Henna How To's - 1

There are so many Henna sources out here on the internet that it can all get a little confusing and overwhelming. That's because everyone has their own style and techniques. Here at Henna Royals, we've seen many of them and have managed to narrow down the amount of information you need to help you begin. 

If you are completely new to the whole concept of Henna art, or just art itself, don't get too excited about using a cone because that comes later.. Its pencil and paper first. Just like little school. 

Bummer. . . I know.

Mehndi/Henna art is something that requires fine motor skills. Just a fancy way of saying good hand, finger and eye co-ordination. You need to be able to use your hands to project what is in your brain - easier said than done!
Therefore it is crucial that you learn to draw designs with something your hands are familiar with before picking up a henna cone. Trust me, slow and steady definitely always wins the race. Never try to rush yourself with henna because nine times out of ten your designs will never come out the way you want them to. Even Da Vinci took about six years to paint the Monalisa. So take your time and enjoy learning.

To begin with, there are four basic designs that are mostly used in Henna art. They are:

1. Dots

2. Swirls

3. Paisley/Mango

4. Flower petals

Lets begin with Dots and Swirls since those two are closely linked.

Dots

Dots are obvious. Just place the pen/pencil in one position on the paper and let the ink do the rest. 

However, there are many variations. The pictorials bellow should give you a better idea.

Swirls

Now for the swirls. 

The basic swirl begins with a centered dot then circles around them. They are also used as the center of flower petals.

The second type are the 'S' and 'Z' shaped swirls

Begin with a dot, make an 'S' or 'Z' motion, then end with a dot. Like so..

Then we also have elongated line swirls ..

You can add some detail by drawing little m's along the line 

Practice these shapes until you can do them from all directions - fowards, backwards, left, right, vertical and horizontal. ALL DIRECTIONS, not 'One Direction' lol - bad joke.

Once you are confident with that, put them together to make your own work of art. This will really help improve your design innovation skills. 

If you get stuck, here are some to get you started

Hope that helps. 

Stay tuned for the rest. 

Credits

All illustrations were taken from Sara Decker.