What Is Zentangle?

Learn about the abstract pattern drawing style that will help you relax and refine your mark-making

The term Zentangle comes from the words 'zen' (the Buddhist meditative philosophy for balancing the mind) and 'tangle'. The goal of this art practice is to achieve calm.

It was developed as a concept in 2004 in the United States, from the minds of Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts. Zentangle is a style of drawing, mainly abstract, that uses repetitive patterns and represents an artistic method of relaxation for many.

What do you need to practice Zentangle?

The materials needed for this type of drawing are fineliner pens with various tips and paper strong enough to work on with ink. All you’ll need after that is to let your mind free!

It is not necessary to be able to draw to practice Zentangle. It usually consists of black ink on white paper, but some people add color to their designs by using colored markers, watercolors, pastels, or other mediums.

How do you create a Zentangle?

First, you’ll need to draw a line or a squiggle as a starting point for your Zentangle. From there, start to draw patterns around the squiggle, adding weight, intensity, and other details to the lines. The patterns can be repeated or different; you can combine lines, dots, geometrical shapes, and anything else you can think of.

It’s important to remember that there can be no mistakes in Zentangles, so do not use an eraser: all shapes are correct shapes! You can fill up the whole sheet or simply stop when you feel that the design is complete.

How can Zentangle help in your daily life?

Relaxation, reduced anxiety and stress, a better quality of sleep (especially if practiced before bedtime), increased creativity, and concentration are among the benefits of Zentangle. Spend as long as you wish on this practice and you’ll see how you’ll begin to clear up your mind and free your imagination.

Furthermore, you’ll feel a lot more comfortable practicing delicate mark-making, and this can be an excellent way to loosen up your hand for your everyday drawing. See below one of the exercises suggested by Puño (@puno) in his Domestika course Drawing for Beginners Level -1, as a warm-up to develop your drawing skills.

Examples of artists who use this style

We selected three creatives who incorporate this style of drawing in most of their work. They will no doubt inspire you to create your own designs.

Manali Bankar (@manalibankar.art)

This creative, based in India, incorporates color to her designs, mainly inspired by mandala art.

Mike Pethig (@macromicroart)

Based in New Zealand, this designer, after devoting his career to mural painting and art in large format, began to be interested in miniature drawing and created mandalas in ink.

Unconscious Art (@unconscious_art)

As their art name suggests, this artist is devoted to creating patterns that emerge naturally from the imagination. The pieces are mainly drawn in black ink, with few dashes of color.

English version by @acesarato

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