Mandalas are an ancient spiritual practice from Hindu and Buddhist traditions. They are circular patterns which, in some traditions, are ceremonially created and destroyed to symbolise the universe and the impermanence of everything. Today, they form the basis of spectacular art in countless media all over the world. From doodles to intricate paintings, from tattoos to architecture, there are limitless examples of the mandala as a creative outlet and a way for artists to express their connection to the universe.
So if there are so many mandalas out there, why should you make your own? Because the process of constructing a mandala is a wonderful mindfulness exercise. Mindfulness is the kind, non-judgemental observation of the present moment. It is much harder to do than it sounds. So it takes practice! In this post, I will show you how to get started with a basic mandala drawing. In later posts, I will discuss some of my more detailed drawing techniques.
1: Essential equipment
a piece of paper
a pencil
a pen
Some non-essential (but handy) additional equipment:
a drawing compass
a ruler
a protractor
I am a big fan of using what you have! You don’t have to wait to buy a compass in order to start drawing mandalas today. For example, this is a mandala that I sketched freehand in pencil with no compass. It’s not perfect, but it’s still a mandala. And it was a wonderful way to get myself grounded.
This is something you can do VERY quickly with almost no equipment.
2. Drawing concentric circles
Whether you use a compass or draw freehand, the foundation of any mandala is concentric circles. I like to start by finding the middle of my paper and then drawing circles outward from there. You can be very precise and measure the incremental sizes of your circles, but I tend to just vary the size and make them randomly.
3. Mark some quadrants
This can be as complex or simple as you like. You can simply mark the top and bottom half, or quarters, or sixths, or eighths. If you have a protractor, you could mark lines at 10 degrees all the way around the circle. This is just an aid to help you keep things somewhat repetitive and symmetrical as you draw your way around each circle. (Don’t freak out about my mass of circles here on the left - I got carried away doodling with my compass!)
4. Start mindfully drawing around your circles!
I recommend always drawing mandalas with pen. Yep, no erasing. This is because mandalas are NOT about perfection - they are about practice! I also think it’s really important not to spend so much time in a pencil sketch that your mandala ends up becoming a planning exercise instead of a mindfulness practice.
So here, with your pen, is where mindfulness really kicks in. Pay attention to how the pen feels as it crosses the texture of your paper. What does it sound like? Can you smell the paper/pencil/eraser/pen? How do you feel as you look at your drawing? Remember to try observing everything with kindness and without judgement. Your circles will probably not be perfect. You may accidentally smudge your ink.
I often start by drawing just a few lines of ink around my mandala. Then I start in the centre with patterns and work my way out.
4. Erase your pencil guide marks +/- embellish as you like!
I use waterproof pens to draw my mandalas so that I can use water-based paints over the top. You can avoid this problem by using pencils or crayons over ordinary ballpoint pen. Or just leave it without any colouring-in! Whatever you feel is right, is right. This one I just left plain as I love how it looks in black & white.
Finished mandala
Here are some examples of recent mandalas that I have made in which I did use paint to embellish them:
Lastly, here are a couple of resources that I have found helpful:
The Mandala Guidebook by Kathryn Costa
I encourage you to create freely! You do not have to be an experienced artist to make beautiful mandalas. All you need is enthusiasm, some paper and something to draw with!
Kiva-Marie ❤️