FAQ #5: The Mandala Lady

Customer: How do you do the shading?

 

The Mandala Lady

When coloring, I strive to make my mandalas or the components within the mandalas three dimensional.

Two things to know about shading:

1. where's is the light coming from
2. use purple

When I know from which direction the light is hitting an object, I then know to go to the direct opposite side of the object to place my shading and shadow.

Years ago an instructor suggested we layer a color's complementary color to create the shading. I have since made it a bit simpler. I found that using purple works great for all colors except when purple is the color of the object. In that case I use yellow...yes, you read that right. Yellow is purple's complement. When you put yellow on purple and then layer purple on top of that, the 'yellow' turns into a darker purple. Cool, huh?

Example:

1. In the first circle, I put down some green
2. In the second circle, I determined that the light is coming from the upper right, so my shading will go on the lower left of the circle. I layered some purple in a crescent moon shape to coincide with the shape of the circle.
3. In the third circle, I used the same color green from the first circle and layered it over the purple area. Notice how the purple morphs into a dark green

Shading Examples: add purple, then add the base color of the shading

Your assignment:

As you go about your day, pay attention to objects you see around you, shadows they create, the shadows on the object, and most importantly the direction of the light source in relationship the object and the shadow/shading it creates.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully, Maureen
The Mandala Lady

FAQ #4: The Mandala Lady

Customer: how do you know what colors to use?

The Mandala Lady:
This question usually comes after they tell me that they are afraid to color because they might ruin whatever it is they're coloring because they don't know what colors to use.

For most of the mandalas that I color, I generally stick to 6 colors (and their variations):

"Funny Face" Mandala (primary/secondary colors)

Primary Colors:

1. Yellow
2. Red
3. Blue

Secondary Colors:

1. Orange
2. Green
3. Purple

The key to using these two sets of colors is knowing which ones complements the other:

• Red <--> Green
• Yellow <--> Purple
• Blue <--> Orange

Notice in the "Funny Face" mandala how you see instances of reds next greens, yellows next to purples, and oranges next blues. You'll also see instances where they are all mixed up...which goes to show how all these colors work well together. I'll have "Funny Face" and "Pathway" in my booth tomorrow at the market.

So when you're coloring and see that you have a lot of blues in your coloring, start adding some orange.

"Pathway" Mandala using only 6 shades of grey

Just to give you a different answer to this question...who says you have to use colors?

Here's an example of coloring with greys...with the focus on gradations of lights and darks to give it dimension.

I can already hear the next question: how do you do your shading?

That, my friends, will be the topic for another post.

Happy Coloring!

Joyfully, Maureen
The Mandala Lady