Mandala Pattern

In this assignment, I created 2 mandalas. One mandala was nature-based, created utilizing digital methods and the other was synthetic based, created utilizing analog methods. Each mandala also incorporates various design elements and principles, such as movement, shape, pattern, and proportion. To create the digital nature-based mandala, I utilized vector software on the platform Vectornator. I based the mandala on the ocean with fish, ocean, waves, shells, etc. The central piece of this mandala is the large octopus tentacle that can be found within each repeated slice. I did this because it alone incorporated movement, shape, proportion, and pattern. For the second analog synthetic-based mandala, I utilized bristol paper. This mandala revolves around music, featuring lyrics, records, guitars, etc. I enjoy playing and listening to music, which is why I decided to choose this theme. My overall goal for this assignment was to study dynamic patterns through the creation of mandala forms. 

Now that I have finished this assignment, I can see how important it is that all of the elements and principles work with each other in a design. Working on the mandalas also showed me again just how important it is to develop and describe my ideas through iteration. From this project, I also learned how to create a grid that provided a layout for the designs. The hardest challenge I faced while working on this assignment was creating the digital mandala. I had created so many layers for all of the different parts of the mandala that the app kept crashing. This stopped me from being able to continue my vector-based work, so I had to improvise and switch to drawing it all out on procreate. I prefer the analog over the digital mandala because I feel I enjoyed creating it more. Although I liked working on the digital platform more, I have more of a personal connection to the music theme because I enjoy playing the guitar and listening to music.