generate most options with standard Nano Banana, reserve Pro for final selections or detailed scenes.