Basic Guide to Starting Mandala Art

Hey there.

This is going to look more like an email than a blog post. I guess I'm inexperienced so blogging is going to take a while to understand. So here we are, let's talk about Mandala art. The art that speaks about the "circle of life", the one with flowers and petals, the one that speaks about universality...and let's get to the point here.

BASIC GUIDE TO MANDALA ART

1. The Center: This is where you'll start. This is where you'll build your foundation from. I find it helpful to draw a dot in the center.

2. The Compass: Using a compass (this will help you draw perfect circles), draw guidelines around the center. You can choose to put a lot of thought into this or very little. You can make them all equal, or completely different sized layers. With the addition of layers, you can also draw out some vertical lines to further guide your mandala petals and other patterns. Remember, this will help you make sure your patterns are symmetrical...the lines are your guide, so draw them lightly.

3. Drawing patterns: It's time to get down to the real stuff. There are many common patterns used in mandala art, it's all a matter of learning basic patterns and using multiple basic patterns to build more complex patterns. Petals, circles, dots, triangles and other shapes of different sizes are examples of basic patterns. Many artists choose to draw their mandala first in pencil, and then outline it with their pens.

4. The Pens: Pens are highly important when it comes to mandalas. It's great to have pens with thin tips like pigma micron pens. The Sakura Pigma Micron pen sets are perfect for mandala art. Of course there are so many other brands out there, so feel free to experiment. My most favourite pens are the 005, 02, and 05. Having a depth of 0.8mm may fit your needs as a beginner to create something more simple.

5. Make it your own: With time your intricacy will improve and you'll be able to add your own creative touch to it. Don't be afraid to make this art your own - something that represents you. I love Arabic calligraphy and abstract painting so I combined it with my mandala passion. You can choose to make canvases, sketch on paper, draw on a piece of wood, whatever makes your world smile :)