This mindful line of circles exercise will help you feel more calm and relaxed.
As I’ve mentioned in previous exercises, both circles and horizontal lines calm our minds (hey, that almost rhymes). So it seemed like a good idea to combine the two.
You might be surprised to see that I’ve used a ruler for my horizontal lines in this exercise as I always say that perfectly straight lines are not important. That’s still true, but now you sometimes have to draw part of your line on one side of your circles and continue on the other side. This was easier with a ruler. However, you can still freehand your lines in this exercise, because as always straight lines are not the point of this exercise.
So what is the point? Have fun and focus on the task at hand.
Let your hand guide you and see where your line of circles takes you, try not the think ahead and just enjoy drawing your circles.
The most relaxing part of this exercise for me was coloring my horizontal lines. I had to concentrate when I filled the small spaces around my circles with color. Also, the repetitive motion of coloring and changing colors got me in a nice flow. I completely forgot everything around me. Hope you feel the same way during this exercise.
Have fun with this mindful line of circles exercise! Please let me know if you’ve tried this one, I would love to see it.
You can find a small video of this exercise on my Instagram @thecreativecooldown
Supplies used:
Bristol paper 300gr (Hahnemuhle), alcohol makers (Ohuhu), washi tape, fineliner no. 0.3 (Copic), fineliner no 0.03 (Edding), 4B pencil (bruynzeel), tortillon.
Alternative supply suggestions:
You can use colored pencils, crayons, or watercolor as well.
If you don’t have a tortillon, you can also use a cotton swab to blend your pencil marks.
You can trace any round object to create your circles.
As an alternative to a ruler, you can use a book or anything else that’s straight to draw your lines.
Instructions:
Step 1
Before you start, slowly breathe in and out a few times to clear your head. If you like, you can add washi tape around the borders to create a frame around your drawing.
Grab a pen or pencil and a circle maker or a round object. Draw circles where the next one always overlaps the previous circle. Move your circle maker or round object only a bit when you’re drawing the next one. Try not to think about the direction your line of circles is going. Just see where you end up.
Step 2
Continue drawing circles until you’ve created a line of circles on your page. Your shape could be quite different from the one you see above, as you just let your feelings guide you. There’s no right or wrong way to do this.
Step 3
Now it’s time to add horizontal lines. Grab a ruler or a straight object and slowly fill your page with lines. Make sure the lines do not cross your circles. These lines will create depth and move your line of circles to the front of your page.
Step 4
Continue until your line of circles is surrounded by horizontal lines.
Step 5
The next step is, adding color to your horizontal lines. Choose colors you like or calm you. Go slow and focus on filling the small spaces around your circles with color. For me, this step was very relaxing. Take your time and concentrate on the repetitive motions of coloring and changing colors. You can get in a nice flow and forget everything around you for a while.
Step 6
Grab a pencil and add pencil marks on the sides of your circles. Follow the movement of your circles. This will create even more depth to your piece.
Step 7
Lastly, grab a cotton swab or a tortillon and slowly go over your pencil lines to blend them. This will create some shade and give your drawing depth.
Slowly remove your washi tape (if you used any). Keep it parallel to your paper when you remove it.
Now this mindful line of circles exercise is done! Hope you had fun.
If you liked this exercise, you might like my mindful circle lineart exercise as well.