Mandala Art: Create Your Own Colorful Mandala

1. Introduction: Hello! My name is Mayuri and I'm a mandala artist and a you tuber. I started drawing mandalas in 2014. since then I’ve been making Mandala portraits using variety of colors and sizes. Some of you might know me from my Instagram handle two points mandalas. Mandala designs are geometric shapes composed around a circular shape. The main shape in drawing a mandala is the circle, to which you can add different elements to create a complex design that can consist of as many parts and shapes as you want. Lets go briefly through the flow of this course First we will practice few basic shapes and curves used in mandala art. Then we will move on to making petals using the shapes and curves, you'll be practicing this very basic petal designs which will be helpful for your mandala art. Next up I will teach you to draw the basic template for our mandala art, and that is the mandala grid, formation of grid is the important part in mandala art. Once done with it we will start drawing our mandalas - Starting with a Mini Mandala design using only black fine-liner and basic shapes and for our final project a large mandala using beautiful intricate patterns and coloring techniques. I’ve created 3 free download-able PDF to help you with your art! This printable PDF contains the petals and patterns and the steps involve in grid making and mandala art. Mandala drawing gives you the utmost freedom to explore your artistic self. So start today itself, unleash your creativity, Lets make awesome mandalas together. 2. Material Required: Let's see what material you will need for this whole course You can get these tools easily in stationary stores Pencil Eraser Protractor Scale Drawing Compass, here I'm using a staedtlers compass, you can also use any other kind of simple compass. Black fine liners, there are various brands you can try like staedtler, artline, sharpie, micron from 0.05 to 0.8 nib size, whichever fine liner is available, you can use it for your mandala art. let's see which color we can use for our mandala art - First one are this Ohuhu Markers, this particular pack contains 100 different shades, it has dual tip, brush tip and a fine liner tip, I will be using this markers for our colorful mandala. you can draw a mandala with a pencil if you want, but dark markers make the pattern cleaner and more definite. A pencil has some uncertainty in it; you never know when the line is done. With a marker pen, you have a sense of stability, and the lines seem more real. second one second one sketch fine-liners from Bianyo which are available in 48 different colors. There are many other brands you can try as per availability. Like Copic which are available in almost every shade or other brands like - Staedtler, Faber castle, Sakura. The last one, sharpie markers which are available in ultra fine and fine tips. Generally these are available in 24 different colors Next up drawing paper Use around 100 to 300 GSM drawing paper. GSM stands for grams per square meter. It defines the quality of paper. Take one small square sheet of 15 cm for mini mandala and 30 cm for large mandala. 3. Basic Shapes and Curves used in Mandala Art: Through practice, gently and gradually we can collect ourselves and learn how to be more fully with what we do. We are going to do the same thing in this class, you'll be practicing this very basic petal shapes which will be helpful for your mandala art. For drawing this petal designs I suggest you should consider using the grid paper from any of the notebook so that you can work on symmetric and perfect patterns Or make a grid on any plain paper First draw a simple curve in each block Do not rush while drawing this petals Try to draw a single smooth stroke Second one Simple triangle. We can use this patterns perfectly for detailing. This one is similar to triangle but just a bit of curve on both the sides. If you're having trouble with drawing it symmetrically, first draw side lines and then the middle part. Next one is similar to what we draw after triangle but the curves are on the opposite direction instead of facing each other. Next up spirals, I use it a lot in my Mandalas. This spirals might seem a little difficult to draw at first. But once you practice this. You can use it in various ways. We will practice some variations of it later. We will be using this three petal shapes in almost every mandala design. If this curves are hard to draw, you can try and practice the left side first and then the other one. Back to practicing the spirals in different ways. You don't have to use this patterns as it is, you can experiment with different shapes and create your own patterns with which you're comfortable with. Let's move on to practicing the curves, Whenever I'm teaching mandala art to my students they refer to this common difficulty they have when drawing patterns for Mandala that they are able draw one side of petal correctly but not the other. So practicing it separately does helps a lot when you're working on a big mandala project. 4. Petal Making using Shapes and Curves: Now that you have basic idea on how to draw shapes and curves for mandala, We will now try to create some advance patterns. Take the same paper sheet we used before. Follow me through each and every step slowly. Try to make the pattern look more clean and bold Use four blocks for one petal First draw this simple leaf structures, you have practiced this curves in previous lesson so it should be easier to draw this petals now. For the mini and large mandala We won't use any other shape than what we are practicing. But you can experiment with different shapes when you start drawing your own Mandala. Even if its still tough to draw this shapes don't worry draw what is comfortable for you there's nothing wrong or right while making mandala patterns, just be in the rhythm and keep practicing. Here our leafy petals are ready. Now lets create some intricate patterns, When creating your own patterns, you might get confused in the beginning for that reason you can take inspiration from any forms of nature It can be leaves of different shapes or any flower you see while taking a walk in garden or colorful butterflies Anything which has a beautiful shape and color Whatever inspires you Try to convert it into a simple doodle form and you'll get a beautiful pattern for your mandala art. Last one Petals using spiral shapes, First one smooth spirals facing each other, Next one is the mirror image of what we draw before. Drawing this petals for practice has helped me immensely for my artworks This practice reflects when you start drawing any mandala art You don't really have to think of the design before you start drawing a mandala. It will just start to come to you once you have created your own petal designs. And you'll be able to draw beautiful and intricate mandalas of your own . 5. Basic Template Mandala Grid : First process in creating mandala art is forming a grid. Understanding the formation of grid is the important part in mandala art drawing. You can use a graph paper as a beginner to draw mandala art. Lets start drawing Here I have taken a 15*15cm size drawing paper now Step 1 is to find the midpoint For that Measure the length of the paper and mark the center Do the same for remaining sides Now draw perpendicular lines through those points And you'll get the mid point of your paper Grid construction can be done in several ways, one of them is using protractor Using your compass, draw a circle about 6 cm in radius . Place your protractor over the center point Mark points at every 10 degrees interval around the center, from 0 to 180 degrees upward. . ark the points correctly as it all depends on the symmetry of the grid we made out. We finally get a semicircle made with dots Now Draw lines from each 10 degree point passing through the center. Join all the points in the same way which passes through the center point that forms a pattern . Here I am using this black fine liner so that you can see each and every step properly but while drawing grid for mandala base always use pencil. Make sure that you draw lines lightly while using the pencil because we need to erase any leftover lines or part of it at the end to get a clean mandala. Let’s start making concentric circles around the center with the gap of 1cm. Any fair measurement can be taken on your choice. Draw as many concentric circles you need to make patterns. These concentric circles are not defined to a limit, But not to infinity! It’s limit to your creativity and space you chosen to draw a mandala. If you’re looking to create something more uniformed and symmetrical, this guidelines can help ensure that every part of the design is correctly measured. 6. Mini Mandala using Basic Shapes and Petals: Mandala-making can be a very centering exercise, if you approach it in a relaxed way. There is no such thing as a mistake in a mandala, there is just the unexpected. The intricate look of a mandala comes from following a rhythm, which turns a little effort into a stunning result. Now that you have clear idea on how to draw this grid as we learned it in our previous lesson, It's time to start creating mandala patterns directly. Start right from the center. We need to fill that smallest circle with some kind of repetitive pattern. I decided to draw this little flower petal filling the whole section. For second layer curvy triangle shape. . For beginners, I will recommend to do this step with a pencil first, while experienced artists can use a black marker straight away. Now on top of this layer draw triangles touching the fourth circle. Draw this petals in between which connects the triangles we draw before. We will fill it with some detailed designs later. For next layer draw leafy small petals. Draw it with single smooth stroke. Next up spiral design in between leafy shapes till the second last circle of our mandala. For last layer alternatively two different petal designs filling the two whole sections. Let's use some lines, drops and shapes for detailing our mandala. There are no limits to your imagination when choosing the patterns. Try out different patterns, geometric shapes, and techniques. With time you will develop a preference for certain shapes and find your own style. 7. Large Mandala Art Pattern Making: Drawing your own mandala designs requires no artistic background. I tell my students, “If you can print your name and the alphabet, you can draw a mandala.” We use the same lines and shapes— vertical, horizontal, curved, diagonal— Whether we draw the Mandala free hand or within a grid. Here I've taken 30cm square paper, Fill the innermost circle with simple floral shape, repeat the same for next layer. You can experiment by filling the grids with spirals, patterns, swirls, dots, and so on. But make sure you start something simple and then later you can get into complex designs. The mandala that looks complicated is often constructed using very simple and basic shapes. Therefore go ahead and keep trying. Fill the empty space using small triangles, then the leafy petals filling the next two layers. Add details to your mandala the way you want or you can just follow the design which I'm creating. Mandalas are always constructed according to the same principle. The form always has a clearly defined center, with movement happening around this center, and the design is based on this center. You can draw from outside to inside and vice versa. Many people find the procedure from inside to outside easier. Keep making patterns and filling the gap between the previously drawn patterns using different shapes and designs, This is what makes the Mandala . look like more intricate, even though we are using simple shapes the placement of shapes and the detailing makes it more complex Don't think about how it's going to look when you finish, or how people will react when they see it. Don't make it about yourself, and don't treat it as a test of your drawing skill. Let the rhythm take you around each circle, and let the mandala become your whole world for now. There's no good or bad— just the rhythm, lines, and contrast. For last layer alternatively curvy leaf petals And some wider Petal's, fill this with spirals and shapes. Now erase the extra pencil lines for neat and clean mandala. 8. Large Mandala Art Coloring Techniques: Mandala Coloring is an activity that has been around for some time but is now growing in popularity with the mainstream It all starts with picking a color scheme and sticking to it. You may be tempted to be spontaneous and grab as many colors as you like. But the thing is, less really is more and limiting your colors can make your mandala more balanced and symmetrical Here I will be using ohuhu markers for coloring our final mandala, brush tip markers make excellent tools for drawing. I'm using combination of grey, green, blue and I'm using different shades of it. Keep a separate sheet of the same type of paper you're working on next to you so you can test colors first before laying them down on your artwork. Using Markers for drawing and coloring is so much fun! They’re easy to use, come in more colors than you can imagine, and there’s not a lot of preparation involved in using them — just pick one up and get started! Let's start coloring our mandala, Start at the centre, use light grey for middle circle and for next two layers dark grey, don't fill the whole section with color, keep some white border. For next two layers green color. Different brands of markers will behave differently, so try to use different types of markers that are out there and the different types of nibs (tips) that they have. Different tips are good for different styles & techniques. Get a scratch piece of paper and try coloring in some squares to get a feel for how the different nibs work. For example : Fine Point– good for close lines & details Brush Tip – Good for spreading ink smoothly in a manner similar to watercolor – flexible like a brush, softer lines Broad Tip – Good for large area coverage Move on to using blue shades, The best way to get even coverage and prevent streaks is to color slowly, unless you're going for a particular look and want the markers strokes to show. Color from Light to Dark: START LIGHT! You can always add more color and go darker, but you can't go to the opposite way. Color in the lightest shades first, then build up darker colors. Try to plan out highlights in advance and know which areas you’re going to keep white.. When all else fails, turn to nature! Nature always gives us the best color schemes- all you have to do is get out there and take note. You can take a walk through your neighborhood and observe the colors you see. You can also pick a bouquet of fresh flowers and use it as your color inspiration. Another approach to coloring mandalas is working by sections. Since a mandala usually has four, six, or eight symmetrical sections, you can fill each section with different colors. Try experimenting with a variety of possible color combinations to see which works best for you. Many assume that you need to color in all the details of the mandala to complete it. The thing is, you don’t have to fill all the white spaces with color! Leaving some areas out is perfectly fine and makes the mandala more open, free. Try out different coloring tools No rule says you can only use a specific coloring tool for your mandala! Gel pens, colored pencils, watercolor brush pens, and markers can all be used for coloring. But because most mandala designs are very detailed and intricate, many artist use gel pens and colored pencils since they have very fine points. Look at your mandala once again. Try to see it for what it is, not for what it isn't. Don't compare it to something in your mind, some vision of what it was "supposed to" look like. After all, if your goal was to draw a mandala, and you did it, then you succeeded!