A look at 7 Different Circle Mazes; Create a Circular Maze template

I have made step by step instructions on how to make over 40 different maze types. And while I have made circle mazes before I wanted to explore what the shape would look like when done in different maze constructions. So today I am going to show you 7 different circle maze constructions then show you how to make a template to create your own circle mazes.

7 Different Circle Maze Constructions

1 - Kids Circle Maze

A circle maze that is meant to be easy, relatively obvious false pathways, and large fonts.

Kids Circle Maze

Kids Circle Maze

2 - Circle Grid Maze

While not a typical grid from on square or rectangle, I was able to make a circular grid and then use it to make a maze !

Circle Grid Maze

Circular Grid maze

3 - On Line Circle Maze

In this type of maze you travel ON the line rather than between them.

On Line Circle Maze

4 - Circle Escape Maze

In an escape maze you start in the center and need to escape to the goal outside of the maze.

Circle Escape Maze

5 - Large Circle Maze - Goal in question

In this version of an escape maze, there are multiple possible goals and the solver needs to figure out which one is correct !

Large Circle Maze

6 - Circle Arrow Maze

I am a big fan of Arrow Mazes and I wanted to try making a circular version. I think it came out ok, but getting the direction of the arrows just right can be difficult.

Circle Shaped Arrow Maze

7 - The Moon Maze

A maze art example of a circular shaped maze. This is meant to be printed on very large paper.

A maze of the moon of Earth

I may make more circular mazes in the future, and if I do I will add them here.


How To Create A Circular Maze Grid Template

This step by step will give you a template to make many different types of circular mazes digitally.

1 - Draw # Concentric Circles

The number of circles will obviously determine the size of the circle maze. One note - the center will probably become either the Start or Goal of the maze, so make sure it is large enough to hold the letters or arrow you will use for that. My example is 8 circles.

8 concentric circles

2 - Draw a Vertical Line Down the Center of the Circles from Top to Bottom

I made my vertical line the same thickness as the circles, but that is not required (I think it looks better).

8 concentric circles with vertical line drawn down center

3 - Copy and Paste the vertical line rotated at # degrees (repeat)

Again we have a # where you decide depending on how many grids you want. Luckily 360 degrees is divisible by 20, 30, 45, 60. See what the 4 options look like below (I like 30 degrees). You will copy/ rotate/paste until you fill the circle.

4 Circle Maze Grid Template section options

4 - Empty out the Center

The center is full of lines now, so now we want to cover them with a white circle. If the center is too small you can fix that now also. Make the white circle just slightly smaller than the circle you want to be the innermost. My example below uses the 30 degree version.

Circle Maze Template with 12 sections

You can now use that template to make a circular grid maze, a circular escape maze, etc.

You can invent your own maze types with some help from this 3 part guide:

Part 1 - Options for Starting and Ending a Maze

Part 2 - Maze Pathway options

Part 3 - Conditional Pathway options

Case Study #11 - Making Mazes with Shadows

If you are interested in maze design you have come to the right place. I have a series of case studies where I take mazes and try to improve them. Today I want to focus on a specific aspect that I think is rare for maze makers to use but seems to really improve how a maze looks, Shadows.

This topic has been seen in previous case studies (#1,#8,#9,#10) because once I started using shadows in my mazes, I found it hard to not use them because I think they make mazes look so much more realistic. In fact, when I look at mazes from a few years ago, I want to improve most of them. That is the advantage of being a digital maze artist - I can be like George Lucas with Star Wars and just keep tweaking things I don’t like from the past.


Why Shadows Make Mazes Better

I will be showing 2 options for a variety of my favorite mazes, one without shadows and one with shadows. In every case the shadows make the illustration/maze more interesting, typically by giving it more perceived depth on the page. I have set-up the galleries to transition between the 2 options for easy comparison !

Maze #1 - Museo Soumaya Maze

For this example I had to create a new version previously unseen, in color, but no shadows. The shadows give the building more shape !

Maze #2 - Heydar Aliyev Center
With such an interesting shape, this is much better with shadows !

Maze #3 - Templo de Sangre de Cristo Maze
Not as drastic a change as the mazes above, but still an improvement, especially in the nooks of the church.

Maze #4 - Lotus Temple Maze
I thought this wonderful building would make a nice maze, but when I finished it it seemed a bit bland. The shadows really help the petals of the building stand out and also show the doorway overhangs better.