How to Draw a 3 Circuit Labyrinth

Drawing a classical 3 circuit labyrinth is both easy and fun once you learn the starting pattern and the rules of building the pathways. Follow this simple 5 step process and draw your own 3 circuit classical labyrinth. If you are more visual (or you are curious to watch) there is a 1 minute video at the end showing the process.

• Step 1: Draw the starting seed pattern.

The starting seed pattern is a plus sign with four dots in each of the four corners in the space apart from the lines to form pattern below.

3 Circuit Labyrinth starting seed pattern

PRO TIP: Start the pattern on the page in front of you slightly below center and left of center (perfecting this will come with practice). See the example showing your starting center vs. your ending center.

Labyrinth making tip

• Step 2: Connect the first arch (or draw the goal)

Draw a curved line from the top of the plus sign to the dot in the top right corner of the starting pattern. The top of the arch should peak halfway between those two points. This line will form what will become the goal of the labyrinth.

3 Circuit Labyrinth - Step 2 - Draw the Goal

• Step 3: Connect the next arch from the left

Draw a curved line from the left corner dot to the end point on the right side of the plus sign. Space the line an equal distance from the wall to the inside as you draw the curved line. Notice that you have moved one point to the left and connected that to the next point on the right. This theme will continue for almost all labyrinths you construct.

3 Circuit Labyrinth - Step 3 - Draw the next arch

• Step 4: Connect the next arch from the left

Draw a curved line from the end point of the left side of the plus sign around to the dot on the bottom right side of the pattern (Again, the next on the left to the next on the right). Space the line an equal distance from the wall to the inside as you draw the curved line.

3 Circuit Labyrinth - Step 4 - Draw the next arch

• Step 5: Connect the next arch from the left

Draw a curved line from the last remaining dot on the bottom left of the pattern around to the bottom point of the plus sign to complete the labyrinth (see the pattern ?). Space the line an equal distance from the wall to the inside as you draw the curved line.

3 Circuit Labyrinth - Step 5 - Draw the final arch

That does it. The final 3 circuit classical labyrinth after 5 easy steps !!! If you struggle along the way I suggest you watch the video below which contains a grid structure that may help.

Additional construction option: You have just made a right-handed classical labyrinth. To make a left-handed version change step 2 and connect your first arch to the left instead of the right, then continue reversing the steps and you will create the inverse version of the labyrinth !

3 circuit classical labyrinth

Notice where the starting pattern is in relation to final labyrinth, not centered, but towards the bottom left, both left of center and south of center.

Here is the quick video showing what we just learned from my YouTube channel ! Notice how the grid structure both guides and helps the construction. If you are wondering the vector graphic program I use in the video is Inkscape, which is open source and available for free to download and use.

A quick video showing the digital drawing of a 3 Circuit Classic Labyrinth

Other posts you may like:

How to make other labyrinth types HERE.

How to make over 40 different maze types HERE.

The 12 Best Maze and Labyrinth Movies Of All Time

The 8 best books about mazes, labyrinths and their history

The Name Maze Project

Every section of the Doyoumaze website has a story. Today I tell you about the Name maze section of the website. (If you are just interested in HOW to make a maze of your name, I have that covered.) I thought people would enjoy seeing their name in maze form - a kind of personalized maze. If you want to do this on your own click on the link above, otherwise we continue on… Maybe it was my time in corporate America but I think these mazes would look good on a cubicle wall. And they are fun to make. I also thought they would make a nice gift. Print out a friends name and write a note thanking them for being amazing (or maybe a-maze-ing). Now the story of how I went about actually making the name mazes. Here were the stages I went through:

Stage 1 - Names of my Close Friends and Family

Initially I started out as anyone would making my close friends and family members names. That got me to 6 mazes….ok maybe a few more,. Let’s say about 25 mazes. I added these to the website and felt pretty good. Now if they visited my website I had the important people done.

Stage 2 - The Ten Most Popular Male and Female Names

I did a quick search for the 10 most popular names for Men and Women. This is where I found out the Top 10 Men’s names in the United States represent 23% of all Men’s names ( James, John, Robert, Michael, William, David, Richard, Charles, Joseph, and Thomas) and for Women the Top 10 represent 10.7% of all Women’s names (Mary, Patricia, Linda, Barbara, Elizabeth, Jennifer, Maria, Susan, Margaret, Dorothy). I thought it was interesting that the Men’s name database has 1200 different names while the Women’s name database has 4,275 names !!! I later realized this was partly because men have more standard name spellings than women (like Katherine & Catherine & Katharine & Kathryn).

At this point I could display all maze name images directly on the website (and not the name listings you see today).

Stage 3 - My LinkedIn Connections Names

I have approximately 460 connections on LinkedIn. I thought it would be nice to make a maze for each connection. The best part about this project was that I got to think about each person as I made their maze. The people I have lost touch with. My old co-workers from previous jobs. I have to admit, this was a very rewarding project simply because of this process. This project added 302 more unique names to the maze name section. I would like to thank the following names for being popular among my connections:

Michael and Michelle - 8 connections each

Brian, Rachel and Rick - 6 connections each

David, Greg, Jason, Jennifer, Mary and Richard - 5 connections each

Now, if you ask me to connect on LinkedIn you’ll have a much better chance if you have a (short) common name. Website wise this is where I had to take down the pictures of each maze name and use the name listing version you see today. Because once you have so many names, if you want the page to load quickly lots of images is not helping anyone.

Stage 4 - Close variations of Existing Names

If I make Richard, it is easy to make Ricardo. Debbie became Deb. Douglas became Doug. Frank became Fran. etc. Close variations added about 100 more name mazes to the portfolio.

Stage 5 - Top 100 Male/Female Names

I decided that with so many names done I wanted to see how many of the top 100 Men’s/Women’s names I had already mazed. The answer was 134. Since there were only 66 more names (out of the 200 names) that needed to be made I went ahead and finished all of them.

Stage 6 - Top 200 Male/Female Names

Well, I might as well keep going right……I added 132 more names (out of the 200) when this was complete. As I finished this up I found these statistics about how many US names I had covered with the project:

The top 200 Male names represent 72.5% of men’s names.

The top 200 Female names represent 58.2% of women’s names.

Plus I have 262 names not in the top 200 from the previous Stages 1-4. So I think I’m pretty well covered as a % of total US names. The final tally of name mazes ended up being 662…and growing. If you have a name I have not done yet, you can always request it here.

UPDATE:

Stage 7 - Top 300 Male /Female Names

I researched the next 200 overall names (thru #300) and I already had 52 of them on the site. That leaves 148 to make if I take this on, names like Agnes and Cecil. I completed this and along the way added in a few other similar names…+164 names…new total 826 !!!

Stage 8 - Regional names page - “The Land”

I decided to create a Cleveland names page. This added 57 additional names to the project, including some unique ones that everyone knows like LeBron, Kyrie, Zydrunas, Halle, Stipe, Urban, and Dolph. This is the first time I used colors other than black and white for these special edition name mazes. New total 883.

Stage 9 - Top European names

I went with Europe since they have names most closely related to our own but with nice variety. I used the top 10 lists I found online for Europe by country for both men and women. Not every name was done but this did add 161 new names and I broke the 1,000 barrier. You can thank Turkey for Zeynep and Slovenia for Zala. New total 1,044.

Stage 10 - Top Americas and Oceanic names

Kept with the International theme but felt like I needed to break it into parts. Again, like Europe I did not do every name in each top 10, just the most recognizable and any that appeared in multiple countries. I was very happy to add my first X name thanks to Mexico, Ximena. Haiti brought us Widelene and Peru gave us Milagros. I added 94 with this project. New total 1,138.

Stage 11 - Top African Names

I learned that South Africa has a thing for names like Blessing, Prince, Princess, and Faith. Also was able to add 4 “Y” names to the 6 I already had and another Z name. Overall Africa brought an additional 74 names. New total 1,212.

Stage 11.1 - National Bubba Day

National Bubba Day June 2nd meant an addition to the list, +1. New Total 1,213.

Stage 12 - Male names from Asia

Asia has such a wide variety of names I had to split it by gender. A mix of traditionally Muslim, Jewish and Asian names made this section varied as there was very little overlap between countries. There is also less overlap with traditional Christian names already on the site. We can thank China for short names like An, De and Yi. Our new first name alphabetically Aarav comes from India. Shout out to Pakistan for Zahid. And more “Y” Names, +6 from 10 before. Overall I added 126 additional names . New total 1.339.

Stage 13 - Female names from Asia

The second half of Asia added 108 new names. This included 2 Q’s, 5 X’s, 8 Y’s and 4 Z’s. I also added 13 names with dashes in them. Most of these names are ones I was unfamiliar with and they are all top ten in Asian countries….can’t imagine what an uncommon name is !!!! New total 1,447.

Stage 14 - Names from Movies

In an experiment to find more names to add to the website I decided to use the character names from movies I was watching until I generated at least 50 new names. I wondered how many movies I would need to watch before I hit 50. The answer was 24 movies !! Here are the movies I watched and the names that came from them:

The Sons of Katie Elder (1965). The Western starring John Wayne and Dean Martin brought us the names Bud, and Curley. And yes, at some point Curley was a given name, not a nickname.

Big Jake (1971). Another John Wayne western. More nicknames that were once given names - Pop and Buck.

The Gunfighter (1950). Gregory Peck Western about a gunfighter who isn’t looking for trouble, but always seems to find it. Names: Hunt and August.

The Westerner (1940). Western starring Gary Cooper that deals with homesteaders in the early days of the West. Names: Cole, Hod and Shad.

Lonely Are The Brave (1962). Kirk Douglas and Walter Matthau western. Names: Morey and Hinton.

High Sierra (1941). Humphrey Bogart is a gangster just out of prison doing what he knows best. Names: Red and Doc.

The Defiant Ones (1958). Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are escaped convicts on the run. Name - Angus.

Days of Wine and Roses (1962). Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick. Great drama film about an alcoholic marriage. 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. New names were Kirsten, Ellis, Rad and Dottie.

Night of The Iguana (1964). Richard Burton and Ava Gardner star in this John Huston drama that brought us the name Hank.

They Shoot Horses Don’t They (1969). Jane Fonda stars in this drama about a dance marathon contest during the Depression. Names: Rollo and Shirl.

A Woman is a Woman (1961). Jean Luc-Godard comedy starring Anna Karina. Name: Emile

Bloody Sunday (2002). Historical drama about the Irish protest that resulted in a massacre by British troops. Names: Eamonn, Bernadette and Gerry.

Lovers of The Arctic Circle (1998). Finnish movie about a mystery and a romance. Names: Alvaro and Aki.

Tyrannosaur (2011). UK film about a violent man searching for redemption. Name: Gurav.

Dark Places (2015). Charlize Theron stars in this drama/mystery film that generated a surprising 7 names: LIbby, Lyle, Diondra, Trey, Debby, Magda and Runner. I also added Dion from Diondra.

Reign of the Supermen (2019). Some animated DC Comics Superman. This was an easy way to get the names Lex, Clark and Dabney.

The Commitments (1991). Alan Parker movie about starting a band in Dublin, Ireland. Names: Imelda and Mickah.

Three Identical Strangers (2018). Documentary about identical triplets that were split up at birth unbeknownst to them. Names: Hedy, Elliot, Eddy, and Mort.

O Lucky Man ! (1973). Malcolm McDowell is a naive salesmen. Names: Mick and Monty.

Secondhand Lions (2003). Michael Caine, Robert Duvall and Haley Joel Osmant star in this drama/comedy about a boy spending the Summer with his 2 wierd uncles. Names: Garth and Hub.

Missing (1982). Outstanding political drama starring Jack Lemmon. 0 names.

Suddenly Last Summer (1959). Elizabeth Taylor and Katherine Hepburn star in this drama/mystery. 0 names.

Seconds (1966). John Frankenheimer Sci-Fi flic starring Rock Hudson. Great premise, nice movie, 0 names.

Adam’s Rib (1949). Comedy Romance starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. This is the movie that got me to over 50 new names !! Names: Kip, Beryl and Olympia.

So what is next for name mazes ? What is Stage 15 ? Here are the options I am considering:

1. The next 100 names for men/women

I need to research the next 200 overall names, 100 from each gender (both thru #400). Hopefully a nice number of them are covered already on the site.

2. MORE Top international names

Keep with International by doing the most popular names in the world.

3. More regional names like the Cleveland section

4. The uncommon letters

Search out names that start with uncommon letters like U, Q, X, Y, and Z

5. Maze the names of everyone I meet in a day

6. Pick a random sports roster and maze all names

Wondering what happened ? Well here’s my next name maze project update !

Have an idea you’d like to see ? Let me know in the comments.

Other posts you may like:

What I use to make my mazes

10 Places Where you can Buy Spectacular Maze Art

The Surprising Benefits of Solving Mazes

Before the Mazes

Also known as Before the Mazes - What I Drew.

Some of my first mazes were hand drawn in 9 x 12 Artist’s Sketch pads, but these sketches did not start with mazes initially. I filled the blank pages of the sketch pads with drawings of all types. Pencil drawings of faces. Pen and marker drawings of objects. I experimented with many types looks and techniques. 90% of it was terrible, but 20% of it was interesting, ok maybe 10%. I tended to draw minimal designs with lots of spaces and when I found a look I liked I would use it multiple times. Let’s look at a few of the initial drawings.

The Unplugged Head. I used pencil to fill a head with thoughts (difficult to see on the scan) and gave it a electrical outlet plug on the back of the neck. The eye you see is in a state of hypnotization. I have always had a problem with Lemmings, not the game, that was great. The followers. This was probably done one day as I was thinking about that. In high school I bought fabric paint and drew this on a white t-shirt that became my favorite thing to wear, because, high school ?

I then started drawing faces made of 1-3 colors drawn with markers, heavily spaced and made of think lines like these. I made dozens of these. I tried to give personalities to faces with drawing them in interesting, happy colors.

My next branch led to keeping the colors, but allowing myself to use new line shapes to build more interesting characters. Things were still a bit weird, but I enjoyed spending my time filling large sketch pads with these concepts. Looking back, I always used white space as part of the images. Below are The Native American, Piano Man, and Gee Shucks.

I must have bought some colored pencils or the markers started to dry out, because the next set of drawings were all in colored pencil. Let’s call these Awkward Mosaic and Abstract Happy Face. I did these until I moved on to black and white drawings of faces closer to the ones above. Those are so terrible they will not be posted here.

I have no idea what I was thinking when I drew most of these things, like Awkward in Pajamas below. I do like the right arm bent positioning of the character as they give the gazer a feeling of “What do you think you are looking at?” (exactly they say to themselves).

Eventually I started drawing cartoons and mini comic strips. I created an alien character that I named Oscar. Oscar, or O.S.C.A.R. of course standing for….I have no idea but the A would be Alien. I must have been inspired by Alf or Third Rock From The Sun because I would put the alien in everyday situations. Eventually those aliens became mazes…which you can read about here !

So that’s how I started drawing. Check out my About Page for more information.

Other posts you may like:

What I use to make my mazes

10 Places Where you can Buy Spectacular Maze Art

The Surprising Benefits of Solving Mazes

Quotes About Mazes and Labyrinths

Quotes about Mazes and Labyrinths

Maze quotes:

“Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.” - Buddha

“I have a theory that when you're lost on the path, go back to the beginning and try the maze again.” - Amanda Seales

“Society bristles with enigmas which look hard to solve. It is a perfect maze of intrigue.” - Honore de Blazac

“You're this rat in the American maze, working your way towards the cheese, which is a job.” - Kevin Costner

“You can choose to live your life as a maze or a labyrinth - a maze with its confusions, wrong turns, dead ends and false hopes, or a labyrinth with its many turnings, but none of them wrong, a path with sure and certain knowledge of reaching and experiencing the center, home.”

-Rev Dr. Carole Ann Camp (Labyrinths from the Outside In)

“Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley”

- A.J. Cronin

“Perhaps we should stop telling people that they are simply mice, chasing cheese, in someone else’s maze”

“What happens in a maze is beyond your control. What you can control is your reaction.”

“In the maze, there is only pursuit”

“Those who had designed the maze had done so for their own benefit and for their own purposes.

- Deepak Malhotra, I Moved Your Cheese

“I'm not dying in a f**king rat maze!”

- Quenten (character in the movie Cube)

“The maze is a symbol of life…happiness, sadness…and you reach your goal…there’s a dream there, and you reach that dream when you get to the middle of the maze…that’s how I was told, my grandparents told me that’s how the maze is.”

- Alfreda Antone, from Tohono O’odham tribe speaking abut The Man in the Maze

“Although most of us acknowledge the desirability of labyrinths, when it come down to it, we generally see our lives as mazes, not labyrinths”

:”In a maze we lose ourselves, in a labyrinth we find ourselves”

- Jill Kimberly Hartwell Geoffrion, Living The Labyrinth

“Mazes are for those who want to tune in to their innate sense of curiosity. Mediatate, learn, and reconnect with your sense of fun.”

Julie E Bounford, The Curious History of Mazes

"The maze is all around us, every choice we make, every turn we take, every path we follow."

- Christopher Paolini, Eragon

“La mente es un labrinto en el que cualquiera puede perderse” OR in English : “The mind is a labyrinth (used like maze) in which anyone can get lost”

- Atrociuos (2010) movie

"Life is a maze. There are many paths to take, but only one leads to your destination." - Unknown

"The maze is a symbol of the journey of life. It is a series of challenges that we must overcome in order to reach our destination." - Unknown

"The maze is a metaphor for the human condition. We are all lost in a maze, trying to find our way out." - Unknown

"The maze is a challenge, but it is also a journey of self-discovery. As we walk through the maze, we learn more about ourselves and our strengths." - Unknown

"The maze is a reminder that we are not alone. Others have walked this path before us, and they can help us find our way." - Unknown

"The maze is a symbol of hope. It shows us that there is always a way out, even when things seem hopeless." - Unknown

"The maze is a place of discovery. As we explore the maze, we find new things about ourselves and the world around us." - Unknown

"The maze is a place of both danger and opportunity. We must be careful not to get lost, but we must also be open to new experiences." - Unknown

"The maze is a place of transformation. As we walk through the maze, we are changed by the experience." - Unknown

Labyrinth Quotes:

“He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life.”
- Victor Hugo

"So, the Labyrinth is a piece of cake, is it? Well, let's see how you deal with this little slice..."

“You have thirteen hours in which to solve the labyrinth, before your baby brother becomes one of us... forever.”

“Tell me Sarah, what do you think of my labyrinth?”

-The Goblin King (David Bowie), from The Labyrinth

“With a labyrinth, you make a choice to go in - and once you've chosen, around and around you go. But you always find your way to the center.”
- Jeff Bridges

“The labyrinth is a vibrant flowerbed of creation and the perfect place to plant seeds for the future.”

- Lea Goode Harris, PH.D

“The labyrinth was designed by an intelligence we cannot fully understand. But this much I do know. The labyrinth is truly a tool for transformation”

-Lauren Artress, Walking a Sacred Path

“A labyrinth is not a maze. A maze is designed for you to lose your way; a labyrinth is designed for you to find your way”

-Lauren Artress, Foreword to Praying The Labyrinth

“Be open and follow, the labyrinth will take you places you don’t expect to go”

“They [Labyrinths] are symbols, spiritual tools, mathematical images, harmonic patterns, pathways of discovery, playgrounds of prayer.”

“ A BEAUTIFUL SPRITUAL TOOL has captured my attention and my heart. The labyrinth is its name.”

- Jill Kimberly Hartwell Geoffrion, Praying The Labyrinth

“The labyrinth may offer gifts that are not immediately obvious”

“Labyrinths,… provide a wonderful haven where questions can be welcomed, honored, and explored”

- Jill Kimberly Hartwell Geoffrion, Pondering The Labyrinth

“Thou mayst not wander in that labyrinth; There Minotaurs and ugly treasons lurk”

- William Shakespeare, from Henry IV Part One

“The labyrinth as a whole is a symbol of any things, and primarily it is a symbol of wholeness, oneness, your journey in life, and the interconnectedness of all of existence”

-Tony Christie, Labyrinth:Your Path to Self-Discovery

“The labyrinth is a material manifestation of a collective unconscious, of a message sent forth into the beyond.”

-Jacques Attali, The Labyrinth in Culture and Society

“All that is really required in walking the labyrinth is to show up, place one foot in front of the other, and breathe”

-Melissa Gayle West, Exploring the Labyrinth: A Guide for Healing and Spiritual Growth

“Labyrinths are entrances to new phases of life”

-Uwe Wolff, from Mazes & Labyrinths (by Hohmuth)

“Stepping onto a labyrinth isn't normally associated with moving from one phase of life to another, but I do believe every walk involves acknowledging the possibility that you will be changed in some way, even if this may not immediately be apparent”

“Walking a labyrinth is often described as being a ‘metaphor for life’, in that we don’t know who might meet along our path, nor what experience we might enjoy”

“The labyrinth is accepting and embracing of all”

- Clive Johnson (from the book Labyrinth A - Omega)

“Recovering past life experiences is analogous to walking a labyrinth. You begin at an entry point, you walk in a weave back and forth until you arrive near the center, then back and forth outward again, then return in weaving toward the center again and backwards out again, until you finally arrive at the center. This center can represent the Self at the center of our being”

- Kathy Bornino from A Labyrinth of Lifetimes

“Well, the only way out of here is to try one of these doors! One of them leads to the castle at the end of the labyrinth, and the other one leads to... Ba-baba-BOOM! Certain DEATH!”

• Guards conversation from The Labyrinth movie

“The labyrinth is a universally imprinted archetype or theme illustrating our life’s journey towards spiritual development and completion”

“We can make choices about how we walk the labyrinth in the same way that we make choices about how we experience life.”

- Liz Simpson, The History of the Labyrinth

“How now Thersites? What, lost in the Labyrinth of thy furie?”

- William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida

“Does the imagination dwell the most, Upon a woman won or woman lost? If on the lost, admit you turned aside, From a great labyrinth out of pride”

- W.B. Yeats

“The Labyrinth. A Path to your deepest wisdom.”

- www.veriditas.org/

“When you allow yourself to be who you truly are and not whom everyone else believes you should be, then you find your true self, hiding in the centre of the labyrinth formed by society’s lies encircling your essence”

- Rei , The Labyrinth: Rewiring The Nodes In The Maze Of Your Mind

“The chronicle of the labyrinth, and more recently, the maze, spans the past four thousand years, taking many twists and turns”

- Julie E Bounford, The Curious History of Mazes

"The labyrinth is a metaphor for the human psyche, with its many layers and hidden passages. It is a place of self-discovery and transformation." - Unknown

"The labyrinth is a place of peace and tranquility, where one can find solace and reflection." - Unknown

"The labyrinth is a place of mystery and magic, where anything is possible." - Unknown

"The labyrinth is a place of connection, where one can feel at one with oneself, with others, and with the universe." - Unknown

Quotes that fit doing a maze:

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”
- Greg Anderson

”By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.”
- Christopher Columbus

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
- Thomas Edison

“The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace.”

 –Thich Nhat Hanh

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

-J.R.R. Tolkien

“There is no right or wrong path. There is only the path that you choose. Whatever you choose, there will be many opportunities for you to grow and expand”

- Quan Yin

“Well, when one's lost, I suppose it's good advice to stay where you are, until someone finds you. But who'd ever think to look for me here?”

- Alice (from Alice in Wonderland)

“Instead of searching for what you do not have, Find out what it is you have never lost.”

- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That

“Do you maze ?” - Me

More posts you may like:

The 10 Most Famous Labyrinths from Around the World

Discovering 7 of the World's Most Interesting Mazes

What I learned using AI to make maze art