Mandalas & Radial Patterns

About this coloring page

A mandala is a structure, not a subject, and that is the freedom this section takes. Rather than another set of abstract petals, most of these are built from real objects arranged around a centre: bicycle chainrings, spokes and bells rotated into twelve-fold symmetry; North Sea shells sorted by size into rings; kitchen tools radiating from a single point; the cross-section of a tulip bulb opened into a wheel; the gears of a stripped clock. The symmetry does the calming work, but the recognisable objects give your eye something to land on, which is what most abstract mandalas fail to do after the first twenty minutes. Line density is high. These are drawn for fineliners in the 0.05 to 0.3 range, alcohol markers on the larger fields, or coloured pencil if you are willing to spend two or three evenings on one sheet. If you work in a therapeutic or care setting, the rotational structure is useful in a specific way: there is no wrong place to start, no narrative to get right, and stopping halfway still leaves something that reads as complete. Print single-sided on at least 120 gsm if you intend to use anything wet.