Have you ever wondered how to draw mandala art? Mandala designs, with their circular, geometric patterns, may look complex but they actually follow a few simple formulas repeated over and over again. With the right tools and techniques, you can make mandala designs as simple or as detailed as you wish. Mandala artist Jamie Merrithew dropped by ArtResin to share both her favorite tools and valuable tips, demonstrating how to create two different pieces of mandala art:
- Resin Pendant: create delicate swoop and petals designs on a cured resin base, sealed with a resin top coat.
- Mandala Panel: paint a bright, rainbow swirl design on a wood panel, topped with resin to make the colors pop.
The best thing about creating your own mandala art is that once you know the basics, you can change the colors, the dot size and the pattern to create a new mandala design every time.
Let's get started!
Mandala Pendants:
What You Need:
- ArtResin epoxy resin
- 1" round circle silicone pendant mold (Jamie uses this one)
- pendant bails (found online)
- acrylic craft paint in black, gold, red, orange, yellow, green, teal, blue, purple & pink
- dotting tools in a variety of tips
- ArtResin epoxy resin
- a pair of nitrile gloves
- a stir stick
- a small mixing cup with easy to read measurement lines
- a heat gun or a handheld torch like our Artist's Torch
- toothpicks
- a clean, empty plastic tote to protect your piece while it dries
1. Prepare Your Resin Pendant Bases
Wearing gloves, mix up a batch of ArtResin into your mixing cup: measure 5 ml each of both resin and hardener (10 ml total) for each pendant you plan to make. Stir for at least 3 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom as you go.
Add a small amount of acrylic paint to tint the resin: we love how a colorful mandala design pops off of a black base, but feel free to tint your bases any color you wish or even leave them clear.
💡 TIP: the general rule of thumb is no more than 6% of the total combined volume of resin and hardener. For 10 ml, that would be approximately .5 ml of acrylic paint.
Fill the mold cavity about halfway - you want your pendant approximately 5 mm thick.
Torch out bubbles with a heatgun or with a very quick pass of a flame torch. 
Cover and allow to cure for 24 hours.
Gently remove the pendants from the mold. The pendants may be flexible at first, but they will harden up after a week or so. You'll notice the pendants cure with a natural lip around them - this is the side you to paint on. The lip will act as a natural vessel to contain the resin.
2. Design Your Mandala
Start by finding the center point of the pendant using a ruler or a mandala template (Jaime uses this dome template from the Happy Dotting Company.) When you locate your center point, mark it with a small dot. 
Place your center dot using red paint - this will be the largest dot in your design. Ensure you hold the dotting tool in a vertical position so that your dot is perfectly even and centered.
💡TIP: If you make a mistake, wipe off the paint and start again, or dot over it with a larger tool.
In orange, start your first row of dots using a small micro dotting tool (Jaime uses a clay sculpture tool.) Place your first dot in the 12 o'clock position. Rotate the pendant 180 degrees and make another dot at 12 o'clock. Rotate the pendant 90 degrees two more times, dotting each time at 12 o'clock until you have 4 dots equally spaced around the center dot.
💡TIP: Wipe the tool off in between dots so that the paint doesn't build up.
Fill in the rest of the row between the 4 dots, rotating the pendant so that you're always dotting at 12 o'clock. 
Keep building out rows, following the colors of the rainbow and increasing the size of the dots with each row: the next row will be yellow and then green.
Next step is to start building petals by applying teal dots, in every other space. Use a slightly larger tool for this one.
Next, we're going to create the petal using a technique called walking the dots. You'll need two micro dotting tools for this technique, one slightly larger than the other. Dip the larger micro dotting tool to create the peak dot directly above the teal dot. 
Then dip the slightly smaller micro dotting tool in the blue paint and dot a petal formation, one side at a time. To create a fade effect, do not reload the tool with paint in between dots. 
Do another row of walking dots in purple, with the peak dot slightly larger and not reloading the dotting tool to create a fade.
💡 TIP: There are so many different ways to change up the pattern. you can create a couple of rows of walking dots, you can reverse the walking dots so that it fades towards the peak dot, you can change up the color of the walking dots.
Add a dot of gold in between the petals for a final embellishment. Allow the paint to cure for at least 30 minutes.
3. Apply The ArtResin
Wearing gloves, mix up a batch of ArtResin into your mixing cup. Stir for at least 3 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom as you go. Prop the pendant up on a stand (a plastic shot glass works well for this). Apply a very small amount of resin to the pendant - using a popsicle stick controls the amount of resin.
Torch out bubbles and allow the resin to cure for 24 hours.
4. Attach The Pendant Bail
Once the pendant has cured, attach a pendant bail. Choose which color bail goes best with your mandala color scheme. 
Line the pendant up against the bail so that the design looks straight. Apply a dot of Gorilla Glue to the bail, press the pendant against it and hold to set. Let the glue dry for about 30 minutes.
Congratulations - you've made a beautiful mandala pendant!
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Some helpful tips from Jaime:
Follow a formula: Mandala art looks complicated but every piece starts following a simple formula. You can make the pattern any size, any color, or as simple or detailed as you wish and as the space will allow.
Practice: Pick one technique or design and practice over and over again, changing up the colors, the size of your dotting tool, the number of rows, adding detail in between the dots, etc to change the look.
Mistakes: Be kind with yourself. Give yourself the opportunity to finish the piece before you let mistakes bother you. Once you've completed the design, you may not even see it. And remember, you always have the option of starting over again.
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Mandala Panel
What You Need:
- ArtResin epoxy resin
- 8" circular wood panel
- a ruler
- watercolor pencil
- acrylic craft paint in black, gold, red, orange, yellow, green, teal, blue, purple & pink
- dotting tools in a variety of tips
- ArtResin epoxy resin
- a pair of nitrile gloves
- a stir stick
- a small mixing cup with easy to read measurement lines
- a heat gun or a handheld torch like our Artist's Torch
- toothpicks
- a clean, empty plastic tote to protect your piece while it dries
1. Prepare Your Wood Panel
Paint your wood panel with black acrylic craft paint and allow it to dry.
Use a ruler to find the centre point, drawing 2 perpendicular lines through the center to divide the panel into quarters.
💡TIP: mark the guidelines using a watercolor pencil. It's easy to remove with an eraser or with a wet cotton swab.
Next, use a compass to draw a series of circular rows. Place compass point into the centre point, and draw your outer circle starting at the outer edge of the panel first. Work your way inward towards the centre, creating rings every 1/2” or so
💡TIP: You can get detailed if you wish, by incorporating sacred geometry ratios, or keep it simple and space them out in a way that looks best to you. The important thing is to have a pattern in place to keep you on track. 
Erase the guidelines until they are faded, but still visible.
💡TIP: It's important to erase the guidelines - if too much pencil residue is on surface, it can cause the paint dot to become misshapen.
2. Design Your Mandala
Use a combination of clay sculpture or nail art tools and mandala tools (Jaime uses this set by DIY Mandala Stones). 
Dip the end into the red paint approximately 1/8". Don't dunk the tool into the paint - there should be just enough on the tool so that the paint makes contact with the surface, not the tool itself. The tool shouldn't hit the surface or the paint will bleed out and your circle will be misshapen.Following the guidelines, apply a single dot in the center of the panel.
💡TIP: If you don’t apply enough paint, or the paint puckers once you pull your tool away, you can apply a little more and use one of the smaller nail dotting tools to spread it around.
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Some helpful tips from Jaime:
- Clean your tools off every time you dot to avoid paint build on the tip.
- Rotate the panel so that you’re always applying the dot to the 12 o’clock position.
- Arrange your paints in the order of the rainbow to keep you on track.
- Remove mistakes with a damp cotton swab or a pointed silicone brush, pulling off wet paint. Use a bit of black paint to cover up any smudges.
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Use your tiniest nail dotting tool, apply a dot of red paint at 12 o’clock on the first row, above the centre dot you just made. Rotate the panel 180 degrees and apply a second dot at 12 o’clock.
Rotate your panel 90 degrees and apply a dot of teal at 12 o’clock. Rotate 180 degrees and apply a second dot of teal at 12 o’clock.
Halfway between red and teal, apply your yellow dot. Rotate the panel another 180 degrees and apply the final yellow dot.
Apply an orange dot in between both sets of red and yellow dots.
Apply a green dot in between both sets of yellow and teal dots.
Fill in the rest of your first row, rotating the panel as you place each dot. Apply a dot of purple halfway between teal and red.
Apply a dot of blue halfway between both sets of purple and teal.
Apply a dot of pink halfway between both sets of purple and red.
Using a size 2 dotting tool, apply a dot of pink paint on the 2nd row, halfway in between the pink and purple dots. Rotate the panel 180 degrees and apply your second pink dot. 
Continue in this fashion, applying dots in the order of the rainbow, and increasing the size of the dots on each row until the panel is complete.
3. Add Gold Embellishments
Apply gold dots in between each colored dot, starting small with a micro dotting tool on the first row and increasing the size of the dots as you go.
Continue applying gold dots row by row, and increasing the size of the dot with each row.
💡TIP: Increase the dot size by increasing the tool and by increasing the amount of paint on the tip: you should be able to use the same tool for 2 or 3 rows simply by increasing the amount of paint you apply.
Touch up cracked paint once the paint has dried. Thinner craft paint may crack, but it's an easy thing to touch up at the end.
4. Apply The ArtResin
Allow the paint to dry before applying the resin - approximately 30-40 minutes. Wearing gloves, measure and mix ArtResin's resin and hardener, stirring for 3 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the mixing container as you go.
💡TIP: Go to ArtResin's Circle Calculator to determine how much resin you’ll need. An 8” panel requires 2 oz total (1 oz resin and 1 oz hardener).
Pour the resin onto the center of the panel, using a small plastic spatula or plastic take-out knife to dome the resin - ie. spread it out to the edges without going over the side.
💡TIP: If you wish, you can spread the resin over the sides of your panel, using a foam brush or gloved hands. Ensure you prop the panel up on plastic stands before you resin and that you tape off the bottom of the panel with masking tape to catch drips. Remove the tape once the resin is dry to the touch (usually by the 24 hour mark). 
Torch out bubbles and allow the resin to cure for 24 hours.
Congratulations! You've made a beautiful mandala art panel! ArtResin saturates the color and makes it pop.
We hope you enjoyed learning how to create a mandala, and that you're inspired to create one and make it your very own! Please leave any questions for Jaime in the comments below.
To see more of Jaime's work and tune into to her live tutorials, visit her at:
Visit her website: Mandala Love Affair
Follow her on Instagram: @mandalaloveaffair
Like her on Facebook: @mandalaloveaffair
Watch her on TikTok: @mandalaloveaffair
Do you want to learn more about resin art techniques. See below our how-to tutorials:
- Introduction to Resin Art
- How to Make Ocean Resin Art
- How To Create A Black Resin Ocean With A Gold Crackle Shoreline
- Selective Embellishment
- How to Make Resin Flow Art
- Create Lacing and Cells in Resin
- How to Make Epoxy Resin Matte
- How to Make Resin Art with Dried Flowers
- How to Resin Mixed Media Paintings (Step-by-Step Tutorial)
- How to Resin Collage Art
- How to Resin Marker Pointillism
- How to Resin Spray Paint
- How To Make A Resin Crystal
- How to Resin A Glossy Photo
- Best Resin Crafts
ArtResin: Made For Artists, By Artists.
