Lakshmi footprints rangoli

How to draw it, step by step

Sweep the floor and wipe it with a damp cloth so the powder grips. Mark the centre with chalk. Then follow the pictures. Each one adds one part.

1. Nearest the door edge, draw the first pair of footprints in red: a long oval for each foot and five small dots for the toes, pointing into the house.

2. Draw a second pair one step further in, the same size as the first.

3. On each side of the path draw a small six-petal flower in yellow with an orange centre.

4. Finish with a line of white dots down each side, like the edges of a carpet.

Tip: The footprints must walk into the house, not out of it. Stand outside facing the door and draw the toes pointing away from you.

Where it works best

They are drawn at the main doorstep on Diwali, and in many homes from the door all the way to the puja place. Small pairs, a hand apart, look better than a few large ones. They take almost no space, so they suit any home.

What usually goes wrong, and the fix

Direction is everything: the toes point into the house. Draw each pair as a left and a right foot, slightly apart and a little staggered, as feet really fall when walking. If you use rice paste or wet kumkum, let each pair dry before anyone walks past. More fixes are on rangoli problems and fixes.

Make it your own

• Change the colours to what you have at home. Any two strong colours and white are enough.
• Make it smaller for a puja thali or a table, or repeat it three times in a row along a wall.
• Print the outline and let children colour it first. It is good practice before the powder comes out.

New to rangoli? Read how to make rangoli and colours and materials first.

More designs like this

• Eight petal flowerEasy
• LotusMedium
• Circle of diyasMedium
• Star and diamondsMedium