When it comes to drawing doodles, “cute” is an identifiable aesthetic. At least it is on YouTube. And from what I can tell, it involves drawing giant cartoon eyes and a tiny mouth on an object that doesn’t have any business seeing or smiling.
I set out looking for drawing tutorials of simple objects with thick lines for the purpose of coloring, and these fit the bill. I colored with Crayola SuperTips.Right now I only have water-based markers. (I have some alcohol-based markers on my holiday wishlist though. OMG. Can’t wait to get some and try them. I have never used alcohol markers before, but I’ve been watching actual artists on YouTube with their professional markers, and *swoon*)
In other visual art-related news, I posted a sketch I drew on Instagram yesterday. I followed a tutorial for drawing faces, and it turned out…well…click the link if you want to know.
Basically, I’m just trying out a bunch of random artsy things and seeing if any of them stick. My first love is and always will be Zentangle, but sometimes I want to try something with a little more color or just challenge myself to do something new. Then, while I’m coloring a slice of watermelon or practicing Zentangle patterns, I’m usually thinking about the memoir. Yeah, that book I drafted a couple of months ago and am now too chicken to look at again.
I know, I know. I will get back to it, but I’m thinking maybe January or February.
If you’ve seen my YouTube channel or my Instagram feed lately, you know I’ve been spending a lot of time Zentangling and doodling. It’s therapeutic to focus on the lines and shades and patterns instead of obsessing over aches and pains and vertigo.
Patterns are curated into themes. If there’s a specific Zentangle you’d like to see me draw in an upcoming video, let me know with a comment. Sometimes seeing how someone else approaches drawing a tangle pattern can make it easier.
Hi everyone! Today I have a video showing you how to draw 9 easy Zentangle patterns for beginners. As you can see, you don’t need any super fancy art supplies to get started. Just grab a piece of paper and something to write with. (I wouldn’t recommend using a ball-point pen, but it’ll still get the job done!)
In case you’re new to Zentangle art, here are the basics of the Zentangle method: It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas as a meditative form of art that’s accessible to everyone at all levels. It stresses drawing repetitive lines, simple marks, orbs, and other familiar shapes. Each mark is called a “tangle,” and you can combine tangles infinite ways to create “tiles,” or miniature drawings. The 9 easy Zentangle patterns I cover in this video are: Footlites, Wist, Roxy, Kuazeela, Squares Squared, Inapod, Wormholes, Embellish, and Narwhal, but there are literally hundreds more to try once you’ve got these down.
If you want to learn more about how the Zentangle method of drawing got its start, I recommend checking out Rick and Maria’s official website. Zentangle is a very relaxing, meditative form of drawing that got me through some pretty rough days while I underwent chemotherapy and radiation for a brain tumor. Even though I’m done with cancer treatment for now, I found drawing Zentangles to be so calming and therapeutic that I continued with daily practice and weekly videos on YouTube.
So sit back, relax, and let your inner artist follow along as you learn these beginner patterns.
If you liked this video, and want to see more, subscribe to my YouTube channel. You can also check out all the videos in my One Zentangle a Day series where I complete all 42 days of Beckah Krahula’s book, One Zentangle a Day.
