Mindful drawing projects are a really good way of protecting your mental health. Getting absorbed into a creative practice can give you some space from anxious thought and feelings. It can also give you a sense of calm as you make your marks conscientiously with thought and application.

Life can get pretty stressful sometimes. Exams, relationships, finances and spending less time being in the moment and experiencing the here and now. This all adds up to worry and stress. Mindful drawing projects can go some way in helping alleviate this and give you some interactive methods to relax, express yourself and create some “you time”! 

Here are four mindful drawing projects that you can try this week to help you create that much needed space to enhance your wellbeing…

Mindful drawing 1: intricate insects

Bugs and beetle illustrations are enduringly popular. Use your EMOTT fine line markers to a range of colourful buggy designs that look like über accomplished, stunning artworks. Don’t worry, they are way easier to do than they look. All you have to do is draw the basic shape and fill with intricate lines, dots and doodles in various shades.

Mindfulness project 2: Take a breath canvas

This is super easy. Use a robust 8K POSCA in metallic green to add rough patches of colour to a canvas board. While your POSCA is still wet, sponge with a damp sea sponge to create a mottled effect. Once you are happy with the look, leave to dry. Once the canvas board is bone dry, use a black 1M POSCA to write a slogan over the dreamy background.

Mindful practice 3: Make a happiness journal

Journaling is an absolutely brilliant way of practicing mindfulness. A making a journal themed around the things that make you happy is a really positive habit to get into. PIN pens are particularly good for this task as they have a range of different sized tips for you to explore various mark-making and handwriting techniques. We’ve used a black brush PIN to decorate our journal cover as it works so well for brush script and simple floral designs. And we couldn’t resist adding little white highlights with our SIGNO broad pen.

Mindful drawing projects 4: Simple cherry blossom

Practising a simple drawing technique can be a great way to get into the zone. And this illustration couldn’t be easier. We used black and pink 1M POSCAs to make this simple cherry blossom design on glass and ceramic. To try yourself, hold the black POSCA at an angle to make loose, interconnecting lines as shown. Then add little pink dots along the ‘branches’. This drawing is very meditative and can be quite addictive!