Zentangles – Taking it Up a Notch

I love to zentangle and it’s something I push pretty hard in all my art classes. See these posts for more information:

https://sharpenedpencilspoundedclay.com/2017/09/25/lines-lines-and-more-lines/

https://sharpenedpencilspoundedclay.com/2017/11/11/hands-are-still-a-hit/

https://sharpenedpencilspoundedclay.com/2017/06/22/bulletin-board-for-first-weeks-of-school/

So, imagine my surprise when I found a whole new world on YouTube called Zentangle challenges! If you search in YouTube under Zentangle you will find loads of videos. If you dig deeper, you will find videos like these:

Working backwards, I found out that Zentangle is now some sort of company or group. It’s called https://zentangle.com/

Uh… okay. Anyhoo, I guess they just finished their 12th year of zentangle projects calledd project packs. I am loving these videos and these challenges. They are bringing my drawings/doodlings to life. Zentangling is fun for me because it follows simple patterns. It gives you step by step instruction on making the tangles but you can develop them in any way you wish. For two days I immersed myself in the Project Pack 12. I didn’t do it as neatly as they did, but these are some of the examples.

After work one night, I doodled in my sketch book. I simply wanted to take what I had learned through these projects and apply it on my own to put it deeper into my memory.

It was so much fun. The tubes, the swirls ended up layering on top of each other in interesting ways. What else can I ask for than that. The reason I push zentangling so much is because it’s all about line and how lines work together to make shapes. You shade the shapes you get forms. Boom! The great thing about Project Pack Year 12 is that it not only focuses on the patterns, it focuses on the shading of the patterns so you can really make your doodles pop.

Please, please, please give this a go. It’s incredibly meditative and really helps you understand the basics of drawing. I am no expert, by far, but feel these exercises really help develop confidence and skills and can propel you in your artistic journey. I’m now giving Project Pack Year 11 a go. I guess you can say I am hooked.

Have fun, people, and stay safe in our new year!