In continuation to a post on easy rangoli for beginners that has images of simple rangoli without dots, this post also has easy rangoli (without dots) or kolam with dots for starters or learners. It may include free hand rangoli designs involving two or more steps and may not be as simple. Some of the designs are based on central designs of rangolis shared in previous posts. This is a collection of small rangoli designs with images showing steps
The second image shows a simple design having four .parallel and perpendicular lines intersecting each other. Three floral petals are drawn at the edges as shown. At the centre curved lines are drawn diagonally (?) to complete the design. Viewing the video may clarify any doubts. Lines with rangoli powder can be drawn as straight and parallel as is possible practically. However the rangoli when completed gives a very good appearance.
Continuing with simple designs, is the next image below. It is a very easy method of drawing a butterfly rangoli design with a few intersecting lines. The rangoli is shown in two stages and the they are self-explanatory. Instead of butterfly like designs we can have flowers or any other design that we can think of of. Butterflies inspire us to draw very colourful rangoli. There is a lot of similarity between the two rangoli designs above. While the central pattern is the same, in the first case leaf like patterns are formed at the edges while in the second rangoli they have been converted into butterflies.
Though the name is Rangoli sans dots , simple rangoli with dots are also to be posted because rangoli with dots is quite popular in many parts of India. The simplest dot grid may be 2 by 2 for a rangoli ( or kolam ). The rangoli below uses a dot grid of three by three. The four steps in the photo shows how the rangoli proceeds from the dot pattern to the final design. The final image shows that even with such a small dot grid rangoli can be attractive and beautiful. The next rangoli also uses a 3 by3 dot grid
The next rangoli also uses a 3 by3 dot grid. The steps shown in the image are self-explanatory. What is important is the final image shows that a simple yet cute rangoli can be obtained with this dot grid and using some imagination to add some patterns around the rangoli.
This design on the top is a a plain version of a rangoli usually used for Pooja. Two triangles opposite to each other are drawn and a hexagonal pattern is formed around it. The edges are decorated with floral patterns and spiral designs. For simple rangoli designs with dots - simple rangoli with five dots or four dot rangoli.
.jpg "free hand simple type with star and floral petals")
This is the latest addition to the simple rangoli for beginners or kids collection . This post is a competitor for my post on easy rangoli for beginners !. Now coming to the rangoli, this is a star design drawn with two inverted triangles ( that many of us are familar with, we have been doing this even during our child hood ). Now that the star is ready, connect the edges with a floral petal design using rangoli powder, one more floral petal can be added to improve the design.
The image below shows a double line or parallel line rangoli in a few steps - to get a floral design from a basic geometric ( triangle ) shape at the centre.
Another simple rangoli type ( that has been already been discussed in Rangoli-sans-dots ) is the maavilai kolam or mango leaves design. I have drawn one with 7 dots and one design with 5 dots. This one is quite common and is frequently seen at the entrance of many houses. The dot pattern is 5-4-3 interlaced dots. Draw the straight lines at the centre and connect the remaining dots to get the mango leaves. Draw the midrib as a free hand design. The three images below show the steps from the dot pattern to the final design.
It is possible to draw a floral rangoli design with just a 3 by 3 dot pattern. How - the image below shows how to draw it. I have used a 3 by 3 dot grid. Around each dot on the four corners draw petal like patterns and at the centre draw a pattern of your choice. It may be a floral design or any other pattern. Add colours. So even through a basic rangoli design we can have beautiful and cute designs.
The next design is a small rangoli with dots. The dot pattern is used in four by four. The first image shows the dot grid with the central pattern. The second stage shows the four petal designs drawn on the four corners and then below the final rangoli. Quite an easy rangoli design with 4 dots and this one below is with dot pattern 5 by 5. The rangoli is shown in two stages. The rangoli consists of many simple leaf or petal like patterns with a floral design at the centre.
Butterfly rangoli design dots
The next rangoli is a butterfly design with six dots. This has already been shared in Rangoli-sans-dots in another post. I have drawn it again with different colours and added here as it is also relevant here. The first step with white rangoli shows the intial stages of the rangoli.
So to view videos please go to my YouTube Channel.
Simple floral rangoli
The next rangoli with circles or circular patterns. The design below obviously has circle at the centre and circles around it. It will be quite attractive in black and white and even more attractive when filled with a few colours. The first image shows the rangoli in three stages for the benefit of those who need it.
Another version of a floral rangoli design some what similar to the rangoli above
Rangoli-sans-dots literally means, rangoli without dots ( I have been posting designs with dots and without dots in various categories like free hand designs, designs with 4 to 15 dots and also arts , crafts festival celebrations and decoration ideas ). This special collection of rangoli designs for the ensuing festival season should start with a free hand design to justify the name of the blog . Hence the design below , the first two steps are some what easy. The third step grows from the second and is the case with most free hand designs it is drawn spontaneously without much preparation and so watching the third image and drawing it may be helpful.
The image above is yet another floral rangoli design , a simple one for learning for the ensuing festival season in India including the English New Year, the Tamil harvest festival Pongal and Makara Sankranti. It can also be stopped at an intermediate stage.
Another simple rangoli in this series of basic rangoli designs for learning. Draw the three intersecting lines meeting at a point ( geometry ! ) and draw the floral petals as shown in the first image. The lines as a result look like mid-ribs of the leaf ( botany ! ). It is better to add some patterns between the leaves to improve the rangoli. So I have added some common motifs that are usually used in free hand rangoli designs as shown in the second part of the photo.
The second rangoli in this seris - Draw the triangle and three segments around the three edges. The gaps between the circular patterns are further decorated as shown and the area inside the circular segments decorated with lines and dots. A simple rangoli but beautiful. Inside the triangle we can add any pattern should further improve the appearance of the rangoli
I think that we have to imitate nature for our rangoli designs. Colourful flowers are definitely the most sought for the patterns in free hand. The flower above is a free hand design. The basic design has seven petals. The flower is expanded by another three layers to make it a four layered flower. Of course, layers of petals or any other motif can be added to this rangoli. I have used different colours for each layer of petal. This is usually not found in nature but when we draw rangolis we should be given the liberty of deviating from the norm. The same rangoli has white dots placed along the periphery of each layer of petals and the outermost petals have white lines and dots placed to give the design a totally different look. One needs some patience to do it but at the end we will get a beautiful (!) rangoli. A multi-colour (!) flower with multiple layers(!). Rangoli is kolam in Tamil, muggu in Telugu, rangoli in Kannada, rangavalli in Telugu .......There may have been differences in the method of drawing these designs in different parts of India. What matters is they are all a feast to the eyes. Flower rangoli designs are used a lot in free hand and rangoli with dots. Usually a floral rangoli is divided into eight parts with eight petals, some how this turned up with seven!
It is possible to draw rangoli designs with some straight lines, circles and other geometric patters like triangles. One such design is shown above. The step by step method for drawing the rangoli drawn above has not been added because this quite a simple and easy rangoli. However two versions of this design are shown above. this rangoli has been decorated with colours and some patterns inside and outside to get the final design. First draw four parallel lines and then draw four parallel lines perpendicular to those drawn first. Then join them as shown to get our rangoli. Simple geometry and symmetry.
However viewing the video will give an idea as to how this free hand rangoli can be drawn and it is available on my YouTube channel.
The rangoli can be left plain as shown in design below. The final rangoli results from addition of colourful lines parallel to the existing straight lines and the curved border designs as shown. One more difference between the black and white design below and the colourful one above is the addition of dots around the spiral patterns. The combinations that can be got from a basic design are infinite. You can also choose your own combination of designs at the centre - it could be circles or small stars or floral petals.This is another stage of the plain rangoli and can also be used as a simple rangoli design with straight lines parallel and intersecting. Quite an easy rangoli. Here again after drawing the lines one can choose any pattern in the centre ( remember playing tic tac toe !). We can choose any pattern on the outside too.
The scene outside the window of a fast moving train is very familiar to all of us. We have seen different types of colourful birds sitting on the electric lines or flying around above the fields. The rangoli below is an inspiration drawn from the birds. Since this is a rangoli design I have chosen some symmetric pattern - a number of pink colour petals and have drawn a bird sitting on each petal !. Of course the three stages of the rangoli are also given for the benefit of those who want to practise.
While a bird rangoli with is a rangoli in the actual sense when it is colourful this rangoli represents a bird flying. However I have stopped before filling the colours after adding some patterns in the wings and tail. Comparing both these designs will give us an idea on the effect of colours. Plain and white rangoli designs are also beautiful in their own way. As in the case of many design two intermediate steps are also shown.
![bird-rangoli-1410a.jpg]( "drawing the outline of the bird")
![bird-rangoli-1410b.jpg]( "drawing the details in the tail and the wing")
![bird-rangoli-1410c.jpg]( "a flying bird rangoli design")
![bird-kolam3.jpg]( "a simple representation of a bird")
![bird-kolam3-a.jpg]( "drawing the tail of the bird")
![kolam-beginners.jpg]( "floral pattern in kolam")
![kolam-beginner-b.jpg]( "plain kolam nearing completion")
![kolam-beginners-a.jpg]( "central design of kolam")
![simple-star-kolam-1212.jpg]( "a basic kolam with star patterns for apartments")
![kolam-12-c-1.jpg]( "how to draw the curved lines in this kolam")
![kids-rangoli-5.jpg]( "floral-design")
The rangoli design on the right has eight floral petals drawn around a central point. Curved line rangoli borders to match the contour of the floral designs are drawn around the petal edges to get the rangoli.
![kids-rangoli-7.jpg]( "spiral-arms-rangoli")
The next one is a different type of floral or leaf design. Between the leaves an arm with legs is extended to get a spiral effect. It is a part of a bigger design but has been added here due to the relevance
![kids-rangoli-9.jpg]( "star based rangoli with two lines")
The rangoli design on the right - The steps are, first draw a star and decorate it with floral patterns. Then add parallel lines to the original single line rangoli to get this pattern. ( It is also possible to draw rangolis with parallel lines drawn simultaneously).
While a bird rangoli with is a rangoli in the actual sense when it is colourful this rangoli represents a bird flying. However I have stopped before filling the colours after adding some patterns in the wings and tail. Comparing both these designs will give us an idea on the effect of colours. Plain and white rangoli designs are also beautiful in their own way. As in the case of many design two intermediate steps are also shown.
The next kolam is a simple bird design drawn free hand. I have emphasised many times in the past that rangoli or kolam gives a lot of scope for imagination and the beauty of this art is the simplicity and hence exact depiction of birds or flowers is not the rule. Just have poets have licence to err grammatically and there is also what is called historical licence so also there has be an artistic licence in the case of kolam! (says my family ! ). So here is it is representation of a bird through a simple kolam. Start with the tail first drawing the two spirals . Add curlicues to improve the beauty of the tail. Add the third spiral and corresponding curlicues. Draw the body of the bird, add the beak and crown. If required a few colours can be added. Though birds need addition of colours I have left this kolam plain for a change. The two images below are taken from my video and show two stages of this simple design.
Holidays ( summer or Navaratri or Christmas holidays - these are times when school going children have their holidays in Tamil Nadu ) are a wonderful time for kids to learn a new art and kolam should be accorded importance. So another set of kolam designs for beginners and children . The videos for some of these kolam are available in my YouTube channel Rangolisansdots under the category - Basic rangoli for learning. It is a series of simple kolam, the pattern at the top is the first in this series. After having some videos with a star as the central pattern, this series will have floral petals as the theme. Draw the eight petals at the centre. From this draw three floral petal motifs as shown. Complete the kolam to get the design shown in the image.
Two intermediate steps for the simple kolam in the image above.
The next kolam as the picture shows is a very simple rangoli with star design. Star, swastik and floral designs are used to start a rangoli and we usually proceed from there according to our imagination. First draw a star using two inverted triangles. Then from the edges of the triangles draw six curved extensions connecting one edge to the other to obtain the final image. A design that is regularly drawn at entrances and in puja mantaps because it is very simple. The central pattern can be anything, a spiral, another small star. Though it appears to be a very simple design the curved lines make the rangoli design very beautiful.
![apartment-kolam-1212-d.jpg]( "a simple kolam with floral patterns and curlicues")
![kolam-1212-d-2.jpg]( "kolam nearing completion.")
![kolam-1212-d-1.jpg]( "first stage of kolam above")
The kolam above, is also a simple kolam. As usual as in most free hand rangolis, draw the central pattern and then draw the curved arms of different lengths between the petals and then add the finishing touches. In this rangoli I have added three arms but it will be al right to have even two. The more the number of arms the more intricate it becomes. I have left it plain as in the image above. Colours can also be added. Two pictures showing the intermediate stages are below the kolam.
![quick-rangoli-2.jpg]( "step 2 of the quick rangoli design without lines")
![quick-rangoli-1.jpg]( "step 1 of the idea for a quick rangoli design")
![quick-rangoli-design-3.jpg]( "easy rangoli for Diwali nearing completion")
How to make easy rangoli designs for Diwali
Rangolisansdots has quite a few rangoli with dots and sans dots designs from the simple to the difficult that can be drawn for festivals like Diwali (Deepavali as we call it here ), However for those who wish to learn and display a rangoli and find it difficult to make a rangoli with lines the rangoli shown in the following steps may be useful
Place a pinch of rangoli and gently tap it to get a circle as shown in the first image. Then place rangoli ( powder ) around this circle. I have chosen two colours pink and yellow is such a way as to get circles of decreasing diameter and gently tap to get the circles as shown in the image two. Around this design and in the gaps obtain smaller circlesof yellow and indigo to complete the design. We can add dots or points on the circles with white or any other colour to enhance the rangoli. The result a quick and simple rangoli in a few minutes is ready.
Now for some basic free hand rangoli ideas ( white rangoli ) without steps
The rangoli design on the right - The steps are, first draw a star and decorate it with floral patterns. Then add parallel lines to the original single line rangoli to get this pattern. ( It is also possible to draw rangolis with parallel lines drawn simultaneously).The kolam image below shows the basic double line or parallel line kolam design for drawing four petals. It can be used on thresholds or entrances and for practising the basic double line designs. Rangoli-sans-dots has some information on how to draw lines with rangoli powder (kolam podi as it is called in Tamil )  |
How can we learn kolam or rangoli designs
We can draw them by referring to books that are available or websites like Rangoli-sans-dots ! First we should try simple designs without too many curved lines and slowly develop our skills. It should noted that drawing in a note book is easier than drawing the design with rangoli ( powder ) because co-ordination among the index, middle fingers and thumb is needed in the case of the latter, while in the former the pen takes care of every thing. However for practising any method can be followed
![kolam-for-apartment-5.jpg]( "a simple free hand kolam for the entrance")
![apartment-kolam-3011.jpg]( "a simple kolam with geometric shapes")
The design above is a very simple single line free hand rangoli and hence can be used on the doorways. It is evident from the image that a flower like pattern decorated with petals inside and curved lines outside.
The kolam below, another simple design using lines, resulting in some simple geometric shapes, with some simple patterns around - the result a simple kolam that can be drawn at the entrance of our house.
These designs are usually a part of a bigger rangoli. I have limited these to at this stage and categorised them as simple rangolis. Such designs are available elsewhere in Rangoli-sans-dots.
Of course all the rangolis above ( we all know rang in rangoli means colour) can be made more attractive with colours added.
![kolam-for-apartment-2.jpg]( "kolam with some simple motifs")
The rangoli design above is one of central designs of a larger free hand version. I have limited it at this stage so that it can used as an apartment kolam design. As is evident from the image it has four motifs on the four sides and it left white and plain. Drawing curved lines comes with practice.
![Diwali-rangoli-6.jpg]( "free hand rangoli for Diwali")
The free hand rangoli in the series of colourful simple free hand rangoli designs without . An improved version of the same rangoli is also available in this blog. It is a free hand kolam design as are all the rangolis in this post. The blue and yellow combination for the central diya pattern and the green and orange combination for the leaf/petal design on the top adds to the attractiveness of the rangoli.
![muggu-design-3011-b.jpg]( "rangoli simple design free hand")
The rangoli on the top is a simple free hand kolam or rangoli with many petals. It is quite simple and easy to draw this design. Add a few colours along the lines of the rangoli without filling up the entire rangoli to finish it in no time. Such designs can be used regularly since they are not time consuming. Simple patterns can be added between the petals they may be just some patterns or leaves, tendrils or anything related to petals to improve the rangoli design.
![muggulu-design-2.jpg]( "a simple floral design with colours filled")
The rangoli design next ( above this design ) is a simple but beautiful floral design that can be drawn in a very short time. Draw the basic design with intersecting lines. From there draw simple petals and draw bigger petals above these petals. On the edge of the bigger petals draw some floral motifs. Also fill the gaps between with flower or any other design of your choice. Apply colours to the muggu by drawing colourful lines parallel to the design drawn with white rangoli (powder ). Add some simple white dots around to decorate further. White rangoli can also be used to decorated the areas filled with colours. The final result is the image shown above.
The rangoli design above is one of central designs of a larger free hand version. I have limited it at this stage so that it can used as an apartment kolam design. As is evident from the image it has four motifs on the four sides and it left white and plain. Drawing curved lines comes with practice.
Free hand rangoli without steps with colours
The rangoli on the top is a simple free hand kolam or rangoli with many petals. It is quite simple and easy to draw this design. Add a few colours along the lines of the rangoli without filling up the entire rangoli to finish it in no time. Such designs can be used regularly since they are not time consuming. Simple patterns can be added between the petals they may be just some patterns or leaves, tendrils or anything related to petals to improve the rangoli design.
The rangoli design next ( above this design ) is a simple but beautiful floral design that can be drawn in a very short time. Draw the basic design with intersecting lines. From there draw simple petals and draw bigger petals above these petals. On the edge of the bigger petals draw some floral motifs. Also fill the gaps between with flower or any other design of your choice. Apply colours to the muggu by drawing colourful lines parallel to the design drawn with white rangoli (powder ). Add some simple white dots around to decorate further. White rangoli can also be used to decorated the areas filled with colours. The final result is the image shown above.
Why do we draw rangoli using just white rangoli (powder )
Rangoli use colours to draw lines or patterns and for filling up . But some in Rangoli-sans-dots are drawn with white rangoli powder only. This is because, while we can use those with colours (!) for special occasions, the white ones can be used as customary rangoli.Obviously, the time taken for colourful patterns to be drawn in more and hence invariably can be done on holidays for festivals. Of course, our spirits are also high on these days and hence we are willing to strain ourselves more. Also there is a tradition of drawing kolam in Tamil Nadu daily for which white or plain rangoli designs without colour are used.
What do you do use to decorate a plain or white rangoli ?
Plain rangolis can be filled with colours like a colourful rangoli, or decorated with just one additional colour as in a rangoli for Diwali. Of course for Diwali season they can be decorated with diyas inside the rangoli, around it or decorated with flowers .. the options are many. Only our imagination is the limit.
. How to draw rangoli with rice flour or commercial rangoli (powder )
The powder or flour is taken in the right hand and using the thumb and index finger the powder is sprinkled gently to form lines. With practice, straight lines, curved lines, patterns and motifs can be drawn
.Though there are different ways of drawing a rangoli using kolam podi ( or rangoli powder) is the method followed now. Also we can mix rice flour with rangoli powder Change the ratio according to your convenience Use the thumb, index finger and allow the powder to flow between the thumb and forefinger to get a line. It comes with practice.
Rangoli-sans-dots so far - round up and updates
Many topics have been covered so far, (some have been updated, re-organised) the idea is to make Rangoli-sans-dots as user friendly as possible and to cater to different interests..
Initially, kolam with parallel lines ( my forte or weakness ) simple ones with white rangoli powder were drawn in a few posts. Popular among them is Rangoli -parallel lines. Kolam with parallel lines drawn using rangoli powder and making use of the thumb, fore finger and index finger while drawing the kolam, to get the double line design as it also called.
By what ever name it is called a rose smells sweet similarly rangoli goes under the names, kolam muggulu, rangavalli, alpona and many other names. Some designs have been categorised under muggulu
Mehndi rangoli design and Sanskar Bharti rangoli are two important types of rangoli. Mehndi rangoli design involves drawing designs that are very similar to henna or mehndi designs however on a floor with rangoli . Sanskar Bharti rangoli are drawn on the floor with free hand designs with white rangoli powder drawn on a background created by sprinking rangoli . Some articles are devoted to them.
Kolam making is an important part of many a festival celebration. Navratri and Diwali are among them. Almost all designs drawn so far under various categories have been free hand designs with a few kolam with dots. However more kolam with dots designs are planned for the future.
Of the many posts for Navratri kolam and Deepavali kolam, Diwali rangoli - theme diya ( For Diwali and Karthigai, both being festivals of lights in their own way, importance is given to diya or deepam designs ) and Navratri festival are a few.
Aarti plate decoration is another important aspect of festival celebration. For viewing a few eco-friendly aarti thali decorations please go to aarti plate rangoli.
Apart from these there are many free hand designs, simple and colourful
Where there is a tradition of drawing kolam daily, the need for newer and different designs is more. So some have been placed under apartment kolam and daily rangoli. They are all simple with or without dots and plain and white designs.
Apart from these there are many more designs and categories in Rangolis sans dots. They are simple sikku kolam designs, rangoli or kolam borders, small rangoli or easy rangoli for beginners and quite a few plain and white rangoli designs that can be used for colouring activities.
There is a collection of rangoli / kolam videos from my YouTube channel Rangolisansdots. These rangoli designs are using to 9 dots patterns. There are 30 videos and the view time is about 30 minutes. The link is 30 simple kolam designs