In Step 1, You've "made the four" and have kind of a hokey modigliani mandala. It looks like this: hokey modigliani mandala. What? you don't know what 'hokey' means? [1. Mawkishly sentimental; corny. 2. Noticeably contrived; artificial.]. In short, if you show this to your friends they will dramatically lower their opinion of your digital artistic talents and think of you as a mere plagarizer.

We want to do better than that, right? After all, you are my student and it's not my aim to make you the subject of ridicule or to have people throw rotten vegetables at you when you are on the World Wide Web Stage.

So, what's next?

1. Open this image, hokey modigliani mandala , right click, download it and open it in photoshop. Or open the one that you made.

There are a lot of different things that you can do now to preserve the color and form of this image, but to eliminate its obvious modigliani character. I'll show you some of the things I do, but I don't always do the same thing. So, as you follow the sequence below, keep in mind that it's but one sequence. The goal is to make a shape that will make a better, more mandala like four than this first four that we've made.

2. Filter Menu -> select "DISTORT" -> select "PINCH"

You will see a dialogue box that gives you some options. You can click on the "+" and "-" so that you have a whole image in the small dialogue box window. And you can select the amount of pinching, from -100% to +100%. Note that I've selected +100%. Click "OK".

This hasn't produced much difference in your image. I use the pinch tool when I want the center of the mandala image to be smaller and more focused inwardly.

If you're not sure whether you've done the right thing, here's what your pinched image should look like: Pinched Image.

3. 2. Filter Menu -> select "DISTORT" -> select "TWIRL"

Now you will get the Twirl dialogue box which will allow you to adjust the amount of twirl on the image. I've used a +163 setting which results in the image below.

If you're the keen sighted student that I think you are, you've noticed several things about this image. First, the modigliani aspect is obvious only at the edges, where the woman's face shows. Second, there are some interesting forms and colors in the image. Third, there is a selection box on the image. I've placed the selection box there so that I can copy part of the image and it's from this copy of part of the image that I will make my next four. Remember? "Making the Four" in Step 1. I told you we would do it again. So, let's do it.

4. Click on the "rectangular marquee tool" in the upper left of your tool box.

5. Spread it on part of your pinched/twirled image so that it looks something like the area I've selected as shown in the image above.

6. Edit Menu -> select "COPY"

This means that you have the selected part of the image in your clipboard.

7. File Menu -> select "NEW" and continue on to "Make the Four" but with this new image.

Name this image "mandala1. jpg".

If you've forgotten how to make the four, go back to step 1. Keep in mind that the size of the image you've selected will be different than the original modigliani that you used to make the original four, so you will have to double the width and height again when you open a new photoshop window. And, don't forget to flatten the image at the end.

When you've finished, you should have an image that looks something like the one below. Looks a bit like a killer bee, yes? That should be no surprise in that nature is full of symmetry and mandalas are about creating symmetrical patterns.

At this point, you have two options: you can pat yourself of the back and accept this as your final mandala, or you can be a good student and try to make a better mandala. What will it be, lazy, indifferent student or good student?

If you're a good student, you're ready for step 3.

Steps [introduction] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]