Introduction to shading

Hi Everyone! Long time no see :)

I am back, and this time I would be starting with an introduction to a cool Mehndi technique called Shading. In my last post, we learned how to draw a complete Mehndi. Though this design is complete, it looks a bit empty. We will now start learning how to fill it. Mehndi looks very beautiful after filling it, as you can see in the images below:

                                                      

 



The above example uses a number of techniques for filling up the shapes, and one of them is shading. In this short post, I will introduce you to it. Shading is a popular & a beautiful type of Mehndi technique. It is my favorite too and if you do it the way I say, it will be your favorite too. So lets get started.


Initially we will learn shading by making strokes. Put the tip of your pencil or cone at the outline of your shape and drag it inwards. Repeat this till the shape is completely filled. Make sure you fill all the blank space with these strokes. Watch the video to see how this is done:

I have  used a pencil and paper for Shading. You can too first practice on paper before you start with a cone. A few things to keep in mind are:

• Start with more pressure on the edge and reduce the pressure as you move inwards. This will give and dark to light shade which will look good. 
• Control the density of shading by controlling the spacing between the strokes. 
• You can add more variety by changing the direction of shading, i.e. either from outside to inside, or from inside to outside. 

In this and next few posts I will talk about the basic shading techniques. After that I will teach you some advanced shading techniques, so stay tuned!

Step by Step Mehndi

Hi Everyone. So far in this tutorial series, we have studies some basic shapes, then joining those shapes, filling them and finally some simple Mehndi designs that you can draw on your hand. In this post, I will show you a step by step progression of Mehndi drawing. This will give you some idea as to how a Mehndi design is laid out. This is a comparatively simple design that uses only a few basic shapes, but will look like a full fledged Mehndi, that you can use for any occasion.

Step 1

Start with a simple shape like a leaf attached to a flower, somewhere around your wrist, as shown in the picture

Step 2

Extend the design towards the center of your palm by adding any shape you feel like. I have added a semi-flower and another leaf.

Step 3

Add some more shapes and fill your palm.

Step 4

Extend the design to your index finger. Notice how I have connected the shapes so that they appear continuous.

Step 5

Similarly draw some shapes on other fingers. You may replicate the exact same design for all fingers, or use a different design for each. I have used a different design for every finger.

Step 6

Now the basic structure of the Mehndi is complete, and although it looks nice in itself, it appears a bit empty. To add fullness to this design, we need to fill these shapes. You can use any of the filling styles we have discussed earlier, in any combination that you think will look good. Once the shapes have been filled in, the Mehndi looks more complete. I have only used three basic shapes and few filling techniques for this design.


Notice how I have filled the semi-flower in the lower portion of the hand. This is called Shading and this would be the topic of my next post.

Mehndi (Henna) designs for beginners

Hi, everyone...hope everyone is having a good time practicing mehndi...

Today I am going to present to you some mehndi designs that you can use to impress your friends. These designs are simple enough for a beginner to learn, yet complicated enough that they will look like real mehndis. If you can master these simple designs, your mehndi skill will become presentable and you can quickly draw something to impress your friends for any occasion.

So without wasting anymore time, here are the designs I am talking about.

 

Once you are through with these simple designs, you might also give a try to these two designs which are slightly more complicated.

Another important thing is that it is not necessary to by-heart these designs as it is. If you find them too big at first, you can just draw a subsection of the design. Use your creativity - remove some parts here and there, add some parts here and there, and have fun!

Note that it is really important that you go step by step for your mehndi training. I know you would be very eager, but don't jump directly to these designs if you haven't done the basic shapes first. If you have got your basics right, it should take a few hours of practice to master these designs and become a mehndi artist. 

Let me know how you feel about these designs on my facebook page. Thanks. 

Filling up shapes

So far we have seen how to join basic shapes into a composite design. These designs are good, but they still don't look like real mehndi because the shapes are empty. So the mehndi looks empty. To give these designs a more full look, you need to fill these shapes. Today I will show you some simple ways of filling up the shapes.

You can use any type of filling in any type of shape. Using a different filling for the same shape gives it a different look every time. This way you can add variety and richness to your mehndi. 

Note that these are not the ONLY ways of filling up shapes. I have just given some examples. You can use any way to fill up the shapes as long as it looks attractive. Look at mehndi designs by other artists to collect ideas on how to fill up shapes.

With these filling designs, we complete most of the fundamentals of basic mehndi designs. The only thing that remains now is to combine the techniques you have learned so far into beautiful mehndi designs. In my next post, I will show you some very simple but beautiful designs that you can use as your starting point as a mehndi artist. Till then, keep practicing. 

Thanks :)

Starting to use a Cone

In my last post, we saw how we can join shapes to create interesting designs. Till now we have only seen how we can draw these designs on paper using a pencil. It is now time we start using a Mehendi Cone and start practising on your hand. In this post I will discuss some tips on how to get started on using a cone for the first time.

Choosing the right Cone

Cone Tip

There are many types of cones available in the market, and you can also prepare cones at home on your own. For starting, we will use ready made cones available in the market. Later, I will show you how to make cones on your own.

When you buy ready made cones, look for a smaller size cone. Smaller cones are easier to hold properly. If you can't find a small size cone, look for a thin cone. You can hold this cone like a pen.

Also take a look at the tip of the cone. The tip should be pointed. Ensure that it is not damaged, bent or the fold of the tip hasn't loosened. This will ensure that your designs are sharp.

Holding the Cone

Below are some ways of holding the cone I use. You can start with using any style you are comfortable with. Initially you can start practicing with cone on paper. This way you can become comfortable in using the cone before you start practicing on someone's hand.

Hope this post was helpful. Stay tuned and watch this space for more posts. Thanks :)

More examples for practice

In the previous posts we have studied some basic shapes and a few examples of combining these shapes. Here are some more examples for your practice.

These couple of designs were made using the same shapes we have learned so far. Notice how the same shapes are arranged in a different way to create a new design. Try to use this method and create your own designs by arranging the shapes in newer ways. Refer my last post on how to join shapes.





 Now lets move a step ahead. I am adding a couple of tougher designs that use a few more shapes.

You might find this complicated at first, but try to re-create them on paper. Remember, you need to practice a lot to get the perfection and cleanliness in the designs. Keep trying till you get the designs neat and clean.

Now we have completed learning basic shapes and creating designs from them. Practice these designs thoroughly so that we can move a step ahead. Starting from next post, I will be covering Shading.

Joining shapes

Here are a few more basic shapes.

These shapes plus the four shapes I have shared in my first post should be sufficient for most mehendi designs. So if you practice these shapes you are ready for most type of mehendi designing.

I am sure you are now very eager to learn the next steps. In this post I will discuss a simple way of combining the basic shapes to give you some simple yet interesting designs. You can chose the shapes randomly and join them. This is how I usually do it

1. Start with any shape. 
2. Attach this shape with any other shape. You should join two shapes such that they "attach" properly at their shared boundary. Look at the example in the image below for clarity. Note that you can increase or decrease the sizes of the shapes as needed.  

3. Repeat the above two steps with different shapes.

The most important thing to keep in mind while joining these shapes is that you should maintain a consistent distance between them. This will give a perfect look to your design. Try creating your own designs again and again till you reach perfection in joining shapes. Below is another very simple design created by joining only four basic shapes.

Thats it for this post. In my next post I will upload some more examples of joining basic shapes.

Thanks

More Designs Of Mehndi.....

Friends,
 Here are some more Designs of Mehendi..........

 These are some of the Bridal designs.Hope you will like it.

Introduction to mehndi

HELLO FRIENDS,

I am starting my first blog today. I'll be writing about something that I love doing and teaching and that is Mehndi Designing. Its a beautiful art n getting widely popular day by day. And when you call someone to make mehndi for you, they charge you heavily. So I think, its better to learn than paying heavily for it. All you need is just your Interest n Dedication to learn mehndi.



I want to start teaching for beginners and through this blog I would like to share an easy way of learning mehendi. I have been teaching this technique from a long time and I m sure this will help you a lot.

I am going to teach you d most beautiful type of mehndi according to me, that's Arabic Shaded Design.........

Here are examples of Shaded Arabic Design.

 

Lets start learning

    The first thing that you need to understand is that before learning mehndi, you need to practice Mehndi designs using a pencil and paper. Once you are comfortable drawing on a paper, you can then move to actual Mehendi.

 As I said that, I m starting this blog for the beginners,so first I'll show you the individual shapes, then how to JOIN that shapes to make a design,and then to fill it with SHADING, etc

  Lets see some of the basic shapes ....

  You have to work on the shapes until you are able to make them flawlessly in just one stroke. In Mehendi designing, perfection is most important because if your design has less or no finishing, it won't look that beautiful. So I would advise you to go slow and steady and attain perfect finishing of each shape from the first step.

This was just an introduction to designing mehendi. In the next blog I will share some more desings and shapes. I''ll surely add some videos also, so that you can understand better. Meanwhile you can practice these. If you have some comments or suggestions, I would like to hear from you...

Thanks.