Making custom mandala coloring templates from a photograph is very easy. If you take the time to make your own coloring templates, you will always have something new and unique to color.

I have many mandala coloring pages available as free printables on Pinterest but I wanted more color options. I also wanted to be able to create custom mandala color pages from my own photographs. So I experimented with making my own custom mandala coloring templates that are sized just right for my coloring books and you can do this too!

Here’s how:

In a previous post I mentioned how I create coloring templates from photographs.

It is actually a simple process, and it can be done in just a few minutes.

Here is how you can do it too as well!**

*Decide what kind of mandala you want to create. The design could be an animal, flower, geometric shape or anything you like.

**Choose a photograph you would like to use for your template.

If possible, choose one with a high contrast between the subject and the background, this will make the image easier to extract from the photo.

**Open your chosen image in Photoshop (or another image editing program). Once opened in Photoshop look at the layers panel on the right hand side of your screen and duplicate the background layer by clicking “Layer” at the top of this panel followed by “Duplicate Layer”.

**Now select the eraser tool (keyboard shortcut: E) and erase all of the non-mandala areas of your image so that only the mandala remains. Be careful not to erase any of the mandala lines themselves though! If you do accidentally erase some areas simply undo (Ctrl + Z) until they are back again. If you find yourself needing more space to work in you

The basic idea is to use a photograph of something to make your own coloring template. It’s very easy–though it can take some time depending on the complexity of the photo you choose. I’ll explain how to do it using my mandala coloring template as an example.

First, choose a photograph. I like to use photographs that have at least one thing in common with the final mandala shape so that I don’t have to spend too much time cleaning up the edges. For example, I used this photo:

I cut out the central part of the image and dragged it into a new processing file, which looked like this:

This looks a bit messy, but all you need to do is smooth out the sharp corners of the extracted shape by blurring it slightly. Here are two ways you can do that:

My mandala ended up looking like this:

There’s nothing magical about making my own templates–just like there’s nothing magical about coloring in the shapes with crayons or colored pencils. But creating my own templates allows me to 1) create templates in any size or shape and 2) color inside the lines (so to speak).**

I’ve been wanting to try coloring mandala coloring book templates for a while now but I couldn’t find any that I liked so I thought I’d make my own. And here’s how you can, too!

First you’ll need to take a photo of something circular. It doesn’t have to be a mandala, it just needs to be round for the template to work. You can use a plate or bowl or even the top of a table if its an interesting shape and has some detail on it.

I took this picture of my favorite coffee mug because its pretty and it has a bunch of circles on it:

First, choose an image to work from—a photo of your own, or a photo you’ve found online. Any size will do, but I prefer to start with images that are at least 1000 px on the longest side.

TIP: If the image is too small, you’ll have a lot of empty space in your template; if it’s too big, you’ll have trouble getting it all on the page.

Next, open your image in Photoshop. In Photoshop CS6 and earlier, this can be done by opening the File menu and selecting “Open,” then navigating to where your file is stored on your hard drive and double-clicking it.

TIP: Make sure that both the image layer and the background layer are visible before you proceed. You can toggle between them by clicking “Background” in the Layers panel.

In CS6 and earlier (which do not include any tools for automatically tracing objects), we’ll have to trace the design manually. This can be time-consuming, but it gives us great control over the final product.

TRACE THE DESIGN USING THE MARQUEE TOOL

In order to make our mandala symmetrical as we trace it, we first need to select half of our design

If you’re looking for a new hobby, mandalas are an excellent choice.

Mandalas are pretty, but they have a hidden benefit: they help you meditate.

Mandalas look like this. They have a pattern, but not too much of one. You can stare at them and let your mind wander. It’s peaceful.

And they’re really easy to make yourself. All you need is some colored pencils or markers and a photo of something that you find especially beautiful or interesting. You’ll want to use good quality paper. It doesn’t have to be expensive – just smooth and white. I use printer paper and cover it with clear contact paper so the colors don’t bled through to the back side.

You can start with a picture that’s already in black and white. If you choose a picture on the computer, choose “grayscale” instead of “black and white.” I’ve also had good luck taking pictures on my phone camera in “black and white” mode; the colors come out more muted than if I take the picture in color, but it’s still pretty effective for coloring.

There are lots of mandala designs online, so I won’t try to explain how to make them here–there