Zentangle Advice

[GreenVelvet]

I am intrigued by the idea of zentangles. If it's supposed to be so simple, I am reluctant to purchase an expensive kit. I have a blank journal that I'd like to play in for this, and it seems some fountain pens would be well suited to this.

 

I'm sure some FPN folks must use their pens for zentangles - any advice? Good how-to videos or blogs about the process? I'm curious; thanks in advance for any shared experience.

[Truppi327]

I had no idea that drawings like that had a name. "Zentangles" is such a good word. Seems to me that you don't really need a kit just some nice paper, pens, and inks - which are in no short supply amongst us pen nuts.

 

Reminds me a little of some of the artwork on "Drawing with a Squirrel" blog. I would look at some of Gentian's artwork on the site - the pen, paper, and ink used are normally listed. That may be a starting point to see what types of nibs and pens are good for the small repetitive lines that this art seems based around.

 

I'm feeling pretty inspired to doodle now. I'm no artist, but Zentangles are fun for all ages and skill levels!

 

Edited August 7, 2011 by Truppi327

[fiberdrunk]

This website has a bunch of their patterns indexed here.

[GhostShip Blue]

I've doodled in a similar way on and off for years - much like doodling of any variety, anything that makes marks will work. I've used Sharpies, ball points, roller balls, drafting pens and pencils. When I settled on fountain pens for my primary writing instrument, they became the weapon of choice. Exhibit A:

 

 

 

Still trying to track down a flexible #2 nib for my Noodler's pen because I think that would make some very interesting doodles.

 

Replaced placeholder text with image.

Edited August 7, 2011 by GhostShip Blue

[Tberry010]

I have been following the Zentangle threads for several months now and would like to go to the certification class but not very likely to happen. Meanwhile I have drawn 3 1/2 inch squares on all sorts of paper and have used all sorts of pens to make my Tangles. I tend to carry a few 3 x 5 cards and use the plain back. Good quality cards take FP ink well and are cheap!

I use asian fine or EF nibs and they do OK if they are very smooth, and I have used some very small roller balls and even pencils.

If you go to the site recommended above and also tune in to the official Zentangle blog you will find several other sites that have a lot of information.

Have fun!

[verlin22]

One way to begin is to find a class instructed by one of the Certified Zentangle Teachers. Usually, they will provide a small beginner kit at a nominal cost. The pens used in classes are .1 Micron pens, a fine point. From that experience, you can work with your fountain pen nibs to find one that will give you the desired effect.

 

Having had some experience with this art form, (Living with one of these "CZT's" one cannot not experiment with this art form.) I wrote a series of entries on my blog on my experiences. Zentangle or Doodles has been the most widely read one. You can find it on the following link.

 

Zentangle or Doodles

[watch_art]

i love these things!!

i've been doing these for a few years now - but i had some acquaintances in high school who did amazing work. mostly gross and gory stuff - as high school boys tend to do - but still neat to look at.

[Rita_K]

I find these doodles fun and relaxing to do. I usually find myself doing them when I can't get to sleep .

 

If you do a Google search I'm sure you will find plenty of information to get you started. People have been doing these for years so it makes me smile when I hear it being referred to as a new art form. I think the idea is similar to a mandala.

 

I don't have any personal experience with the kit but I'm sure you've seen what it contains. For that amount of money you could buy a lot of paper and ink.

 

My advice ? Experiment and have fun with it. I don't really think there's a right or wrong way to do it.

[jbb]

I Zentangle (doodle) daily. My favorite combo is onionskin paper with Sheaffer School pens inked in lots of colors.

[fncll]

Speaking from the lofty heights of one who has done not just one, but TWO, zentangles, I can say that you can pretty much do it any way you want. Get a pen you like and a small rectangle of paper. Though I am an FP nut (obviously), I find that I prefer fine soft-tip pens for zentangling. I can also say that it is all too easy to get caught up in getting just the right paper at just the right size and just the right pen(s) and forget to actually make anything :embarrassed_smile:

[ExcaliburZ]

oh, doodling.

[Chevalier]

I don't see why one can't experiment with this art form, or is it an "Art Form™"?

 

Hey guys, we should create our own art form, let's call it Doodledaadling (the creation of Doodledaadles with pens). We could assemble kits worth 10$ sold at something around 50$. Some of us could go to other forums, in order to start some viral marketing by telling people only our Doodledaadleteachers .... Oh hey, wait ... I think someone already did something like that.

Edited August 11, 2011 by Chevalier

[fncll]

Don't forget to write a book (or two) and create a successful therapeutic routine...

[Chevalier]

I simply couldn't resist because we talked about Zentangles a few weeks ago. I visited my old company (a PR and marketing company). Rick and Maria did an awesome job reinventing doodles and hyping them up with a therapeutic touch.

 

Meditative painting and doodling is nothing new, it's probably thousands of years old (Mandala, Knotwork, Sumi-e) and doing it on cards neither (Artist Trading Cards anyone?).

 

Don't take me wrong, Maria is the lady behind Pendragon Ink Limited too, and I wish her and Rick the best of luck. They should think about their marketing though, because people in Germany (and many other countries) are already going their own ways (completely).

 

I think I've been around German and Swiss people for too long. They are usually pretty queasy about this type of marketing, especially because they managed to get a copyright on meditative doodles. "Zentangle® is a registered trademark of Zentangle". Writing books about meditative doodling and even offering courses, without the Zentangle hype stuff (certified doodle teachers, aso.), might have helped a lot.

 

Go for Zentangles if you reap benefit from doing them.

Edited August 12, 2011 by Chevalier

[Rita_K]

I don't see why one can't experiment with this art form, or is it an "Art Form™"?

 

Hey guys, we should create our own art form, let's call it Doodledaadling (the creation of Doodledaadles with pens). We could assemble kits worth 10$ sold at something around 50$. Some of us could go to other forums, in order to start some viral marketing by telling people only our Doodledaadleteachers .... Oh hey, wait ... I think someone already did something like that.

+1

 

Thanks for a good laugh.

[verlin22]

“People do not remain neutral to seeing Zentangle art. Some are immediately dismissive, seeing the line drawings as little more than graffiti. Lifelong doodlers will see it as “what I have been doing for years”. Others, captured by the line drawings, remain with eyes fixed, not quite able to pull themselves from the art, not knowing what holds them to this art form. As a therapist, my surprise has been the strength of the emotional responses of many people, (including my own, at times), to these simple line drawings.”

from "Emotional Responses To Zentangle Art", posted July 14, 2010 on the “FromMyChair” blog.

 

This thread began with a simple question, simply asking for information on fountain pen use in Zentangle art. Subsequent postings to this thread begin to appear; written with much stronger emotional fervor.

 

Many of the Zentangle, “tangles” do appear to be derivatives of our cultural artifacts, and of nature. But also, as pointed out in a previous entry by 'Beak' in this thread, some of the tangles are reflective of symbols and art forms in ancient cultures around the world.

 

From this, I've drawn the conclusions that strength of the emotional responses to the Zentangle “tangles” seems to have come from an awakening of some primal/primitive emotional responses within people, responses not based in logic.

 

It does appear to me that the use of “Zentangle” as a registered trademark seems to elicit anger in some individuals as though someone had gotten a copyright on an ancient universal or religious symbol. I, still, as an observer of human nature, sit on the sidelines with fascination at these very strong responses. “What creates the intensity of these responses at each end of the continuum of emotions?”

[ylw]

Don't over-analyse stuff. It is just simple economics: people invent something that already exists and try to make money with it. Hardly anything new, very common practice. Not everybody likes that people are trying to make money out of everything, it is very capitalistic. You'll see the same discussion with aiding homeless people, alcoholics, etc.

 

Doodling is something you do without any specific patterns, rules, etc. whereas Zentangle seems to be a bit more bound to certain patterns and rules. Call it what you want but Zentangle doesn't seem very innovative. Just the same old thing with a new name, like a lot of management stuff.

 

As for the original question: use whatever you prefer when drawing something. People draw with every pen there is so I believe it all comes down to personal preference. You could even do it on an iPad or a Wacom tablet if you want to do it digitally. Picking what you want is part of the creative process, well, sort of

[Chevalier]

Interesting question. As said before, I might be a influenced too much by my social sphere, mostly (former) students of literature, germanistics, art, business economics/management and (last but certainly not least) philosophy/psychology. You see, a lot of strange people :roflmho:.

 

I developed an aversion to questionable copyrights and trademarks, like most native Germans I know. Sure, Maria and Rick created "Zentangles", but did they create anything new? The only reason to apply for a trademark (and copyright), in such a case, is to reserve rights on something, something people have done for thousands of years. There's nothing really new to protect, but they are pretty ambitious of leaving the impression it would be. They could have protected the therapeutical system (ok, this might even leave a worse impression), but they "protected" the Zentangle itself.

 

Ok, I might be too much of a critic, but those are things I learned to be sceptical about. Maria wrote that "Zentangles" are her child and I don't want to belittle her effort. I only have to object to the way it's marketed.

 

In Germany, they'd have power over the word Zentangle now, but nothing else would survive a lawsuit. The situation in the States might be a little different though. It's not necessary to cause harm with the trademark, the act of trademarking itself leaves a hostile impression .. it's *trademarked* and *copyrighted*.

 

Imagine what might have happened to art if the present copyrighting and trademarking system, and people messing around with them, would have been there 800 years ago! Copyrights and Trademarks are obstructing and preventing progress and advancement. It's already bad to have them in a context they *might* be needed, but copyrighting and trademarking art/meditation techniques, come on ...

 

I could have invented a "new" painting style, based on sumi-e (with copyright and the other stuff). This would have been a great way to ensure my income, but I don't want to know how much my Karma would have suffered this way. It reminds me of those people marketing their own kind of Buddhism or Kabbalah based nonsense, while leaving important parts out.

 

 

This ...

 

“People do not remain neutral to seeing Zentangle art. Some are immediately dismissive, seeing the line drawings as little more than graffiti. Lifelong doodlers will see it as “what I have been doing for years”. Others, captured by the line drawings, remain with eyes fixed, not quite able to pull themselves from the art, not knowing what holds them to this art form. As a therapist, my surprise has been the strength of the emotional responses of many people, (including my own, at times), to these simple line drawings.”

 

reminds me of a joke.

 

A curator talked well 30 minutes about a picture and ended with the line ..

 

 

What inspired you to do this piece of art mr. artist?

 

Art? My pen spilled ink all over my napkin!

 

 

 

People interrested in art are often weirder than the artists. Now we know it's already true for doodlers and their therapists.

Edited August 14, 2011 by Chevalier

[fncll]

I have no problem with the zentangle people, only that it leads some to think they need something special to do it or an external guide. Like all kinds of active meditation, sometimes the help is a help, but the only real secret is to do it, enjoy it, repeat

[professionaldilettante]

Lol. This is what people did in gradeschool through highschool to today, just to waste time. I didn't know that someone would ever be bold enough to make a whole philosophy from it. Funny how strange habits take wing...