You may recall least year I created my own Mandalatober challenge inspired by Inktober and the many other October art challenges that have popped up in the last few years.

I thought I was super unique and creative to come up with this, but apparently some other people had already beat me to it. So this year I decided to just follow along with the already established Mandalatober challenge on Instagram.

I only managed to get 8 of the 15 prompts done, but I’m still pretty proud of what I accomplished!

Check out all of my Mandalatober mandala drawings below. And let me know in the comments which one is your favourite!

*Please note: Some of the supplies and tools listed include an affiliate link (at no additional cost to you). When you make a purchase through the links I may earn a commission, which helps me create more content ?. I sincerely appreciate it!

Prompt: Radio

For the first Mandalatober prompt I decided to use my Chalkola chalk board and chalk pens! Which was a good idea since I had to re-draw it a few times before it looked right.

Prompt: Fish

For this prompt I was inspired to draw a Veiltail goldfish due to their beautiful looking fins. I digitized my drawing to colour it in. You can see the before and after of the original drawing vs. digital artwork below (slide the arrows).

Prompt: Polaroid

The inspiration for this piece was pretty obviously a polaroid picture. I even cut it out so I could hold and “shake it” like a polariod.

Prompt: Succulents

Succulents are so pretty! For this mandala I used my Sakura Gelly Roll gel pens which almost give it a 3d texture and luscious pastel colours.

Prompt: Hot Air Balloon

The idea of riding in a hot air balloon is so whimsical, but also a bit scary if you’re not a fan of heights. I’d love to see one decorated like this one in real life!

Prompt: Greek Eye

This one was simple but I like how it turned out contrasted against the black paper in my black paper sketchbook.

Prompt: Ladybug

This one wound up being my favourite. It also seemed to be my followers’ favourite seeing how it got over 700 likes! I used my gel pens again for the white part on the wings.

I took a walk around my neighbourhood and stumbled upon these bright red flowers which worked perfectly in this photo.

Prompt: Halloween

The final Mandalatober prompt was Halloween. I decided to take it off the page and decorated an actual pumpkin, using regular acrylic paint for the base and my Aroic Acrylic Paint Pens for the mandala and doodle part.

It turned out pretty good! Plus I can keep it for a bit longer than a traditional carved pumpkin, and probably even cut it up and eat it afterwards!

Mandalatober Conclusion and Takeaways

Since I didn’t create this challenge myself I wasn’t as invested and therefore did not complete the entire challenge. I also decided not to participate in some prompts that didn’t resonate with me as much.

A few of these designs have been turned into products for sale in my Redbubble store, while others will remain as mandalas in my sketchbook for all eternity!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my Mandalatober drawings this year. Now on to the holiday season prep!

Cheers,