Have you lately been diving into the creative mandala art, which has become widely popular in 2022? While watching creative mandala art videos, you will observe that your mind feels easy and relaxed. This brings up a question among the viewers, what is Mandala Art? How or when did it originate? How can you start doing creative mandala art at home? Do you need to join a course to learn this type of art? How can you improve on your mandala art at home? If you also have all these questions in mind, the following beginner’s guide on Mandala Art will help you with all the answers you need. Let’s get started:
Introduction to Creative Mandala Art
To begin with, Mandala Art, as the term “mandala” suggests, is a sacred circular design. For the reader’s information, the word or term mandala indeed commences from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient and cultural language among people who followed Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. More often than not, these religions or religious practices are explorable at large in India. So, you can say that creative mandala art is an ancient art that originated in India long ago.
However, mandala art nowadays has advanced to multiple levels. For instance, back in the era between 1500 BCE and 1600 BCE, Mandala Art creativity was practiced on walls, floors, and other areas. Today, you can sit in front of your computer screen and create exclusive mandala designs using graphic designing software like Adobe.
In the English language, Mandala Art refers to geometrical art as a mandala containing multiple shapes, patterns in repetition form, and unending scope. For example, you can create a mandala as big and as deep as you want. It all depends on the creativity of your mind and your passion for art.
Is Mandala sacred?
The answer is yes. A Mandala in multiple religious practices like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism acts as a sacred space or tool (in the form of art) for meditation and other mind-based practices. For example, trance in earlier days was a practice of inducing unconsciousness in a person like hypnosis. The person at target looks for about 5 minutes on the main center of the Mandala and goes into a deep sleep.
To the reader’s surprise, each culture has given its own term for Mandala spiritual meditation ground. For example, in Hindu Vedas and ancient folklore, Mandala is referred to as “yantra.”
Whereas the religion that follows Gautam Buddha, a very gyani guru-like figure, calls mandala “Vajrayana.” It means “Secret Mantra.”
Similarly, in Japan as well, Buddhism is a big cultural practice. A large group of people in Japan who follow “Shingon Buddhism” consider mandalas as a major tool to make their minds about something. This practice is called Yidam.
In the event that creative mandala art practices related to different cultures are not enough, you will be surprised to know that people who follow Buddhism in Tibet have a completely distinct set of rituals that include Mandala as a mainstream tool.
Apart from this, a mandala also holds a lot of significance among the followers of Buddhism in Bhutan, China, Indonesia, and Nepal.
How did creative mandala art originate?
According to the ancient folk tales or legends of religious practice called Buddhism, Gautam Buddha (former king Siddhartha Gautama of Shakya Republic) from 530 BCE – 480 BCE created the first-ever mandala art piece. Surprisingly enough, the missionaries exploring Buddhism for a deep eye have proof of the earliest Mandala arts that originally commenced from 400 BCE to 500 BCE.
According to the research on Buddhism, it has been concluded that while Siddhartha Gautama left his kingdom to find the truth about life and death, he traveled to several places in the world, including China, Korea, Japan, and entire Asia.
In the context of art as well, painters from the 10th century to the 16th century were evidently indulged in mandala art. Some painters indulged in this type of art for passion and family business as painters. Whereas monks also used to indulge in creative mandala art for a long-long time. And it is still going on today. The only difference is ways to create mandala art have changed now.
Apart from this, back in the centuries, kings, rich householders, landlords, and others used to pay painters to create floor-sized mandala arts to improve the beauty of their houses. Not only this, but Mandala is indeed a symbol of positive energy in households even today in India, specifically Hinduism and Buddhism.
Many yogis, gyanis, and other spiritual practitioners sit in the middle point of a mandala to meditate for hours, days, and even years.
In simple words, we can state that creative mandala art is not just a geometrical art. It is a tool to connect one’s body to the mind and then to the supreme power above all of us.
How to create beautiful and creative mandala art?
When it comes to creative mandala art, the good part is there are no boundaries. All you require is a creative mind, a sense of shapes and patterns, balancing art skills, geometrical art knowledge, and proper stationery. Indeed, while creating mandala art, a painter or sketcher has a lot of choices. For example, you can begin painting mandala arts on a piece of paper. You have the choice to use either a simple black or blue sketch pen or multiple colors. Further ahead, you can beautify it as much as you desire. There are no boundaries.
However, if you desire to begin learning mandala art for professional purposes, the following stepwise guide will help you. It contains steps that were used to create traditional mandala art back in the day. Let’s take a glance:
STEP 1: Pick a smooth and flat painting surface
On the web, you will see millions of mandala art created on distinct surfaces such as artboards, pieces of paper, floor, walls, and so on. Hence, it depends on you which flat surface you pick. In order to start small, you can definitely go for a painting paper that is large enough to complete your painting. Remember, there are no boundaries.
Back in the day, in Buddhism religion, Mandala art was created on floors using coloured sands. However, you can definitely go for different coloring stationeries like a sketch pen with three strokes and fine lining quality. On the contrary, watercolor sheets are best for mandala art so that the design does not imprint on the back of the paper.
In order to create a mandala art as smooth as a professional painter, here is a tip – please use a light grasp of a pen and build into the design slowly. It will also soothe your mind.
STEP 2: Let your mind institute patterns for creative mandala art
In the event that you are drawing a mandala as an interior designer for a clientele, you have to follow the designs, patterns, and shapes described by the clientele. However, if this is not the case, then all the freedom is in your hand. You can begin a mandala art design establishment by pointing to the accurate center point of the paper. In the center, you can design any pattern from a dot to a geometrical flower, diamond, and so on.
One of the most essential sharp ends to note about creative mandala art is that it is the same from all sides. For example, the design that you have instituted on the left side, the same design will be on the right side, upper side, and lower side.
Many creators also go for half-paged mandala art, which is also a soothing practice. Remember, it all depends on your creativity. For exclusive mandala art patterns and ideas, you can always go to google and search for them.
Another thing to note about mandala art is that you must be positive. A negative mind will not balance out perfectly with mandala art which is a sacred practice. So, keep yourself aligned with the supreme power.
STEP 3: Painting or Coloring the creative mandala art
Once you have instituted creative mandala art design, this step is optional. You can either choose to leave it black or white. Or, you can paint in the spare part of the art to make it more intuitive. Again, the choice of stationary depends on you. For example, some sketchers used simple fineliner sketches to fill in the empty places between patterns in creative mandala art.
Whereas others use watercolors which is also a fine choice. Just make certain, whatever you choose, you choose it based on your art love and not going beyond!
Do you know? Back in the day, organic dyes and sands were used to fill such gaps. Sounds like a lot of work, right? But, you can do it!
STEP 4: A final touch and pinch of dusting
Is your creative mandala art ready? Share it online with us in the comment section. But, before you do that, this last step is also essential. If you have created mandala art on a piece of paper, you can give it a final touch with sparkling material on the top to make it more decorative and presentable. On the contrary, if you are using coloured sand, organic dyes, and other products to create mandala art, a speck of final dust off is significant.
Check out the edges of your mandala art if they are aligned properly. If not, you can use a duster or a used piece of cloth to make it accurate on the outer lining.
Is it ready? Share it below!
What stationery to use for geometrical art?
Geometrical art or mandala art is a free art form. You can use any type of stationary. For example, sketch pens, pens, pencils (for rough or practicing only), organic dyes, sand or coloured sand, and so on. But, nowadays, norms have changed a lot. With technology, there are so many choices of stationary for mandala art. Professionals use the following:
- Cold Water Sheets or Ivory sheets because they are thick and do not get rough over time.
- Pigment fine liner pens for outlining and coloring pen kit for colorful finishing of the art.
- Sparkling pens (if you are going an extra mile)
Tips for creating the best creative mandala art ever!
To begin with, the thrill of creating mandala art is unimaginable. When you look at the mandala art, you are creating. You may want to expand it more and more. But, to what end? The following tips will help you improve your skills in geometrical art:
- Sit in an open space while doing mandala art. Please note that this is a sacred practice that will flush your mind off toxins. Thus, do not sit in a space that is unclean or cluttered with unwanted stuff around you.
- Focus on your physical and mental health. Do you know why painters do not smoke or drink? They simply eat healthily and live a simple life. The reason is their art is drugs for them. So, they do not need to be materialists for peace of mind and body. Thus, try to live and indulge yourself in a simple environment to get the best out of your mind.
- Explore new designs every day. When it comes to mandala art, there are millions of patterns and shapes out there. Therefore, do not stick yourself to a single pattern. Go beyond!
- Research a lot! In the event that your mind is out of new ideas, do not keep yourself from exploring new ones. Many newbie painters take too much pride in uniqueness. However, if you want to learn, you have to explore the works of previous creators. Otherwise, you will be stuck in the loophole of the same patterns and designs.
- Last but not least, do not doubt yourself while creating mandala art. It is essential to stay positive and thrive in what you are doing! If you are unsure that what you have created is good, take a second opinion from family members. It will give you the credibility to move ahead.
Epilogue
So, are you ready to create your first-ever mandala art or geometrical art? Don’t forget to contribute it to inspire other readers on our page. We have come a long way! Thank you for learning with us.
