A word about Zentangle® ““ It is a technique invented by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas; please click here to see the official Zentangle site to read and learn more about it.
What differentiates Zentangle from regular doodling is the style of the little drawings used in each piece you make.
While doodling is looser and can be described as any scribbles or drawings you make to fill a space, Zentangle is much more structured and Zentangle patterns are more specialized.
Zentangle has you following a specific method to create your artwork, and doodling is basically a free-for-all with no rules, specific materials, or steps.
I can so appreciate the explosive appeal of Zentangle as a way for people to enjoy making art where maybe they haven’t previously, or they want a bit more guidance.
Rick and Maria have taken doodling – something that many people have always just done naturally, and expanded on it to encourage people to push it further, and do it more, with intention.
Some Zentangle patterns follow certain steps and techniques to achieve, and I’m going to give you a repository of easy Zentangle patterns all the way up to more complicated ideas.
Supplies For Zentangle
What I love about the Zentangle method is its focus on relaxation, fun, and using high-quality art supplies.
Here are some of the materials that will make your Zentangle art sing:
Sakura Pigma Micron Pen Set, Black 6CT Set
Studio Series Artist’s Tiles: White (75 pack)Sakura Zentangle 12 Pc SetUni-Ball Signo Broad Point Gel Pen – White – Pack of 3Strathmore Artist Tiles, Coal Black 6Palomino Blackwing Pencils
Easy Zentangle Patterns for Beginners
My favorites are the easy patterns- complicated patterns can look cool, but I like the simplicity and relative mindlessness of drawing the more straightforward patterns.
I also love how you can make different variations on the same base pattern by shading or drawing in different areas.
In fact, if you jump down you will see 4 variations on the same beginning pattern! And! Also! You! Can! Download! My! Practice! Drawings! To! Color! In! Your! Own!
First up is my free pdf of tangle patterns you can download. This is definitely for beginners as I made it before I even really knew what Zentangle was. (Click on the image below to download a pdf.)
Nothing fancy here, just the patterns I thought looked cool when I saw them, and many of them I’ve used in this easy Zentangle project I encourage you to try.
Next up are these two pattern sheets I made, which you can also download by clicking on the images below.
You can print these out and hang them up where you tend to make art, or keep a binder or file of patterns for easy access.
Looking at these, I’m wondering if a few of them look harder than they are. I will work on making quick videos for a few of them but leave a comment below if there is a specific pattern you want to see.
A great way to get familiar with Zentangle patterns is to make your own sampler pages. You can fill in a gridded page, or pencil-draw some circles to tangle inside of using a stencil.
I made blank practice pages of my squares and circles in pattern groups 2 and 3 above, so feel free to download these blank pages right here.
Tips For Starting Out
- You will make mistakes. I make mistakes all the time, sometimes when I’m just finishing up an entire piece and I draw some wonky line that throws off the entire design. Options: Scan your drawing in, edit out the dumb line, print it out, and keep going. Or, just incorporate the wonky line right on into your drawing, and don’t sweat it.
- Try different pens. I used only Sharpies for the longest time. I still use Sharpies a ton, but when I want to use fancy art pens I choose Faber-Castell Pitt pens or Microns. Use what you like to use, and don’t worry about what everyone else on Instagram is using.
- When you’ve been working on a pattern for a while, and you start to go cross-eyed, take a short break, rest your eyeballs, stare at something out in the distance, stretch your fingers out, have a snack.
- If you’re nervous about whether or not a pattern will look good with your other patterns, remember this: tangling is very forgiving. Usually, if you end up not loving a pattern, it will be swallowed up by the look of the whole finished tangle. Meaning, you probably won’t even notice the hateful pattern when you’re finished with your entire project, because the tangles all sort of visually balance each other out.
Example:
In this Zentangle hand-drawing I made as part of these 3 hand drawing ideas, I loathed one pattern, but the finished drawing still looks cool.
Next Level Zentangle Patterns
Here are a bunch of beautiful Zentangle examples by people who have been working in this style for a while.
These are meant to be an inspiration- click through to see what else these people have made.
You can up your Zentangle game by learning some more intricate patterns through classes, Youtube, books, or other websites.
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Printable Pattern
Here. Download this pdf, print it out, and try your hand at shading in different areas to make the pattern look different.
I can’t get enough of this sort of stuff, which is why I made a whole book on drawing your own coloring pages. really, it’s a book full of showing you how to draw a bunch of cool patterns.
More Zentangle Pattern Resources
Zentangle Starter Pages
My first pack of tangle starter pages was selling so well I made a second pack, or you can buy the whole pack of 12 for a discount.
These are a fantastic way to practice your Zentangle patterns in some pre-made designs. Find them here.
Zentangle Pattern Videos
Zentangle Books
This first book is a must-buy for anyone interested in Zentangle. I have also included my book in the group: it’s half tangling for kids, half drawing games.
One Zentangle A Day: A 6-Week CourseThe Great Zentangle Book: Learn to Tangle with 101 Favorite PatternsJoy of ZentangleZentangle for KidsTangle Art and Drawing Games for KidsZentangle Basics, Expanded Workbook EditionZentangle Art TherapyZentanglePattern Play: a Zentangle Creativity Boost (Volume 1)Zentangle(R) Dingbatz
Zentangle Classes
- Zentangle 101: Learn to Tangle
- Zentangle 102: Basics and Beyond!
- Zentangle® 103: Creating Dimension with Layered Tangles
- Zentangle® 104 – Shading Zentangle
Find Tangle Starter Pages Here:
Original Tangle Starter PagesTangle Starter Pages Round 2Save Money With the Entire Dozen
Wanna see my finished masterpiece? I decided to make an extremely colorful tangle:
More Zentangle Ideas:
- Print the same design out for everyone to work on and see how different they look when they’re finished.
- Limit yourself to using just black to tangle, or maybe 2-3 colors.
- Tangle with a friend: you start one page, your friend starts another, then you switch pages after about 30 minutes.
- Print the starter pages out on heavy white card stock. Fill in the white spaces with watercolor or marker-color, and tangle over them after they dry.
- OMG, combine tangling and glitter! Fill in some shapes with glue, sprinkle glitter over them, and POW!
- After you finish tangling, seal your masterpiece with shiny Mod Podge.
- Kid craft: cut out tangled circles and Mod Podge both sides with a few coats to use as coasters! (Much better teacher gift than a bruised old apple.)
- Here’s another Zentangle project I came up with- a totally easy way to get kids tangling.
Even More Zentangle Ideas
- Zentangle animals – lots of beautiful inspiration here!
- More Zentangle Patterns inspiration here.
- Make a tangle bullseye here. It’s sort of like a mandala.
- Just for kids! Make a watercolor tangle rainbow.
- My book, Draw Your Own Damn Coloring Book, for easy directions to draw lots of cool coloring or tangle starters!
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