Mandala Painted Rocks

Mandala is a Sanskrit word that means circle. I am sure you have seen numerous examples and articles about Mandala painting. It has come to encompass a broader art category called dot art. These rocks can be simple or complicated, but in the end, they are all about making designs with dots.

I set out to learn this beautiful art form and teach it to you. The rocks in this article are meant for beginners, but I hope that even experienced dot artists can learn something from the tips and tricks that I am including.

Mandala Painted Rock ideas

Tracy at Oh The Things We’ll Make used Mandala to create these cute and fun ladybug rocks. The spiral design is a fun way to get started with Mandala and we will explore this design later on.

Beginner-Friendly Ladybug Mandala Rock Painting Tutorial – Oh, The Things We’ll Make!

Here are some fun ideas at Teach Kids Art. Kids love painting in a pattern so Mandala rock painting can be perfect for any age.

Dot Painting on Rocks • TeachKidsArt

Shawna and Linnea at DIY Craft Club have several creative designs for Mandala. They are great at blending patterns and colors to create wonderful rocks.

20 Mandala Rock Painting Ideas [2022] – DIY Craft Club

Supply List for Mandala Painted Rocks

• Smooth, flat Rocks
• Acrylic Paint, Assorted Colors
• Flat paintbrush
• Mandala tools, other items that can make dots
• Baby wipes
• Acrylic sealer, spray or paint on
• Other supplies: table cloth, paper plate, pencil

Choosing and Priming Your Rocks

Initially when you think of Mandala, you automatically think of round. Do not be fooled. Yes, you are using dots, but you do not have to limit yourself to a perfectly round rock. The beauty of painted rocks can be found in their imperfections. Find a way to use the irregular shape of the rock and make it work with your design.

Rocks are everywhere. But not all rocks are ideal for painting. You can go on a stroll through your neighborhood or park and pick up a few rocks.  However, I have found that most of those can be too small or not have much of a flat surface.  Purchasing rocks is also an option. You can find them at craft stores, home improvement stores, landscaping companies, or even order them online. The ones that I am using for this project were purchased at Hobby Lobby. I found them in the mosaics section.

The rocks I chose were about 2 to 3 inches tall and had a flat surface. I put a primer coat of paint on each rock before starting with the design. A primer coat helps to fill in holes, it provides coverage when your rock is a darker color and will help the paint for your design adhere to the rock better.

Here is some more information on priming rocks if you would like to read further.

How to prepare rocks for rock painting?

Mandala Painted Rocks: Supplies and Basic Technique

I invested in a Mandala Art Kit. This kit was found on Amazon and came with several sizes of dotting tools and a set of stencils. You do not have to invest in a kit to get started. There are many items around the house that you could use to create dots. How about a pencil eraser? Or take the cotton off of the end of a cotton swab?  Maybe the end of a paintbrush would work. Look around and gather up items that could make a dot, you will need several different sizes.

I recommend having some baby wipes on had to clean the end of your dotting tool. If you don’t have any baby wipes, place a damp paper towel in a shallow bowl and keep it nearby.

Stencils are a great way to practice and improve your Mandala technique. If you are not good with spacing, I would start with using a stencil. Trace the stencil on your surface or paper lightly in pencil.

The basic movement for Mandala is the “dip and dot. You want to dip the tool in the paint and place the dot on the surface of the rock. Dip and dot for each new dot. Be careful not to submerge your tool in the paint. That will cause paint to go up the sides of the tool and may throw off the size of your dot. When you want the color of the dots to lighten (light to dark in a line) you will dip dot dot dot etc. You want to move your tool straight up and down. Avoid angles and twisting.

I recommend using acrylic paint. Acrylics are water-based for easy clean-up. They also dry quickly and tend not to run. This will help your dots remain in place while they dry.

Mandala Painted Rocks Design 1: Basic Circles

The first rock in this project is a basic circle design. I used eight colors of paint; black, yellow, light blue, blue, light purple, medium purple, dark purple, and white. Layout your different dotting tools and choose the size dots that you want to make. Since my rock was not very large, I stayed on the smaller sizes.

I began by using a flat brush to apply a primer coat to the rock. After that dries, I used the largest dot with some yellow paint to create the center dot. Using the smallest dotter and light blue, I added a ring of tiny dots. I did not use a stencil on this rock. I eyeballed the position of the dots using North, South, East and West. Then I added dots in the middle of each section and again in the middle of each of those sections.

When I moved to another circle, I will paint those in the valleys that are left from the circle in the previous ring. I kept going in this pattern and added blue, dark purple, medium purple, light purple and blue again. With each ring, I increased the size of the dot. Each ring consists of 16 dots.

Now to start the outer pattern, I used light blue and a dotter larger than the last ring. I only filled in eight spaces; I used every other valley instead of each one as I had done before.

Then I added a partial ring of white around each light blue dot. I also placed a small white dot in the valleys that were not used by the light blue.

Finally, I added a half-ring of yellow outside of the white paint. The half-ring helps give the illusion that the pattern is spinning.

Mandala Painted Rocks Design 2: A little more difficult

Let’s try something with just a bit more detail. This rock will include a monochrome theme, but we will add some layered dots and swooped lines.

For this design, I used six different sizes of dots and two paint colors.

Start by priming your rock with two coats of black acrylic paint. Using your main paint color (I used turquoise) and your largest dotter, add a center dot. Then, keeping with the same main paint color, I worked my way outgoing from smallest dot size to large. I have added two rings of 8 dots. Start with North, South, East and West and add the centers in the middle of each section. The next ring is dotted in the valley of the first.

Then I added a third row, and fourth row of swoops (use the same size dotter as row 3) and a fifth row. For the swooped lines create a dot and pull the paint back toward the center. Once the third row was dry, I began to add the second layer of dots. I used a tan color and the same size dotter as row 2.

For the next section, I finished using the main paint color. I added one more row to the outside.  In between the dots of rows five and six, I added smaller dots in between to fill in more space. I used the same dotter as row 3.

Using the same dotter as row three, I added the center tan dots on rows five and six once the turquoise was dry.

Sealing the Mandala Painted Rocks

 I decided to seal the Mandala rocks using a spray acrylic sealer from ModPodge. I made sure to do this step outside.  Spray sealer can give off some strong fumes and you don’t want to have that linger inside the house.  I set the rocks on a protective surface so I didn’t get the sealer everywhere.  Using a paper plate or plastic table cloth works perfectly for this step. I sprayed a light coat of sealer and let it dry. Be sure to follow the package instructions on your sealer.

These rocks were all fun and easy. I enjoyed learning this new technique and I hope that you have too.

Top Take-Aways for Mandala Painted Rocks

1. The dots do not have to follow a perfect circle. Let the shape of the rock help guide your pattern.
2. Try to find things around the house to create your dots. A kit is a great tool, but not necessary.
3. Be careful not to submerge your dotting tool in the paint. The extra paint can throw off the size of your dot.

Don’t fear the dots !

Corie