Rangoli motifs and patterns for Diwali

 Simple rangoli motifs or patterns

A collection of easy motifs that can be used in rangoli or kolam .

The first image shows the patterns I regularly use in the free hand kolam I draw and share.  It is not a comprehensive collection.

Spirals, paisleys , floral petals of various shapes, leaves , tendrils , flower designs , birds , dots , small lines are some of the common patterns.

I have shown the close up of some the motifs used in the other images shared in this post.  In free hand rangoli we have patterns drawn 

invariably on the periphery of the rangoli .  At the centre we can use the flower designs.  Congruity in selection comes with experience.

Floral petals can be with one , two or three lobes.  We can also have clover shaped patterns.  The options are infinite.

One pic shows how to draw bird motifs with single line and 2 line technique.  We can represent complicated ideas through simple patterns. 

The feet of Lord Krishna or Goddess Lakshmi are drawn in rangoli kolam.  One of the easiest ways to depict the Feet of God is shown in one image. 

Drawing floral patterns in kolam 

It is possible to draw floral patterns with four, eight, sixteen and thirty two petals.  More the petals denser the petals appear.  Of course, more than thirty two may make the design congested.   

Draw a small circle and around the circle draw four petals at right angles to each other.  Add four more petals in the gaps to get eight.  Now add petals between any two of the eight petals drawn earlier to get sixteen petals.