Crazicards Crafty Blog

I just love to doodle, I doodle when I'm on the phone, I doodle when I am watching the TV, in fact I doodle where ever there is a piece of paper and I have a pen in my hand. It helps me to relax and it also helps me to focus.

I think everyone doodles at some point or another, did you ever scribble all over a page then colour in the resulting pattern with your crayons or felt tip pens when you were younger ? That's doodling too....

So what is Zentangle I hear you say, well basically Zentangle is a form of doodling. But instead of doodling nothing in Zentangle you doodle repetitive patterns to make beautiful pieces of art. And the beauty of Zentangle is that absolutely "anyone" can do it. Whether your 99 years old or 5 years old you can Zentangle.

It's fun and relaxing and you never get the same Zentangle twice unless you want to of course...

Zentangle is also an exciting form of art as you never know what you will end up with before you get started.

So what do you need to get started with your Zentangle?

Tools you will need: Good quality White card or paper, you can also use coloured card s you wish. And any fine liner pens, pencils, gel pens or felt tip pens you wish to use.

Not an extensive list of requirements at all really. There are absolutely "no" rules to Zentangle, it can be black and white or colour according to your own preference. And there are no set shapes or sizes. So you are basically free to do whatever you want.

How to get started


Start by drawing a basic shape onto your chosen card or paper stock using a fine liner or felt tip pen. Here I used a thick felt pen to draw my basic shape and create a contrast. You can draw free hand or use a shape to draw around. You could even stamp an image if you wanted to.

It might be a good idea to try out a few different patterns on a spare sheet of paper  before you get stuck into you first Zentangle. Here are a few ideas to get you started.



 By starting off with some simple lines you can make some fabulous 3D effects such as these. I'm no expert in this field and I have never had any lessons but these were very easy to draw.



Crossed straight lines can produce stunning chequered patterns and if you make the lines wavy you get a fabulous effect too.


I think the main thing to remember with Zentangle is that it doesn't have to be perfect and you can create any pattern that takes your fancy. The idea is to have fun with it.

Here's one I made for this blog entry. I started by drawing round a cereal bowl using the thick end of my Sharpie pen. After that I added a few wavy lines and started to build my patterns.



And after about half an hour this is the resulting Zentangle which incorporates swirls, spots, straight lines, zig zag lines, scallops and so much more.

It was so relaxing to do and the sense of achievement is great once you have finished and you step back to look at what you have created.

I can totally understand why people do them for fun and relaxation, you can pass away the hours without even noticing it.


Here are a few more that I have created whilst investigating Zentangle:





They aren't master pieces in any shape or form but I think they look great and really effective. If you want to see some fabulous pieces of art be sure to Google "Zentangle" or visit the Zentangle website. I am sure you will be as amazed as I was.


So that is the art of Zentangle I hope you will have fun trying it out and please feel free to send me photo's of your own creations, you can find my email address on my website under contact details.

Thanks for joining me and until next time Happy Crafting :O) x