Zonked!
Every so often, I get a wild idea to try something… and it ends up taking much longer, or being more complicated than I thought it would be. This layout is one of those.
I probably should have drawn the Zonked larger. But I wanted the scale to be small so that the mummy and bats wouldn’t get totally lost in the design.
However, I don’t think I’ll be drawing this tangle again for a while!
Whooo has the time?
Everyone who wants to make art, no matter your experience or education should make a little time each day to “just do it!” A tiny art journal is perfect because you can fill it quickly and the smaller size is less intimidating.
I wanted to create a layout with the feeling of the passage of time, and how we gain wisdom as we get older. So I chose these particular stamps with that in mind.
Today’s Inktober Zentangle prompt was TunnelVizion. I think this tangle makes a wonderful, creepy-cute critter that could be found on the Halloween forest floor!
Tangles drawn with purple, Sakura Pigma Micron pen. Watercolor was added to the background and each of the tangle elements. Colored pencil was used to give more dimension to the individual parts and a bit added to the background to intensify the green.
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On the first day of Spooktacular2019, I incorporated the Inktober Zentangle prompt, which was Printemps in my tiny art journal layout. Here, I used them to make the brightly colored foliage in the trees.
The tree trunks were stamped on the page, then the tangles were added. Watercolors were applied and the foreground was stamped. Additional watercolor was added to the background and foreground. Finally some colored pencil was used for shading, color and texture.
Yesterday, I showed you the cover of my tiny, Spooktacular2019, traveler's notebook . Today, I have the completed set for you. Above, you can see the set, closed, from the front and opening edge.
Right now, the inserts are blank inside. Today I will be beginning the artwork. The paper is from Bee Paper Company. It is from the spiral-bound, Super Deluxe Mixed Media book. I love this paper because it’s not too thick to use in a small book, but it holds up well to wet and dry mediums. Each insert has four, folded pieces of this paper and a decorative cover. This creates sixteen individual pages for art, or seven, double-page spreads. If used for spreads, there is a remaining front page for a table of contents and a last page that can be used various ways.
It’s almost time for the Spooktacular Anniversary on Facebook's Micro Art Journaling Group !
In honor of the occasion, I am making a new journal cover and inserts to use during the month of October.
The outside of the cover is a nice combination of fall colors with touch of sparkle.
The paper I used for the cover was blank on the reverse side, so I used various stamps to add color and texture to compliment the theme.
Most of the time, now days, I draw the “crazy” version of Nzeppel, rather than the “grid” version. So I thought I would do this for a change of pace.
I decided to add an internal aura to each bubble, just to provide some interest. That lead me to making the colored border.
Zentangle drawn on an Original, Zentangle Bijou tile using a black and a brown, Micron pen. Shading done with colored pencil. Border colored with Copic marker.
I liked yesterday's grid tangle tile so much, I decided to do it again!
I love the way Dex creates the illusion of depth in the paper. It’s as if you could enter one of the fragments and set up a room to sit and relax in.
Zentangle drawn on an Official, Zentangle Bijou tile using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Dex
It’s interesting how, as your Zentangle practice evolves, you sometimes veer away from grid-based tangles, preferring flowing, organic, individual elements.
Every so often, I feel an urge to return to those structured reticula, filled with repeated fragments. There’s something soothing about drawing them that fills you with peace and zen-flow.
For this small, Bijou tile, I chose Yincut. It is actually one of my favorites because of the overall look of the finished piece. It reminds me of an old-fashioned, lithographic print.
My second Aura Timeline tile!
You can read more about this project here. Zentangle drawn on Stonehenge White using a black, Micron pen.
How do you Aura?
Here you can see my first exploration of this basic, Zentangle technique.
Auras are a mainstay of tangling. We generally think of them as drawing a parallel line, a little bit away from a previous line or shape.
But did you know that they could be so much more? That they could actually be part of your overall design?
Follow along with Eni Oken’s Aura Timeline Lesson , and learn how to take auras from boring to beautiful!
Back to classic style! Random string with random tangles!
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Claws Crazy Nzeppel Flux Nexton Pods Pokeleaf Poke Root Sez Shard
A few days ago, I told you about the Bijou Raffle Game that Eni Oken introduced to the members of Art Club.
This lesson is also available to anyone as a stand-alone class on teachable.com ! So you don’t have to be an Art Club member to view it!
I’ve been working with it, and decided to add some of my own cards that weren’t included in the bundle. Some of these are from other classes and tutorials, some of them are prompts for unusual tangles (or ways of using tangle) and some of them are for using specialized tiles.
It’s interesting, when you create a monotangle, what meta patterns appear over the tile.
Here, because the basic tangle was executed across a triangular grid, circular, flower-like designs end up in the corners and sunken, shield-type shapes are offset across the tile!
I chose to add the lines to give the impression of screws in each small circle because I thought it would be more interesting and help break up the design a bit.
It an interesting thing about tangling. Sometimes, an idea doesn’t come out anything like you imagined it would. But it’s still interesting. Just different.
This is the first time I’ve tried this paper. It is fairly stiff and thick, and the surface doesn’t absorb and spread the ink like I thought it would.
It’s also a darker grey than I would have liked. But the darker color makes the pink ink pop!
It was graduation day for my Saturday morning tribe! They created tiles using Renaissance techniques.
I’m so honored that this group allowed me to start them off on their Zentangle adventures. I’m sure I’ll be seeing lots from them in the future!
Zentangle drawn on Official tan 3Z tiles using a black and brown, Micron pens. Shading done with graphite pencil. Highlights created with white chalk pencil.
Tangles: Festune Ravel Striping
Can’t think of what to tangle today? What do you do, when you get stuck?
You can always pull tangles, at random from your repertoire. But even that doesn’t always work out well or offer enough variation.
What if you want to stretch your skills further, or go beyond a standard tile?
Check out the latest offering from Eni Oken! The Bijou Raffle game is perfect!
As you can see, I’m combining the lesson Bijou tiles with my own. My pile contains strings, types of tiles, techniques, and lots of other goodies from all of Eni’s Art Club lessons and other things I’ve learned in my Zentangle practice over the years. I’ve even included things that I want to try, but never have.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a meditative Zentangle. I took the time for this one because I was having one of “those days”. The Zentangle method is a great technique for setting aside all of the outside world noise and just relaxing and drawing for a bit.
Give it a try!
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
A little over a year ago, I posted a tan, 3Z tile with this design . I was looking at it yesterday, and wondered what would happened if I used the same tangles and string, but in a different color?
Here, I’ve tried it in the colors of the Delft Delights tiles. It’s interesting how there are differences and similarities to the previous version!
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol 3Z-size tile, using several different blue, Micron pens. Shading and highlights done with colored pencil and gel pen.
I am not sure what I think about this. It didn’t come out like the picture I had in my mind when I started. On the other hand, I kind of like it. I may try this again, but slightly differently, or with a different tangle.
Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle Renaisannce tile using black, sepia and brown Micron pens and a white Gelly Roll pen. Shading done with graphite and colored pencils.