1. Lotus ring mandala
Five rings without an outer rim, so the tips of the petals make the edge.
Free printable · Color online
Mandala coloring pages for adults
Eight mandalas, one to a page: four of medium detail and four fine ones with seven or eight rings. Each is built from rings of petals, lotus leaves, arches, beads and diamonds round a small flower or star.
They are made for symmetry. Color them on screen with “Color matching shapes together” switched on and one tap fills a whole ring; switch it off to break the pattern on purpose. On paper, work from the center outward so your hand does not smudge what you have done.
Each page prints on one sheet of US letter paper. Under every page are buttons to print just that one, to color it on screen, or to save it as a picture.
2. Beaded mandala
Six rings inside a double rim, with a ring of beads near the center.
3. Sunburst mandala
Rays at the rim round rings of rounded petals.
4. Mandala of arches
Arched petals, each with a smaller arch inside it.
5. Fine lotus mandala
Eight rings, the outer ones in two overlapping rows like lotus petals.
6. Fine diamond mandala
Diamonds, beads and petals in narrow rings: the smallest shapes in the set.
7. Fine petal mandala
Seven rings of pointed and rounded petals, each with an inner petal.
8. Fine scalloped mandala
Scallops and drops between rings of petals.
About mandalas
Mandala is a Sanskrit word that means “circle.” In Hindu and Buddhist traditions a mandala is a symbolic diagram, often a circle within a square, used as an aid to meditation and in ceremonies. Tibetan Buddhist monks make them from colored sand, a few grains at a time over several days, and then sweep the finished design away as a reminder that nothing lasts.
The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung drew mandalas for himself and wrote about them in the early 1900s, which is one reason the word came into everyday use in the West. The pages here are decorative patterns in that modern sense, not religious images: rings of repeating shapes round a center, drawn so that every ring divides evenly into the same number of parts.
Color ideas for these pages
Three ways to choose colors for a mandala. One: pick a single color family, such as blues from navy to sky, and move through it ring by ring. Two: pick two opposites, such as orange and teal, and alternate them outward, with a neutral gray or brown for the bead rings. Three: color each ring to match the one three rings in, which makes the pattern seem to pulse.
Whatever you choose, decide before you start, and test the pencils together on a scrap of the same paper. A mandala forgives almost anything except a color you run out of halfway round.
Which page to start with
This set has 8 pages: 4 medium and 4 detailed. The quickest to finish is “Mandala of arches,” with 273 areas to color, and the longest is “Fine lotus mandala,” with 574. Bold and easy pages have heavy lines and large shapes that suit markers and tired eyes; detailed pages have fine lines for sharp pencils or gel pens.
How printing, saving and coloring on screen work is explained on the coloring pages home. If you like filling shapes by number, Linseed Loft Color by Number is a free paint by number game with 74 pictures.