Learn to Draw a Mandala! My New Follow-Along Tutorial for the Very Beginner.

I had this idea to make a tutorial video that you could easily follow along to.

It's so annoying when you're trying to follow a video tutorial and you keep getting behind the instructor and you have to pause and then find your place where you left off, over and over again. Then you miss half of the instruction because you're trying to do the thing instead of watching, and so you have to go back and watch again. grrrrr....

So in this video I explain what I'm doing as I do it and then pause for a bit, 5 to 30 seconds, so that you can do it too. Se each section has it's own pause at the end so you can easily watch what I'm doing fully and then have time to do it yourself during the pause. No more trying to quickly pause and then rewind to where you left off, then rewatch, etc. etc.

Please give it a try and let me know what you think. Like I said, this is a new format I tried and would love feedback. What can I do different? Is there enough time during the pauses? Any other suggestions?

Thanks so much. I hope you like it, remember to post pics of your finished mandala here or on my FB page MindfulDoodling on Facebook, I'd love to see them.

Happy Doodling!

-deb.

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Who Wants to Color? - I have coloring pages in my New Etsy Shop.

Hooray for the adult coloring trend! We no longer have to endure the humiliation of pulling out the ol' Minnie Mouse coloring book, lol, we now have beautiful, sophisticated coloring pages made just for us.

I also think coloring is great for practicing mindfulness. Like Zentangle, it's focused on the strokes of the crayon and the repetitive filling in of spaces rather than the creative process (although choosing which colors go where can be quite creative if you want) which lends itself to the meditative, zen-like state you can achieve while doing it.

These would be great to print out half size and use as a greeting card. Or you can frame your finished artwork and hang it up to admire everyday! :)

I've added a few coloring pages to my shop already and will be adding more as I am able to draw them up. I'll make more mandala, some cuter illustrations (my style of cute, lol, like cute mushrooms and such), some abstract art, and anything else I can think of.

I'd love some requests or suggestions for coloring pages! Just let me know what you'd like me to do in the comments.

These are the 3 pages I have in the shop so far! They are instant download PDF files so you don't have to wait to start.

Mindful Doodling on Etsy

 Lotus Garden : A Zentangle Inspired Abstract coloring page.

Mandalas & Leaves : A Henna Inspired design

I left the center blank on this one so you can fill it with whatever you'd like, maybe your favorite symbol or someone's name or maybe your own mandala!

Mandala : A Mehndi Inspired large mandala

I'd LOVE for you to share your colored in pages! Post photos to my FB page, Mindful Doodling

Enjoy!

-xo deb.

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Time-Lapse Drawing : Zentangle

Zentangle "Connected"

Another speed drawing Zentangle I did. I call this one "Connected" :)

Let's see, the patterns I used in this design are: Zinger, Fescue, Perlz, Pepper, Tipple, and Florz

This one was fun, I wish I'd shaded the inside of the holes a bit more to give it more dimension. I still may actually! I'll update with a comparison photo when I do.

Enjoy!

-xo deb

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Tutorial : How to Draw the Zentangle Pattern Shattuck

Zentangle Pattern Shattuck

This is an awesome tangle with a lot of options for variations! Here's a couple that I like:

Shattuck Variation 1

Shattuck Variation 2

Here's the video on how to draw the pattern with shading.

And here's the step-out just in case you aren't able to watch the video! :)

Zentangle Pattern Shattuck Step-out instructions

If you have any questions, just let me know! I'd love to see your shattuck designs! Post a photo in the comments here or on my FB page: Mindful Doodling

Happy Doodling!

~xo deb.

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Speed Drawing : Zentangle : Under the Sea

Under the Sea!

My Zentangle speed drawing that's filled with sea-ish looking tangles. :)

I used the patterns Pepper, Coral Seeds, Stream, Nipa, Sprouts, and Shell (I'm not positive that Shell is an official Zentangle pattern, I just thought that shape filled that space well, anyone know for if this is an actual tangle or not?) :)

Hope you like it!

-xo Deb.

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Tutorial : How to Clean Your Blending Stump

Shading your drawings is like putting icing on a cake; just makes something good even better!

You can use a lot of things to blend your pencil marks for shading, including a q-tip or just your finger, but the best way, with the most control, is to use a blending stump or tortillion. Here's a great, inexpensive kit from Amazon (but any Craft store will have them). http://amzn.com/B000YQM080

And a video I made on how to clean and resharpen blending stumps... cause it's important!

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