Raise your hand if you are one of those people that have never thought to draw Islamic geometric constructions using colours.

HERE I AM!

In 2019 I taught a workshop in Spain and what happened totally changed my mindset. I was the teacher, but I think I learned more stuff than my students during those days than they did from me. One of those things was TO DRAW GEOMETRIC CONSTRUCTIONS USING COLOURS.

All my constructions where black and white, my notes were black and white, my tutorials were black and white. I know you used to draw black and white mandalas Sandy but what the hell!! You have more supplies than Amazon in your studio, so why don’t you use them?!

But if you are comfortable using your pencil or fine liner, why would you prefer drawing with colours?

Well, my friend, I’m going to share with you 3 reasons (yes 3 REASONS) why you should. Forewarned is forearmed.

 

1. EASIER TO UNDERSTAND

This is true, especially if you are teaching Islamic geometry. I’m not talking about colouring the shapes (you can read more about colouring your artwork here) but using different colours for the construction lines.

Just because you are used to a design and you can see the pattern between all those lines it doesn’t mean that everyone can do it. Especially for beginners, it’s difficult to understand what to look at and having different steps coloured using different colours can make a huge difference.

 

2. FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Drawing construction with colours can be useful for yourself as well. How many times have you brought out an old construction, and you have spent half an hour just to understand how you made it? It happens to me all the time.

When you draw various steps using different colours, it’s easier to remember and understand why you did something.

 

3. TRANSFORM BOREDOM INTO PLAYFULNESS

Even if you don’t care about having fun, you should definitively use colours.

Colours make your drawing look more joyful, it looks better on Instagram, and it’s a great way to try colour palettes before colouring the actual artwork. You can use pastels, markers, coloured fine liners… anything you are comfortable with.

If you are curious about which fineliners I use for drawing, you can find them here.

 

That’s it, guys. What about you? Do you use colours while drawing? If yes, what do you find it useful for? And if not, will you start using colours?

 

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