Note: I had some trouble scanning this drawing because it is in a large-format sketchbook. The upper left isn’t really blurry. That was cause by the drawing page not being flat on the scanner. This Zentangle was created by my husband a little over 7 years ago. At the beginning of October, 2010, I gave all of my family members blank tiles and asked them each to draw a Zentangle for my birthday present.

Tiny details. This tile is a result of Eni Oken’s Tiny Details Lesson. This excellent video shows you exactly how to create and shade areas of a tile which include little, tiny detail drawings which can be a major challenge to shade! I love tiny drawing and repetitive patterns that are very close to each other. There is just something really soothing and satisfying about filling predefined areas with tangles like these, making this tile lots of fun to create.

Fractalized stars. Recently, Eni Oken added a lesson about fractalizing tangles to her Art Club members. It was a fantastic lesson and everyone had a lot of fun creating beautiful tiles. I decided to try Betweed for my tangle because it looks like a star to me, and I love anything having to do with stars! The “rule” I used was to draw a new, smaller Betweed in each space created by the original rendition.

From the Zentangle Primer: Lesson 2, page 45, Exercise 4. For this exercise, we were to use all the same tangles: Shattuck, Jetties and Bales, but use different shading. I think Amanda (above) did a fantastic job with this tile! I love that she used several tanglations: Bales, Hollibaugh, Florz, and Jetties! My favorite is her version of Bales. It has so much depth to it now! My artwork is above.

From the Zentangle Primer: Lesson 2, page 36. In this chapter, we are learning three new tangles: Bales, Jetties and Shattuck. For the first tile in this chapter, there are step-by-step instructions that tell you where to put each tangle and how to draw and shade it. I did make a few choices like drawing straight instead of curved lines for the Shattuck, and I chose to overlap my Jetties, rather than make them all touching.

From the Zentangle Primer: Exercise 2, page 33. For this tile, we were told to select two tangles and to alter or combine them to create a new tanglation. I chose to use Printemps and used it to create the strips for Hollibaugh. This ended up presenting a challenge, because it was difficult to distinguish edges where the strips crossed over each other. I ended up outlining each strip with a wider-nibbed pen to create stronger edges.

As I’m sure you’ve seen on various posts, I mostly use Strathmore Bristol Vellum as the paper for my tiles. Note: It’s important to understand that this is not thin, translucent vellum. “Bristol” is bristol board, a form of very thick paper. The word vellum, here, refers to the finish on the paper. The vellum finish has a slight tooth to it. Bristol board also comes in a smooth finish, which is very popular for illustration work.

From the Zentangle Primer: Exercise 1, page 33. For this exercise, we each had to create a Zentangle using the same tangles as the first. However, we were to shade them differently. Amanda’s artwork is above. You can see how she shaded around the outside of the central bobble which makes it appear more like it is floating above the tile. She also altered Printemps from her original style.

From the Zentangle Primer: Exercise 1, page 33. For this exercise, we were to create another Zentangle, using the same four tangles as the first tile. However, this time, we were instructed to shade each tangle differently. In addition to changing the shading, I also changed the style of each of the tangles. I chose to wrap Florz around a bobble and give it more of a 3D, or dimensional feel.

Fishing. We cast our net into the sea, searching for Ix to sell in the market. As we hauled the nets abord, we discovered a treasure trapped within. The Marasu was worth more than everything else in our nets, combined! This one, being so large, was probably worth even more than our ship! All of the fisher folk would share in this bounty when we reached the shore.

Halloween. All the goodies were ready, filling the bowl, nestled into the spider’s web. She waited on a bench by the door with the bowl in her lap. Would they come, dressed in outlandish garb? Or would they dance in the light of the fire and simply ignore her? This is a very simple tile, with only three tangles. But by overlapping and allowing various parts to grow outside of boundaries, the tangles take on a life of their own.

The Zentangle Primer. Our group has changed books. We originally wanted to use the Zentangle Primer, but we had to wait because Amanda did not have a copy. So, while we were waiting for hers to arrive, we have been using the One Zentangle a Day book. Amanda received her Primer on Saturday, so we have both been reading/rereading the Primer. Today’s post is from the Primer, Lesson 1, Your First Tile.

Wrapped up. This Zentangle is the result of two different Facebook posts. In one group, someone asked about shading a Zentangle that was drawn in blue ink. That got me to thinking about how I would handle the situation. So, for this tile, I’ve used blue ink. For the shading I used both colored pencil and graphite. I think the combination of the two allows for more dramatic depth than using the blue pencil alone.

Day 2. For this day, we are adding three new tangles to our repertoire: Fescu, Nekton and Knight’s Bridge. We were also instructed to practice making various strings. For Amanda’s tile above, as you can see, her string is much more complex than on Day 1. She also used areas of repeated tangles to tie everything together. Matthew did a wonderfully curvy string that gave him an interesting open space to fill with graceful Fescu!

Hapy Halloween. When I was creating this tile, I wanted to have bats flying in front of the moon. There was no tangle that even remotely looked like bats at the time, so I created one. Here’s the step-out: This was so many years ago, when I was first learning all about Zentangles. Now I know that this isn’t really a “tangle”, but I am still sharing it with you for your Halloween pleasure!