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Mehandi is the beautiful art of decorating hands and feet with ornate designs. People have used this lovely art across the world to heal, bless and adorn. Mehandi is the Indian version of tattoos, which depicts the Indian culture and tradition in an art form. We have some simple mehandi designs and tips that can get you started.

About Simple Mehandi Designs

As a cosmetic product, mehandi is very popular in Indian  culture, which varies from region to region within India. The exotic designs exemplify the culture, religion, tradition, wisdom, health and sometimes even spiritual enlightenment.

The very early users of mehandi started with dots that were applied on the palms as a cooling agent. With time, the simple mehandi designs became elaborate patterns bringing more beauty to the art.

Being existent for several centuries, many beliefs and myths surround mehandi. Apart from its herbal properties, many emotions and faiths have been attached to henna. One of the prominent beliefs that are seen across cultures is henna or mehandi being the sign of goodwill for people.

Several patterns that we see today are the consequence of the beliefs that people withhold. Arabian, Indian, Pakistani, African and Moroccan are some of the main categories of traditional mehandi. Indian and Pakistan mehandi designs range from simple to elaborate. Designs originating from these countries are lacy with floral motifs, curling vines and other abstract patterns.

If you are interested in mehandi, we suggest you can start with simple mehandi designs that actually make up most of the intricate patterns. Try to practice the patterns on paper first before you actually try to draw them on the hand.

Basic Shapes:

Straight lines, thick lines, wavy patterns, small mountains, shells, tear drops, dots, scorpion or ‘s’ patterns, buds, water ripples, ripples with bubbles, and paisley are some of most common basic shapes that are used in most of the patterns.

Leaves and Vines:

Leaves and vines are ubiquitous in almost all the mehandi designs. They are in reality simple combination of basic shapes. Vines and leaves represent devotion and energy and make an ideal choice for marriage celebrations.

Drawing Simple Mehandi Designs:

It is easier to draw patterns if you divide the hand into three basic sections – the wrist, the palm and the fingers.

Designs on the Wrist:

These are the patterns like a wrist-watch that are horizontal motifs, which go across from one side to the other. Simple one is to draw a squiggle, row of rain drops with dots inside and decorate the top end the way you want with a circle, creeper and so on.

You can also draw a small circle around each dot, encircle it with bigger circles, draw petal shapes around the outermost circle and draw a small circle under each flower to make it look complete!

Designs on the Palm:

This is a wide space for your creative expression. Simple mehandi designs on the palm usually have the mandala, a bindu, lotus or other abstract design that spreads from the center.

Once you are done with the primary central design you can continue adding designs that emanate from a central point. You can make tiny mountains, stripes, flowers along the sides of the central design. Do not worry about making it look realistic as mehandi designs are all about abstract patterns. Let you imagination go wild!

Designs on the Fingers:

Patterns such as leaves and wines are some patterns that are ideal for your fingers. You can either use the same pattern on all the fingers or have a different motif on each finger.  Depending on your convenience, you can start the patterns either from the base of the finger that will end on the fingertip or from your fingertip to the top of the palm.

Other designs that you could try on the fingertips are tiny flowers, stars, dots and other symbols. If you do not wish to decorate the full length of the finger-tips you can also draw ring-like pattern at the base of each finger as a simple mehandi design.

When it comes to drawing mehandi designs the possibilities are endless. Follow your creativity and be inventive to bring out something unique.

Congratulations! You are now all set to draw some simple mehandi designs. Find more inspirations from our collection of designs to make yours make more interesting and which showcases your creativity!