MANDALA - Digital Designs

 

 After drawing out some of my mandalas by hand, I wanted to develop them further using my digital design skills to redraw and colour the design. The beauty of the mandala is that there is no rules, just your mind and the medium, they can be created in what ever way that you want. 

 The mandala is supposed to be a reflection of your sub conscious, but what ever way you want to look at it, spiritually or artistically, it is still a really therapeutic technique which stimulates the mind and brain and helps to get the creative juices flowing.

The creation of the mandala is like a journey which starts at the center and expands outwards growing and changing as you see fit. I will include the mandalas I have created throughout the book as examples and colouring in tasks etc, it was important to draw my own mandalas to see how it affected my practice.

One of the things about the mandala is that it can be extremely complicated, the more you progress with it, there are countless overlaps within the geometry you can use and sometimes it take you a while to figure out what the best option is, Here you can see how this mandala changed and progressed as I went along. I tended to just stick to my gut instinct and let the rest happen.

Of course mandalas don't have to be digital in fact is is a very hand crafted style of working traditionally but I wanted to apply my knowledge of digital appliances to create my mandalas, I think this says something about my practice. My combining digital methods with traditional art I am exploring the boundaries of mandala making and also staying to true to my interests and passions.

  

I found that when I created mandalas at first my mind came up with quite simplistic forms, but as I carried on and progressed with my designs, they became more complicated and interesting and it started to become easier to visualize what I wanted to create. 

One aspect of the book looks at the use of mandalas in religion, here you can see a christian mandala in the form of the stained glass window at church. To represent this in the book I will create a laser cut out wall silhouette like on the left, the following pages with be printed on acetate to represent the glass, I am considering layering up a few pages to get the mix of colours in the window. It might be more appropriate to just have the 1 sheet, However this might not work in the book signatures.

The fruit of life pattern will be in the book as a guidline for people the user to work with, This allows them to use this as a tracing element which will make it easier for the user to pick out shapes etc.

I still have allot to do with this brief and really need to get underway. I have planned out the content for the book but still haven't experimented with alternate designs. I also have to write the copy for the book and also photograph some of the tasks at various stages. I also need to consider what stock I will use and also design the box and source the equipment needed for the kit. I have quite allot of work on my plate, but I shouldn't have too much of a problem completing the brief. I need to book the laser cutter and some print slots too.

MANDALA BOOK PLAN

 Today I started planning out the content for my publication. I am trying to make it as visually engaging as possible in order to draw the user in, I think it is important to emphasize the beauty of the mandala and how simple and easy it is to create your own. The publication looks at the traditions and history behind the mandala, and displays them in engaging and interesting formats. I am trying to create interactive elements to the publication which will spark interest and hopefully force the user into engaging with the product. There is something for everyone within the publication. If the user doesn't feel comfortable drawing their are other fun options to engage with. I am trying to keep the copy relatively short and to the point, there will be plenty of information, but not too much text to put the reader of carrying on.

The last section of the book is the help guide to creating your own mandalas. The first section gives examples of the various mandalas that the user can create. I will sew and colour in some mandalas etc, then photograph the examples to show how they can be done. It will show a step by step guide of how to start making some simple mandalas to get the user going. This section talks the user through each of the techniques, sewing, colouring and drawing and explains them in a simple way. I want to emphasize how the process is beneficial for creativity and also as a relaxing art form which helps to take your mind off things and solely concentrate on creation.

 

I created a mock up of the book to work out a good size for the publication. The kit needs to be small enough to carry around but big enough to fit in the tools and accessories aswell as the book. This format is big enough to display the information well with room spare to play with the layout. I am working with a square artboard as usually most mandalas consist within a square so this an appropriate format to work with which will work well with my imagery. I need to research into stock for the publication as I will be using different media.

Sizes

Page Size : 200mmx185mm

Art board : 175mmx175mm

Margain : Inside 2mm Outside, Top, Bottom 5mm

Manadala Book Research

I  

The Mandala Book - Patterns of the Universe

Lori Bailey

I did a bit of research into existing mandala books. I came across various books, which looked at mandalas and found there was no consistent design style, most of the publications have a very hand crafted aesthetic, which represents the nature of art form. However this approach doesn't really grab your attention. The publication above is quite eye catching and I feel appeals to a wider target market as apposed to the versions you can see below. The designer has used natural examples which highlight the colour spectrum usually used when creating your own mandalas which i think helps to draw the consumer in. 

 

The Mandala Workbook - A creative Guide to 

Self Exploration, Balance and Well-being 

Susanne Fincher

The book above is really poor design, It emphasizes the hands on approach to creating the mandalas but I don't really think it grabs the viewers attention and reminds me of a terrible dated text book you would get in R.E The type really does nothing for design either, nothing really stands out that well. I think this book may appeal to a few people. But I am aiming to target this at a wider audience of people who maybe don't already have an interest in this kind of thing. So in order to grab the audiences attention I will have to produce something much more eye catching which will make the user want to engage with it.

 

Creating Mandalas - Susanne Fincher

Here is another book by the same author, Once again quite plain and text book like, I have found that most publications on this topic tend to have really poor designs which arn't that appealing to a wider audience.

Mandala: Spiritual Visions of our Ancient Self

Peter Patrick Barreda 

This publication has a much nicer design and doesn't look as tacky as the other designs. Its quite natural and earthy which relates to the natural process of creating mandalas. Its quite authentic and traditional which I also like. This style of design suits the product much better.

Mandala Colouring Book

Thaneeya McArdie

This book seems to be aimed at a much younger audience, the fact that it is a colouring book probably suggests this too. Once again I feel that this approach isn't the best option. And I am wanting to produce something more traditional which appeals to a wider audience. My aim is to try encourage people with no interest to give it ago. In order to do this I will have to produce some interesting packaging which makes the user want to get involved.
 

Mandala

Judith Cornell

Here you can see another example, As much as I like the image, I think it makes the publication look like some random text book for software. Pretty much the majority of books I found on mandalas looked prettty terrible. I am confident I can think of some interesting ways to make the publication appeal to a larger bracket of people.

MANDALA : PRIMARY RESEARCH & DIRECTION

In order to find out what personal benefits I could get from drawing mandalas I spent the afternoon with a pencil, compass and ruler drawing mandalas and looking at some of the patterns I learnt about from researching into sacred geometry and the art of making mandalas. I found the whole experience extremely therapeutic, and found that my mind was solely focused on playing with geometry and working out what I wanted to do next and where the image was going, I found my self emerged in my work which was a really nice experience. Every one I produced took a complete different direction which was really interesting. There are infinite outcomes to explore which can include countless geometric shapes and patterns. For this exercise I just worked with geometric mandals. But of course mandalas don't have to be so precise and clean cut they can be rough and created in any medium as long as it revolves round a central point. The beauty about the mandala is that anyone can create them. There not just created for religious reasons and anyone can find fun and peace in creating them.

This mandala is based on the fruit of life pattern from my sacred geometry research, there are loads of geometric forms that can be found within this pattern which is really interesting. You can find all of the platonic solids, within this pattern. I illustrated the Hexagon here, I like how the image has a 3D quality, the cube form pops out from the page. By rotating a triangle around the central point it created the star form.

Here I experimented with concentric circles to produce this mandala I also rotated shapes around this to create the star like formation.

After producing a few I got into the swing of things and the patterns started to become more complex. You start to see other possibilities and the mandala takes a different form. I found it interesting that the mandalas 

took vary different forms every time and I kept finding different forms to work with. The experience 

was really quite enjoyable.

Here you can see the fruit of life pattern

DIRECTION

 

Concept:

The books purpose is to inform people about mandalas and how they can create their own. The publication will explore the traditions and cultures behind this beautiful art form. The book will have various options for the user to create mandals and will also highlight the benefits of producing your own.

Audience: 

The target market is mainly people with a spiritual interest as they are likely to have knowldgege of these, however they have a recongnisable visual quality which many people may recognise or been drawn to. It also relates to people with an interest in art and patterns. Mandalas do have spiritual connotations but the art of producing them is fun for everyone.

Content

Introduction:

The meaning behind the mandala

Natural Mandalas

Spiritual Beliefs 

Culture

Hinduism

Buddhism

Christianity

How to create your own

Examples of versions

Step by step guide

Blank Pages for experiemtns

Colouring in

Sewing

Stickers? 

DIY Mandala Ideas

I brainstormed a few ways I can make the publication more interesting by using different stock and including added extras to the publication which has lead me to push the publication further.

Acetate : I think it would be interesting to show how mandalas can be built up so printing on acetate is a good idea as it would show the progression of the mandala and also give a cool effect a bit like a stain glass window mandala which can be found in churchs. This will illustrate the aspect of christian mandalas.

Spinning element : Most mandalas have a revolving theme to the image as all the shapes rotate around a central point, I want to illustrate the movement within the mandalas by adding a spinning element which illustrates and animates the movement.

Sewing Grids : Mandalas can be created in what ever form you want. With that in mind I thought it would be interesting to sew mandalas. Sewing takes allot of concentration and is very structured and ordered, these qualities match that of drawing mandalas so the combination will be a very therapeutic but focused project. I plan to laser cut out various grids and patterns for the user to sew.

Stickers : It might be cool to print various stickers out as another option for the user. However this might not work that well I will have to experiment.

Box : I plan to build a box for the publication and added accessories. The pack will include tools to for the user to create their own mandalas. The package will be the perfect kit, which could be transported about with ease so the user can find a nice relaxing spot and chill out with their brand new mandala kit.

Mandala Brief : What I need to do

Research:

Target audience 

• what books are already out there?
• how can I make my publication stand out?
• how can I appeal to a wide range of people?
• I want to try attract a wide audience which doesn't exactly focus on spiritual people but those who like craft and design. The mandala doesn't have to be spiritual. it has beautiful aesthetic qualities and the process of making them is very therapeutic. This is an important aspect of it.

Visual Research

• Exsisting Mandalas
• Different Cultures
• Different Meanings
• Crafting kits

 Publication Research

• Existing Mandala books
• DIY Kits
• Format

Practical Response:

• Design the Content of the Book
• Laser Cut Pages
• Design Colouring pages
• Make Book
• Make Box

What Have I done so Far

So far I have researched into the cultural aspect of mandalas and how to create them. My project is much more focussed now. Rather than looking at the broad topic of sacred geometry I have decided to put all my focus on mandalas. Althought they have spiritual and religeous connotations. I believe that the art of producing one can be fun and theraputic for all. It takes a good bit of concentration to produce one and lots of hard work and precision. There are many ways you can create the mandala but the main focus is that it all revolves around a central point. The circle represents unity and oneness, there is something really mesmerizing about the circle that can draw you in. Your mandala is supposed to say something about the way you are feeling and the things that are going on in your life.

I have spent a good day drawing my own mandalas using a compass and ruler. I found that this was rather dificult to start with and my mandalas started out fairly simple, but once I got the hang of things the mandalas progressed and became more complex introducing more shapes and styles. I found that the process was really enjoyable and got my brain working in geometric terms. I found the more I produced the easier it was for me to work out what I was gonna draw next and how the mandala could progress. 

I have planned the basic content of my book but I will need to finalize everything I will include and work out how I will produce the publication and exactly what will go in it. I have quite a few different ideas of how the user can produce mandalas in various ways. I think having a variety of options will make the publication more appealing.