Set the detail before you print
The detail control changes how many times a motif repeats around the circle and how finely each repeat is subdivided. At its lowest, a design has around sixty regions and large gaps, which is comfortable with coloured pencils. At its highest it runs past four hundred regions and needs fineliners or gel pens.
If you are printing for a group with mixed patience, print the same design at two detail levels. The pattern still reads as a set when the finished sheets go up together.
Why symmetry helps
Radial symmetry means a colour decision made in one segment repeats around the whole design, so there is a plan to follow rather than a blank to fill. People who find open colouring pages stressful usually get on much better with a mandala for exactly that reason.
It also forgives mistakes. Going outside a line in one of twelve segments is invisible once the other eleven are done, which is not true of a drawing with a single subject in the middle.
Paper and pens
Alcohol markers and gel pens both bleed on copier paper, and bleeding ruins a fine pattern. Use 120gsm or heavier, and if you are using gel pens print in greyscale rather than draft mode, because draft printing lays down a thinner line that the ink can skip over.
Questions
- Are these Christmas mandalas difficult?
- That is up to you. The detail control runs from about sixty regions with wide gaps to over four hundred fine ones, so the same design can suit a ten year old or an experienced adult colourist.
- What pens work best on a mandala sheet?
- Coloured pencils at low detail, and fineliners or gel pens at high detail. Whatever you use, print on 120gsm or heavier paper, because ink bleed destroys fine patterns.
- Are the designs actually Christmas themed?
- Yes. The motifs are snowflake arms, holly leaves and berries, stars, baubles with ribbon and pine sprigs, arranged radially rather than as a generic flower pattern.
- Can I print these free for a group?
- Yes. Unlimited free printing for home, classroom, library or care home use. Selling the sheets or reposting the PDF is not allowed.