Getting in the flow

In the beginning I was always finding a nice pattern, then putting it in a random part of the page. Then the same for another pattern and another one.

Slowly slowly I started to plan a bit more, to divide the areas , to use only 4 or 5 main patterns in my A5 sketchbook.

I still also did pages where I mainly trained patterns without any conscience of the space I was filling, or repeated a pattern until I found a way to make it that I liked (or until I gave up). But there were some pages with a sense. Finally.

Here I was mainly training Mazorini with this video from Tanglewerk CZT, and then tried to fill the gaps.

Mazorini, WhatTheWell, Orciolo, Zenith. 30 May 2025

This is the first tangle I indeed love love love that I did.
Would I have loved zentangle as I did without this tangle? Possibly, but each and every tangle was a small part of this unexplainable magic that happened. I mean, I always thought I could draw if I wanted, I know how to make nice lines but always lacked the practice to copy well the real world. And here comes zentangle, where you can decide your own proportions. Change them. Deform them. Fill elements. Or not. Freedom. And all with a simple white page and a black pen. With colors I tend to childish associations. Here it can't pop up.
Back to this tangle. After I filled the Sonnenband with some sweet Printemps, I knew I had something nice and was looking for something that would have made it a beautiful tangle, not for a random pattern to train.

Sonnenband, Printemps, Ibex, Aquafleur. 30 June 2025

Here I first trained Dark Busters and then decided to go for orb tangles.
Dark Busters is one of my favorite patterns, and when I feel a bit uninspired to look for some new ones, it often pops up. Or I see a space where it fits perfectly.
I do not remember if I asked chatgpt for some orb tangles.
In the beginning I was often asking things to chatgpt, to get some patterns to try. Chatgpt has not been trained a lot on zentangle, fortunately, and rarely identifies a pattern or give correct answers, at least for the moment. Sometimes I ask something random but it brings mostly frustration, it is better to use it to create Anki Cards to study Japanese. :D

Dark Busters, Cruffle, Buldiz, Borbz, Fescu. 30-31 May 2025

And here I discovered that I do not like to draw Pou-Yang. I think it is also worth mentioning this video for the filled Flux in the bottom. I like all patterns on this page except Pouyang. :D But maybe I have to understand it better, or to find my own interpretation, to draw it better! It happened to me with other patterns.

Pouyang, Antidots, Sun, Buttercup, Cootie, Tupuk, Flux, Fescu, Star-Ing. 31 May 2025 

Zentangle Original Patterns

Aquafleur

Fescu

Flux

Ibex

Pouyang

Printemps

Zenith

Other Patterns

Antidots, Anita Roby-Lavery, CZT

Borbz, Rita Nikolajeva CZT

Buldiz, Stephanie Bordeau, CZT

Buttercup, Sandy Steen Bartholomew, CZT

Cootie, from book "Joy of Zentangle"

Cruffle, Sandy Hunter, CZT

Dark Busters, Diana Marshall.

Mazorini, tanglewerk czt

Mazorito, Ria Matheussen, CZT

Orciolo, Susanna Redaelli, CZT

Sonnenband, Simone Bischoff

Star-ing, Shie Naritomi, CZT

Sun, Hanna Shan, CZT

Tupuk, Ria Matheussen, CZT

WhatTheWell, Jody Genovese, CZT