Guide
Tablet art with Michelle: the overview
by Michelle Brändle
Michelle's iPad creative course: Create your own mandala
19.1.2026
Translation: machine translated
Thanks to practical drawing aids, you can create your own mandalas in no time at all in the Procreate colouring programme.
Colouring in mandalas is a creative way to switch off your mind. Self-created templates make the whole process even more personalised. And it's not that difficult.
I mainly use the symmetry function of the Procreate colouring programme on my iPad for this.
If you want to learn more about digital art, you can find my previous chapters here:
By the way: Since the update to Procreate 5.4, there are two brush collections. I am using the original «classic brush collection».
The big trick: Symmetry thanks to the drawing aid
I set the canvas size for the mandala to A4. This is the easiest way to print it out later. To draw the lines cleanly and evenly, I use the brush tool «Artists' ink» from the ink folder. You can adjust the brush so that the lines are as sweeping as possible - i.e. without any jittery excesses.
Click the selected brush in the toolbar a second time to open its settings. There, drag the slider at «Strength» to around 50 per cent and the slider at «Stabilisation» to around 40 per cent. This ensures stable lines.
A mandala thrives on symmetry. To get this right by hand, I make use of the symmetry setting in Procreate: To do this, I go to the settings of my open canvas at the top left and activate the «drawing aid» with a tap.
Just below this, I can edit the «drawing aid». There I select «Symmetry» and the radial option. Now I have eight fields that are automatically mirrored as soon as I draw something in them.
The second practical trick for a chic mandala with Procreate is the Quickshape function. This helps me to create clean shapes and lines. To do this, I first draw a circle with the stylus. Before I put the pen down, I hold it on the display for a brief moment. The programme then automatically turns it into a clean shape. To make sure the circle is really circular, I can also place a finger of my free hand on the display. This also works with squares and triangles. For straight lines, I have to let the stylus rest briefly on the display after drawing the line.
Take references to hand
There are plenty of mandalas out there. If you find templates that you like, you can integrate parts of them into your own mandala. It also helps to better understand the peculiarities of mandalas in general. I often go to Pinterest for my idea search.
Thicker and thinner lines make the overall picture more exciting, for example. Or something asymmetrical. However, to be able to realise such a part in my own mandala, I have to deactivate the drawing aid for a short time.
Additional tip: individual motifs
You can also integrate small motifs into your personalised mandala. The mandala doesn't have to be completely abstract. In addition to flowers, you can also integrate animal heads or well-known cartoon characters, for example.
In this example, I'm using Tiger Derpy from the film «KPop Demon Hunters». If you're not a talented drawer, you can also find an element from the web, add it to your project (settings > insert photo) and trace it on a layer above.
If you want to have the motif multiple times in the mandala, you can continue to work with the symmetry. It can also be reduced to four axes and moved.
Export and print
If you like your mandala, all you have to do is print it out. To do this, go to the overview of your Procreate projects and swipe from right to left on the mandala file. This will open a menu where you can tap «Teilen». Then select PDF and the desired destination. Either save it in the files for later printing, send it to yourself by e-mail or directly to the printer. If available, use thick paper so that felt-tip pens and the like don't bleed through when colouring in.
Header image: Michelle Brändle
Ever since I learned how to hold a pen, I've been doodling away in bright colours. Thanks to my iPad, digital art has also become part of my life. That's why I love testing tablets – from the graphic design range to the regular kind. When I feel the urge to express my creativity without lugging lots of equipment, I go for the latest smartphones and start snapping away.
Tablet
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
Arts and crafts
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
Guide
Practical solutions for everyday problems with technology, household hacks and much more.
Show allThese articles might also interest you
2 comments
later