This is that post where I realize that I haven’t bothered to post in two months. Ugh. Setting a goal to post at least once a week. I’ve been doing art though. I’m still pretty stoked with the Tombow pens. I also picked up a couple of Fluid Easy Block 8”x8” cold press pads to do mandalas on with Sharpie and Tombows. I’m ordering a couple of other sizes online that I didn’t see in the store - and I’m going to try some hot press paper, as I think the smoothness would be better for the detail work I’m trying to do. The 8”x8” size pads have proved really portable for me though - and has pretty much replaced my zendoodling. Check out my new gallery to see what I've been working on.
I’m really trying to play with colors that I wouldn’t normally choose and shapes that are not typical. It still amazes me that every mandala, even though they all start with the same circle and (usually) eight points, comes out completely and utterly different. I do find myself using at least a few elements over and over again, and I’m working to find ways to make them different or to embellish them with fills and edges that I normally would not use.
So here’s a technique that can get you out of your same 3 elements over and over rut. I did not create this technique, I saw it on a video by Prema Akasha and then kind of ran with it in a slightly different way.
Start with a tiny circle. Add 8 dots around the edge. Make a line or shape in each space. Turn the paper as you go. Continue drawing something on the end of each spoke of this wheel. Sometimes I’ll use letters - I, L, O, V, C, U, M, N, T S, D, W, Y are good ones. Also circles, squares, triangles, hearts, diamonds and other shapes as well.
Once you have your spokes with at least 3 elements, start connecting pieces back to the center. Use straight lines, curves, wiggly lines, dots, circles, whatever you can think of to make your connections. You can start a new set of items on the ends of your elements. Continue as long as you wish (or till you run out of paper!) Don’t forget to add fill and detail, and subdivide the new elements you are creating if you wish. You can emphasize and highlight with a thicker pen once you have your main shape as well.
This exercise will likely help you find new elements to use in your drawings and I can almost guarantee that you will be amazed at the detail and depth of your drawing from using this technique. I sometimes will use it to go forward on an in progress mandala that I’m stuck on deciding the next element. It is also very very meditative to me for some reason, I think because I just have to connect what I’ve added rather than decide on an entire shape to use for the element. Here is a sample of a few tiny quick mandalas created with this method.
I also like this technique for quick doodles when I just have a pencil and a short amount of time and want to make something cool really fast. Hope you will try it, it will help you expand your element base for your mandalas for sure!
