12 Days of Zentangle
I have enjoyed working through the Zentangle Inc. Project Packs since #1 came out in November 2017. Some I finish with the founders, Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, and others get set aside for a later date when I have more time. I have however, finished most of them.
Can you believe we are already on Project Pack No. 25? It was released in early December 2024 and focused on the "drawing behind" technique. This technique, often referred to as “Hollibaugh” is a fundamental aspect of the Zentangle Method that enhances depth and dimension in artwork. This project pack is part of the annual "12 Days of Zentangle" series, where each day introduces a new lesson centered around this technique.
The project pack includes Sakura Micron pens, General’s watercolor pencils, and Zentangle tiles, providing artists with the tools needed to practice and refine the "drawing behind" technique. Everyone is encouraged to use what they have if needed. Each day's lesson is accompanied by a video tutorial, offering step-by-step guidance to participants.
PP25 Day #1- Julie Introduces Drawing Behind
Julie started with the General’s 555 pencil using it as a watercolor background for tangling with a white Gell Pen. Then we drew Hollibaugh and Doodah with shading and white highlights.
PP25 Day #2- Rick Roberts and Fengle
I broke from the traditional project pack materials with this tile and went for a grey tile with blue pen. Rick opened up Fengle so that we could see what was drawn behind.
PP25 Day #3- Molly and Martha with Spoken
One of my favorite Zentangle techniques is to use a tangle as the string and then tangle inside. That’s exactly what Molly and Martha did with this tile. We drew Spoken around a hexigon shape and then added some of the General’s 555 watercolor pencil to a couple of the spokes. Next we added tangles Verdigogh, Snail, Meer, Vega, Tripoli, and Zenith.
PP25 Day #4- Maria with Gordgeous
Gordgeous is an interesting design that can take on almost any shape. In this tile, Maria showed us how to increase the complexity by layering sections of Gorgeous stripes showing off her “Hollibaugh” skills. Fun!
PP25 Day #5- Martha and Molly with Foundabout
Foundabout is one of my favorites of the new tangles introduced at ZenAgain in 2022. This rendition added extra layers ensuring that we drew behind creating a full-bodied Phi tile.
PP25 Day #6- Maria shares drawing hidden behind
Maria surprised us with two concepts on these little Bijou tiles. She naturally drew behind in a hidden fashion as she has done many times before. We add a little bit of graphite where a crease or bump would appear due to a shape being underneath or behind the main structure.
Then Maria added opposite shading. That is, shading parts of the design at one end and the next part at the other end. I was first introduced to this shading technique by Lynn Mead at TangleU a few years ago. It makes for an interesting and mind bending effect.
PP25 Day #7- Molly and Martha’s Tripoli Variation
This turned out to be a fun design with lots of drawing behind and interesting shading.
PP25 Day #8- Julie’s Marasu and Hollibaugh
Marasu is one of my favorite tangles to use in Map Tangling and other larger designs. Julie does a nice job of finding a place for Hollibaugh to shine.
PP25 Day #9- Rick’s Flux
This day was by far my favorite with Rick Roberts leading the way with overlapping Flux shapes and Tipple as a fill-in. I couldn’t help adding a little color to the tile.
PP25 Day #10-Rick’s MI2 and Maria’s Pokeleaf
I don’t know that I would have thought to draw Pokeleaf this way, but it is now going to be a regular consideration in my tangle practice. Once again we used the opposite shading technique.
PP25 Day #11- Maria’s use of Ellish
This was an interesting way of drawing Ellish introducing lots of opportunity for shading in different ways. I loved the border technique!
PP25 Day #12- Maria’s Tassels
As the last project of the Project Pack, I found this to be a fun way to close the series with an upexpected shape showing off drawing behind. Maria mentions that she has lots of tassels in her house. This one would make a great drapery tassel.
In Conclusion
This was another great Project Pack from Zentangle Inc. A all the Project Pack are fabulous examples of valued techniques of the Zentangle method. I enjoyed this one particularly as it came during a time when I was in a Zentangle slump. Each day was a joy to complete and continue my video relationship with sweet people that I appreciate.
Please check out the free videos available on YouTube and give this one a try for yourself.
Nancy