How to draw a diya easy step by step tutorial for children

Diwali, the festival of lights, is almost here! However, every Diwali celebration is incomplete without lighting diyas, isn’t it? The significance of diyas is not limited to the festival of Diwali alone though. Let’s go back in time to understand how diyas became such a crucial part of our celebrations.

 

Since ancient times, the tradition of lighting diyas in homes and temples has been followed by people, especially in the Indian subcontinent. Lighting a diya holds deep spiritual importance. It symbolizes wisdom, prosperity, health, wealth, and enlightenment.

To know more about the spiritual significance of diya, read the article published by Tentaran.

Many believe that diya's oil represents negative emotions like greed, anger, and jealousy. On the other hand, the cotton wick symbolizes the soul or the self. Therefore, the lighting of the diya indicates that to become wise and enlightened, it's necessary to overcome all worldly materialistic desires and negative thoughts.

 

Conventionally, the process of making diyas involves the use of clay. But with the passage of time, alternatives such as brass lamps and electric lamps have joined the race. Even though handmade diyas are for temporary use only, the traditional diya-making industry is still responsible for providing livelihood to many people involved in the pottery industry. The necessary materials like clay and various fuels are easily available in Indian rural or village areas.

 

Majorly, red and black soils are used to prepare diyas. Once found near the river banks, they are purified, dried, and mixed using water. The artisans prepare diyas using a potter's wheel. Once the clay pieces acquire the desired shapes, they are dried for about 2-3 days. Soon after, they are exposed to high temperatures for about 24 hours. This is done to add durability to diya samples. After being cooled for over a night, the entire batch is taken out of the kiln. Finally, to make diyas more visually appealing, the pottery artists use materials like beads and a variety of oil paints to decorate them. 

To know the process of making diyas in detail, refer to the article written by D'source.

Did you know that each type of oil used in diyas has its own significance and benefits! Oils like Sesame oil, Neem oil, Mustard oil, etc have been used to light up diyas since ancient periods.

 

For instance: Diyas containing Cow's Ghee are lit on all auspicious occasions. Diyas with Mustard Oil are renowned for their mesmerizing aroma and air purifying qualities. Since Neem Oil is a great insecticide, diyas with neem oil help to keep bugs and mosquitoes away. Lastly, a mixture of mustard oil, cow’s ghee, sesame oil, coconut oil, and mahua oil is used for diyas in the South-Indian temples.

To know the benefits of different types of oils while lighting diyas, be sure to read this quality article written by Devshoppe.

A huge advantage of Diyas over other light sources is that they are biodegradable, and can easily be recycled. However, the art of making diyas has declined over time due to the emergence of electrical alternatives. Diyas have always been an important part of the rich Indian culture. It is important that we protect this rich heritage.

 

One thing we can start with is sharing the significance of diyas with our children.

Through this blog post, we are going to learn how to draw a diya in 8 easy steps. So, get your child along and let’s have some fun! 

 

 

Materials required

Before we start, make sure to have the following items with you:

 

1) Pencil

2) Pen or marker 

3) A sheet of paper

4) Coloring items such as crayons, markers, pencil colors, etc.

 

Now, it's time to unleash our creativity. Let's begin!

 

Note: To ensure maximum clarity of concepts, we have included a step-by-step video guide to drawing a diya. 

 

 

Step 1 

We will begin by drawing the body of our diya. Our first step towards drawing our diya will be to draw an oval shape.

 

Step 2 

We have completed the first step. Our next step will be to split this shape into 2 halves. This can be done by drawing a thin ellipse in its middle. This will later give our diya drawing an awesome 3D look.

 

Step 3 

The shape that we have drawn so far does not resemble a diya yet. However, we are going to carve our masterpiece right out of it. We have already drawn the ellipse in the previous step. Now, all we need to do is to erase the portion of the oval shape that lies above the ellipse. 

 

Step 4 

Okay, here's a question. Does a diya look beautiful if it's not lit? Of course not! So, in this step of drawing the diya, we will draw the flame. To achieve this, let's draw a shape resembling a water drop. Observe the above image for more clarity.

 

Step 5

Our diya drawing looks pretty good so far, right? However, if we observe closely, there's a small issue. A portion of the diya's clay body is still visible behind the flame that we just drew. So, to make our art more neat and professional, let's erase this part. Take a look at the above image in case of any problems.

 

Step 6

 

Did you know that there are 2 portions in a flame? These are the outer and inner portions. So, to make our diya drawing realistic, we need to include the inner portion of the flame in our art as well.

 

For this, we will be repeating the previous step.

 

After the repetition, the size of the droplet shape will get slightly smaller than before. It's better to outline it with a yellow crayon or sketch pen. Once done correctly, we will get something that resembles the above image.

 

Step 7 

 

When it comes to decorating a diya, there is no limit. As you can see in the above image, we have used a combination of half circles and full circles in our drawing. However, art has no boundaries. Feel free to include any design that fits your liking.

 

Step 8 

 

Finally, the design of our diya is complete. Now, it's time to immerse our artistic diya drawing in the world of colors! Diwali is an occasion of happiness. So, let's use bright and vibrant colors. For the clay body of the diya, we have chosen brown, green, blue, and yellow. Additionally, we have colored the outer flame in bright yellow and the inner flame in orange.

 

Congratulations! Our diya drawing is finally complete. For more fun and exciting tutorials, click here. Team TalentGum wishes you and your family a happy and prosperous Diwali! 

 

TalentGum: Make your kid a talented painter…

On this auspicious occasion of Diwali, TalentGum invites you on an adventure filled with fun, learning, and colors!

 

We bring you specialized online Art and Craft classes where kids learn the fundamentals of Art and eventually move towards creating colorful artworks inspired by great artists like Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso. 

 

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your crayons and get ready for a learning experience full of excitement and fun! 

 

To book a free demo, click here.