Mandala – A geometric figure representing the universe in Hinduism and Buddhist symbolism.

Mandala – © John Neel

Mandala – © John Neel

As a kid, I used to love to see the world as reflected through a toy kaleidoscope. In fact, I still do.

A Mandala resembles a still version of something similar to what might be seen through a kaleidoscope.

I see mandalas as an experimental kind of imagery. I create them as a way to learn about patterns and shapes. But I also believe that I create them for whatever added therapeutic value they may offer. Artistic creativity is by itself therapeutic.

Mandala – © John Neel 

Mandala – © John Neel

Mandala – © John Neel

A Mandala is a type of image that can be easily made using a number of software packages including Photoshop and one of my favorite painting programs – Studio Artist. They can also be made using a pretty cool Photoshop plugin called – Flexify 2. I personally like to use an amazing program called – ArtMatic in combination with some or all of the above.

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The crazy patterns and designs resulting from mandala creation can be great fun, extremely fascinating and wildly kaleidoscopic. Programs such as ArtMatic or Studio Artist make it relatively simple to morph and animate photographs, vector art and type into an endlessly changing display of color, shape and image distortions.

While simple to produce, mandalas usually require a bit of preparation in order to make it easier for the software to render them with a repeat pattern. In most cases the software does most of the work.

While some may think of them as simply playful, there are many who produce them as serious fine art photographic works.

I detail how to make them in one of the chapters of my book – Rethinking Digital Photography.

The example images shown here show a few fairly easy to make mandalas that I have created using a variety of techniques. The examples here were all produced from photographic imagery. Using the colors and patterns of photographs can also lead to some amazing abstractions.

The beauty of the mandala is that they can be made with infinite variation. They can also be extraordinarily beautiful.

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Learn more about making mandala images and other photographic play from my book Rethinking Digital Photography.

Please have a look at some of my other posts here.

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NOTICE of Copyright: THIS POSTING AS WELL AS ALL PHOTOGRAPHS, GALLERY IMAGES, AND ILLUSTRATIONS ARE COPYRIGHT © JOHN NEEL AND ARE NOT TO BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT FROM THE WRITER, THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR lensgarden.com. THE IDEAS EXPRESSED ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND THE AUTHOR.