This mandala is a departure from all the previous designs. As I was experimenting with different mandalas, I was using a template as a guide while I drew. After watching some other artists create their mandalas, I realized that the template, while a great tool, was in many ways constraining how I drew my mandalas.
So out went the templates. I think the design of this one is an improvement – the circles in the design are cohesive and it has enough intricate pieces to be a nice piece to color.
More experimentation with this mandala. Not a typical mandala, but I wanted to experiment with using more geometric shapes, reminiscent of Native American and/or Nazca art.
It definitely has a southwest feel to it, so I’m pretty happy with how this one turned out. It would be interesting to digitally color this one and see how it turns out.
I like the inner layers of this mandala. It falls apart a bit as you move to the outer layers. I was experimenting with different lines and weights, but the outer layers are too heavy next to the finer lines of the inner layers.
And the shape on the outer layer reminds me weirdly of puckering lips. It makes the design a bit jarring. Maybe if I just deleted the outermost layer, the overall design would be improved.
This mandala ended up being quite a bit smaller than previous ones. Not sure why, I didn’t intend it to be. I do like the middle of this one, with the four-leaf clover sort of flower in the inner layer.
I don’t think I put enough different elements in this one, but I do like the ones that are there. Perhaps I’ll try this one in iColorama and see how it turns out.
I tried something different with this mandala. I’ve been using a monoline brush in all the previous drawings, because I wanted the uniform look to the lines. But I wanted to try drawing with a brush that would show the pressure sensitivity. So I tried a different brush.
I think it turned out pretty well. I was able to make the brush much smaller in size than I could with the monoline brush, which meant I could get much finer lines in the mandala. So the inner circles of this mandala have some pretty intricate elements because I had more play with the size of the lines.
The outer layer seems kind of boring and plain, but I wanted to stay with the flower/leaf motif I had going on in the inner layers. Definitely less uniform looking, but much more obvious that it is hand-drawn.
After the failure of last week’s mandala, I’m pretty happy with this one. It feels balanced and it’s ornate enough that I think it makes a great coloring mandala. I should try coloring this one too and compare the colored versions of the two mandalas.
I think this is my least favorite mandala of all the ones I’ve drawn so far. I was experimenting with lines and overlaps, but it just didn’t turn out the way I was hoping it would. I almost didn’t post this one, but I want to be transparent about my failures, so – here it is!
I kinda feel like I ran out of steam on this one. The inner circles are pretty full, which I like, but then it seems to get less ornate as you reach the outer edge. I might have a go at coloring this one and see how it turns out.
This design is a little more busy than I was doing before. An attempt to make it more fun to color – the more tiny pieces it has, the more fun it is to fill in, right?
