Color.
This was the first Zentangle that I ever used color on. I even used my markers to create the shading. I didn’t do another full color Zentangle until this year, because I really didn’t like the way this came out, at the time. It just seemed too alien for a Zentangle. Now, I don’t mind color and actually enjoy it once in a while!
Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen. Coloring done with Tombow markers.
Choices.
She realized, as her ship emerged from the gate that the choice was going to be almost impossible. Hard enough in a single universe, she now had a universe of universes to choose from!
This is the first time that I’ve used Derwent Graphtint pencils on a Zentangle. I like they way they add greyed tones without overwhelming the design.
Unfortunately, the silver of the ship’s structure doesn’t show up well in the image, but it’s really spectacular in person!
Update: This group has been cancelled because there are already so many different Zentangle groups on Facebook.
If you have been tangling for a while, I be there are tangles that you don’t like. Don’t worry, it happens to everyone!
There is a new group on Facebook that you can join that can help you to change a tangle you hate… into one you love. You can get tricks and tips for drawing them differently and enhancing them, or maybe using them in an entirely different way!
Island vacation.
She looked down, out of the window of the raised hut to the cobblestone path and imagined the adventures that were possible here.
This Zentangle had a life of it’s own and ended up nothing like it’s original conception! Once of the tangles that came out of the jar was Tuffit. I never know what to do with it, since it kind of looks like a cross between an alien space ship and sofa pillow. I decided to just play with it, rounding out the edges and drawing it in a different order. Then something possessed me to fill in the centers with perfs. Apparently they wanted to be some kind of exotic blooms!
We looked up at the ceiling and saw the fan, its blades moving slowly across the light. Blinking, bright, dim, bright, dim, it left us hypnotized on a lazy summer afternoon.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Antidots Betweed Crescent Moon C-Wing Footlites Nzeppel Orlique Printemps Tropicana
Shield.
She hid behind the shield and allowed the expression of art to speak her truth.
I found the shield shaped string to be an interesting challenge. I tried to arrange the random tangles so that they complemented the shape, making it the focal point.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Angel Fish Beadlines Bumper Fassett Raddox Shard Squill Yincut
Still blue.
A while back I tried a blue tile, but ran into a few problems. After a few tests, I decide to give it another shot. This is more like what I wanted!
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a blue Micron and a Cobalt Copic Multiliner pen. Shading done with colored pencils.
Tangles: Cool 'Sista Hibred Kandy Ribnz Lobella Rain
Reticulum.
Recently, Zentangle released a Kitchen Table video that featured using Tripoli as a Reticulum (as the underlying structure) and filling each section with a fragment. I chose Fragment G13 from the Primer. I have never liked Tripoli until now! But I will not discount it in the future. This gave me a really good understanding of Reticula and Fragments.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Dance floor.
Dressed up in his tux, with and fancy bow tie, he swept her gracefully across the dance floor as if in a dream.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black Micron pen, and warm gray and gray Copic Multiliner. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Boti Chard Echo Hurry Starmap
Garden view.
When I looked out of the window, I realized that all of the plants were bare stems and pods because of the hot days of Summer!
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Huggins Sedgling Squid
Golden ropes.
“I have stretched ropes from steeple to steeple; garlands from window to window; golden chains from star to star, and I dance.”
– Arthur Rimbaud
I had this idea to do ropes with loops at the top of the tile. It‘s simple, but it turned out to be slightly more complicated than I thought it would be.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite and colored pencil.
Intensity.
This almost looks like something you might see looking in a microscope. Although this Zentangle is very simple with only two tangles, it is also very complex with all of the layering that is happening. It took a while to do, but it was a lot of fun!
I ended up breaking the rule I set for myself (white paper, black pen, graphite pencil) by adding the lighter grey Printemps in the background. I didn‘t want the Ix bars to get lost into the background, so the higher contrast was needed. The blue appearing spirals are there because I picked up the wrong pen, and drew one… then I added more to make it look like it was deliberate.
Contrasts.
This tile has a very simple string. I decided that I would use the simplest, geometric tangle in the upper left area and then mirror two of the other tangles in the lower right. I put the most complex tangle in the middle section. I really like the end result!
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Ennies Finery Nekton Opus Patena
Purked up.
I had some problems with the Zentangle I posted last Friday. So, for the next week, I‘m dropping into tangling that is much more basic. I‘ll stick to white tiles, black in, and graphite pencil for the shading.
So here, Purk was one of the random tangles that came out of the jar. I decided that I woud draw two of them in the center of the tile, and then fill in the rest of the string with random tangles. This works!
Show time.
This tile was drawn from Eni Oken‘s tutorial for the Showgirl tangle. I have to confess, I had a lot of problems with this one. Showgirl isn‘t my favorite tangle to begin with, and I‘m not really happy with the way these came out. But after several false starts, I decided to persevere. I was kind of surprised that the end result is better than I thought it would be.
I heart.
The string for this tile started out as a heart. I then modified it a bit to fit in all of the random tangles for the day.
Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Afterglow Bamboo Bubbles Cadent Drupe Flux Poke-Root Quabog
Template.
If you look closely at the string I used for this tile, you‘ll see two vases. I traced around a vase-shaped template, reversing and overlapping it for the second shape.
Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Afterglow Flutter Juke Kandy Snakes Knase Knightsbridge Opus Pokeleaf Quipple Sproing Stiritup Umble
Around and around.
I ended up with a lot of tangles that were basically circular this time. But with a bit of careful placement, I think I managed to make them all play nice with each other!
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Apollonian Waves Caviar Crescent Wave Gewgle Nipa Punzel Scallops Strircles Tipple
Tangles can be used in various ways from filling a background to creating a focal point. Here, I wanted to use Onamato in a circular focal point so that it looked like a Southwestern beaded ornament. The ribbon behind it is the more “normal” way to use this tangle.
I tried to make the “beads” look like a version of turquoise with fool‘s gold inclusions and polished carnelian with a few gold beads in between.
Cream.
I like this simple Zentangle drawn on cream colored paper. However, it turned out that the pens bled a lot because of the high fiber content. So I guess I will have to keep on looking for a different brand of this color paper.
Zentangle drawn on BK Rives cream colored printmaking paper using red and black Pigma Micron pens.
Tangles: Bumpety Bump Fracas Kule Nzeppel Tipple