Plan your design

Start with some large, basic motifs.


Next fill in the details.



Once you do that,  leave some white space, and draw an outline around that. This negative space is very important to a traditional henna design. It offers contrast to the intence detail of the rest of the piece. You may want to add some smaller motifs, being mindful of the structure of the whole design.


Then fill in the motifs with "filler." Here are some samples. With a little doodling you'll be able to create your own.

Here's our sample pattern with the filler added.

First you'll want to gather the following items:

1. Henna Paste  in an applicator of your choice
2. Washable marker or watercolor pencil
3. Paper Towels, and tooth picks to fix mistakes
   

Next, use the washable marker or watercolor pencil to draw the basic lines of your design. Don't spend a lot of time drawing in details at this point. The goal here is to make sure you get the positioning and basic shape right.



With henna paste go over the lines you drew in the last step. These lines should be fairly heavy. You'll want to create contrast by verying your line thickness. Save the fine lines for details in in the next step.
the finished product...

No filler is used in the design in the photos above, so we'll look at a differnt sample here. Fill in some, but not all, of the negative space with filler.


Use these simple steps to create beautiful traditional henna designs like a pro!

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