Inktober has ended, but you can complete my Inktober Zentangle tutorials unofficial prompt list any time and at any pace you want.
(Update: I’m not doing Inktober this year, but there are several CZTs you can follow on YouTube!)
In keeping with the spirit of Inktober and the Zentangle method, I encourage you to use and share these prompts however you like. To watch all 31 of my Inktober Zentangle tutorials, watch my complete YouTube Inktober Zentangles 2020 playlist or click on the individual videos below.
Materials
These are some of the supplies I used for my Inktober Zentangle tutorials. More detailed lists can be found on YouTube under individual video descriptions.
Zentangle Tutorials
Day 1: Easy Zentangle Patterns for Beginners – Inspired by Project Pack No. 11
The wonderful people at Zentangle HQ create project packs a few times a year with accompanying Zentangle tutorials. If you want to learn more about the Inspiration for this Zentangle using phi proportions, be sure to see the official instructional videos for Project Pack 11.
Day 2: How to Draw Zentangle Pattern Khala
This pattern is a stunning variation on Celtic knots created by Zen Linea. I’m still learning to draw it confidently and find that starting with a pencil sketch is a good idea. I would recommend this Zentangle pattern for intermediate to advanced Zentangle fans.
Day 3: Easy Zentangle Pattern for Beginners: Huggins
Huggins is a fun tangle pattern drawn by constructing a grid out of dots. It’s an easy pattern that can be embellished as much or as little as you like. The variation Crazy Huggins follows the same steps, but the dots are placed more randomly instead of on an evenly spaced grid.
Day 4: How to Draw a Zentangle Gem
Incorporating colorful gems into Zentangles is so much fun and adds a lot of dimension to your art. The gem in the video was colored using a basic set of colored pencils. Higher-quality pencils, however, are typically easier to blend and would allow for an even smoother result.
Day 5: Easy Zentangle Art Inspired by Home
Patterns are everywhere from wallpaper and pottery to fabric and ferns. But this prompt could inspire so much more than trying to recreate an existing pattern. I decided to use the design on a piece of heirloom furniture as the string for this meditative Zentangle art.
Day 6: Subversive Cross-Stich Inspired Zentangle
If you’re just getting to know me, I should probably tell you that I am a HUGE fan of subversive cross-stitch sayings. I borrowed the saying “Maybe Swearing Will Help” from a picture I found on Pinterest. What can I say? Swearing speaks to me.
Day 7: How to Draw a Zentangle Heart
Switched up my materials today and grabbed an alcohol marker, a purple Micron, and a purple Gelly Roll pen from the Moonlight set for this super easy to draw Zentangle Heart. Of course, I couldn’t draw anything until my cat Izzy rolled around on my desk for a few minutes first.
Day 8: Zentangle Art Illuminated Letter
When I chose this prompt for myself, I had illuminated letters in mind, like the ones Zentangle founder Maria Thomas creates. I didn’t have any metallic media to use at the time I created this Zentangle, so it’s colored with alcohol markers instead.
Day 9: Zentangle Art Inspired by Delftware
The first time I saw someone working with the blue inks in Project Pack 7, I immediately thought of Delftware. But you don’t necessarily have to try to copy a Delft pattern for today’s prompt or even use blue ink. Just a friendly reminder to use these prompts as inspiration, not necessarily as rules or specific assignments. You do you, baby!
Day 10: How to Draw Zentangle Border Pattern Coil Around a Circle
Lots of Zentangle patterns lend themselves to being used as a border and many of those border patterns are excellent for using as circle borders specifically. Or they could also be used as the edge of a Zendala or drawn within inside rows too..
Day 11: More Easy Zentangle Patterns for Beginners
In this video, I fill an entire page in my sketchbook from edge-to-edge with some basic Zentangles. I drew in a pencil string first to divide the page into smaller sections, but there was no pre-planned composition. I just drew whatever I felt like.
Day 12: How to Draw Organic Zentangle Patterns
Organic Zentangle patterns tend to be my favorites. In this Zentangle tutorial video you can see step by step how I created this mosaic-style tangle by outlining a Bijou tile and using flower pattern Henna Drum.
Day 13: How to Draw Zentangle Patterns Cubine and Zonked
When I’m drawing geometric Zentangle patterns it’s easy to get into a rhythm and zone out for some relaxing tangle practice. These two grid-based patterns aren’t difficult to draw, but they do take a little time and help me settle into drawing when I need pleasant distraction.
Day 14: Zentangle Pattern Crescent Moon with Louise Belcher Fan Art
Today’s Inktober Zentangle prompt was “fan art”. I today’s tangle is a little light on the Zentangle, but once I finished learning how to draw Louise from Bob’s Burgers, I almost didn’t want to add a single thing to the page!
Day 15: How to Draw Zentangle “Holes”
For the prompt “holes” I used an alcohol marker plus a graphite pencil and tortillon for shading to make circles that look like three-dimensional holes in the sketchbook paper.
Day 16: Combining Easy Zentangle Patterns with Stickers
I don’t know about you, but I have a ton of fun stickers. I plan to use them directly in my art for today’s prompt but you could also make Zentangle stickers.
Day 17: Easy Zentangle Inspired Art
Zentangle art can be used to fill larger objects and scenes. Although basic shapes make up most of the composition here, you will find the Zentangle patterns Printemps and Yincut easily.
Day 18: How to Draw Zentangle Pattern B’tweed
A monotangle makes use of a single pattern. I have divided a circle into eight parts and used B’tweed in all of them and created a Zentangle that looks spherical after it’s shaded.
Day 19: How to Draw an Offset Zentangle Zendala
For today’s prompt, which is “Zendala” I wanted to draw a Zentangle that was different from what I usuallly do. So instead of using concentric circles that share the same center point for my string, I decided to do an offset Zendala.
Day 20: Easy Zentangle Art with Metallic Watercolors
I drew and painted some basic fall leaves and added couple of Zentangle patterns to create a simple drawing with an autumn feel.
Day 21: Easy Zentangle Patterns from the Zentangle Legend
The L5 spread of the Zentangle Legend booklet features 20 of Zentangle’s original patterns. I used the 20-sided die that comes in the project pack to randomly choose patterns Xircus, Poke Root, Keeko, and Hollibaugh.
Day 22: Zentangle Inspired Meditative Art
Today’s prompt was “Grid” but I wasn’t really feeling like drawing the same exact square a dozen times. I decided to explore changing the grid size in different sections, which turned out to be a lot of fun.
Day 23: Black and White Zentangle with India Ink
I painted on a flat wash of India Ink to create a contrasting background in the Zentangle tutorial.
Day 24: How to Draw Zentangle Pattern Bronx Cheer in Minimalist Style
In keeping with the minimalist theme, I’ve used a single Micron and graphite for shading a beginner Zentangle pattern.
Day 25: How to Draw Solar System Inspired Zentangle Art
I attempted to create a Zentangle art solar system. Disclaimer: my solar system is not to scale and I’m missing a couple of planets.
Day 26: How to Draw Easy Zentangle Flowers from Inkblots
I decided to put down some random black india ink blobs and turn them into abstract Zentangle flowers.
Day 27: How to Draw and Shade an Embossed Zentangle
A faux embossed look can be given to Zentangle art when shading and highlights are used to create the effect.
Day 28: How to Add Contrast to Zentangles with Masking
The prompt for today was “masking”. I used regular blue painter’s tape to mask the areas of the paper I wanted to preserve.
Day 29: 7 Easy Zentangle Patterns in 1 Zentangle
In all, there are seven Zentangle patterns in this piece: Xander and Printemps are used within the pattern Aquafleur and the larger composition is accented with Flux, Flooish, Fescue, and Springkle.
Day 30: Zentangle Zendala Step by Step
I pulled out my sepia colored Micron pens to create this Zentangle Zendala — or Zentangle inspired mandala. I coordinated with brown Micron pen to add a little bit of contrast to the tangle.
Day 31: Zentangle Tranzending
Tranzending is drawing on top of an already completed tile. The layered effect can add extra depth to your tangles and help hide parts of a tile you don’t like.
For more Zentangle tutorials, see my One Zentangle a Day video series. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you.
