Elephant Mandala Coloring Page (3 of 4)

The background pattern grows busier here, so it's worth deciding early how much attention you want it to draw. A more muted, single-color background will let the elephants take center stage, while a fully colored background gives a richer, more layered finished piece.

About the Elephant Mandala

Elephants appear often in mandala and decorative art as a symbol of strength, memory, and good fortune, and their naturally rounded shape - the curved trunk, the broad ears - lends itself well to the circular symmetry of a mandala design. Here, four elephants meet trunk to trunk at the center, framed by lotus-like flowers, in a pattern that repeats cleanly around the full circle.

Because the four elephants are identical, this is a particularly forgiving mandala to start with: whatever color choices you make for the first one can simply be repeated for the rest, so there's no need to plan the whole palette in advance. Soft, warm grays or gentle pinks for the elephants, paired with cheerful color in the surrounding flowers, give a friendly, approachable finished look.