In this mindful mountains exercise, you’ll see that with some simple shapes and colors, it’s possible to create something fun and relaxing.
Drawing nature might seem daunting, but in this exercise, we’ll start with something simple. Yes, you can do it too, I’m sure of it.
Have you ever really looked at hills and mountains? I love watching them when I’m on holiday. Unfortunately, I live in a rather flat country, so I can’t see them daily. It’s so interesting to see the color differences between de mountains that are far away and the ones that are closest to you. The further away the lighter the color.
So in this mindful mountains exercise, we’ll play with these color differences. Just by drawing mountain ranges in different shades of the same color, you add some depth to your drawing in an easy way.
I hope you have fun with this exercise and you have some well-deserved me-time.
Please let me know if this mindful mountains exercise helped you relax and be in the moment, I’d love to know.
If you have any questions about this exercise, please leave a comment below and I’ll be glad to help you.
You can find a small video of this exercise on my Instagram @thecreativecooldown
Supplies used:
Bristol paper (Hahnemuhle), alcohol markers (ohuhu), fineliner 0.3 (Copic), and washi tape.
Alternative supply suggestions:
There is no specific material needed for this exercise. Just use what you have.
You can use colored pencils, watercolors, crayons, or whatever supplies you have to add color.
Instructions
Step 1
Before you start, slowly breathe in and out a few times to get more relaxed and focused. If you like to have a nice frame around your creation, put some washi tape around the edges of your paper. Now it’s time to choose your colors. You’ll get the best effects if you choose one color and use different shades of that color. I choose 4 shades of pink to create my mountains.
Start with your lightest color and draw a line of mountains at about a quarter of your page from the top. These are the mountains that are in the back. A wobbly line is enough. Color everything below your line in this color. Go slow and enjoy the repetitive motions of your hand as you’re coloring. It’s extra relaxing when you color in one direction. When this layer is filled with color, go over the outline you drew at the beginning again. This will create a nice effect.
Step 2
Now that your first mountain range is done, grab a color that is slightly darker than the one from step one. Start a bit lower than the first row and draw a wobbly line again. Make sure that it doesn’t have the exact same curves. It will look more real if their shape is completely different. Don’t think about it too much. Sometimes it helps to very lightly press the tip of your marker or pencil onto your paper and slowly push it forward. Just see where it wants to go. This will help you make your wobbly lines more random. Color everything below this line. And end with retracing the line at the top of your mountains.
Step 3
For the third mountain range, choose an even darker shade and repeat the steps described above for this layer.
Step 4
Continue to add other mountain ranges with slightly darker shades and make sure every new layer is below the previous one. Continue until your page is full or you are satisfied with the number of mountains.
Step 5
Lastly, you can add some extra details. I only added a few simple birds. But you can add trees, plants, towers, or whatever you think fits your drawing.
Slowly remove your washi tape. Keep it parallel to your paper when you remove it.
Now you’ve completed the mindful mountains exercise. Well done!
If you liked this exercise, you might like my Mindful flower power exercise as well.
