This morning, I wanted to explore that lovely arum lily-ish kind of pattern. I created a whole page of variations, some more successful than others.
Here’s the link to today’s vlog on YouTube.
Adding shadow and/or colour to the motifs really helps to bring them to life by giving the illusion of volume/dimension.
Pattern Exploration No.2 is now done, for now. The page is more or less full.
I enjoyed creating all the drawings on the page, but I learned most from altering the background in different ways, trying out different kinds of media. I talk through this in today’s video (link below).
So, it was time to start the next pattern, No.3. I really must find a better way to label these! I wonder if there’s a random name/word generator I could use…
The answer to that musing is yes! Many in fact. I went to the first one – Random Word Generator – and the word that came up was artisan! Fairly appropriate. Maybe I’ll play with the spelling of it to name pattern no3. Artyzan? The next word that comes up with eat, appropriate for No.3 as everything is looking very seed-poddy. Eet? I like Eet.
So, that’s decided! No.3 is now called Eet.
With this exploration, I’m starting with a teardrop kind of shape and seeing where that leads me. Some of the variations are familiar ones. Others not quite so. I’d like to break away from the familiar and try something different with this shape.
Here’s today’s video:
Eke, by Zentangle Inc, is the last tangle pattern in the Inktober Tangles 2021 challenge.
It was a bit of a challenge as it seems so simple and not much you can do with it. But I managed to get creative!
So, that’s Inktober 2021 done for another year. I feel rather weird about it. I feel I’ve got that sense of satisfaction when something is completed successfully. But there’s also a sadness and an emptiness that comes with the ending too.
I’m in a liminal place at the moment – a point in time where I’m between an ending and a beginning. Quite fitting given that it is Hallowe’en, which is a very liminal time. A time where the veil betwixt the living and the afterlife is thinnest. A time where in older, pagan times, the time of harvest was over and winter was beginning to take hold.
And that quite happily fits how I feel today really. I do have a project to focus on from tomorrow – the Adorable Dogs colouring book. However, I’d like a focus for a daily practice that helps me keep my hand and eye coordination tip-top and encourages creativity too.
So, I already have some new A5 sketchbooks in my stash, and I’d like to continue this practice of filling a page a day. Or maybe one page over two or three days so I don’t take my focus away from the Adorable Dogs. I also think videoing this practice and sharing may be useful for some people.
It won’t just be tangle patterns, but other patterns and motifs that I use a lot in my artwork, whether coloring books or the more abstract art or mandalas I create.
It’s also making me re-evaluate whether to take part in CZT training, but that will only take place if there are online sessions.
Later today, I’ll be posting a video where I look back over all the Inktober Tangles 2021 sketchbook pages I’ve completed. I’ll post the link in a separate post.
Effie, by Annett Rumpler CZT, is a lovely floral tangle pattern and one I’ve enjoyed creating variations of, and also different ways of adding colour. For the more brightly coloured flowers I’ve used Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight, Starlight and Metallic pens along with a damp water brush to create gradients. Just another way of using supplies in a stash! Add the colour before adding detailed lines, however.
It’s been a really interesting month with the Inktober Tangles 2021 Challenge. It’s prompted me to explore patterns, create variations. This is something I don’t do much; I tend to draw intuitively.
However, I now understand the benefits of this practice, and I intend to continue to do this kind of stuff going forward. I had started doing this in an A4 sketchbook, but I’ve found the size of the page a bit daunting and everything looks a bit disorganised. The A5 sketchbook I’ve used has been the perfect size. If I need more space for more variations/ideas I can turn to a new page.
That means I’ve had to order some A5 sketchbooks!
I did film the drawing of the first few Effies, and here’s the video :
It’s Template Thursday! So the uncoloured template will be available in the facebook group in a little while.
Dex is a grid-based tangle pattern by Zentangle Inc. It’s interesting to add variations to. Indeed, I’m sure I recognise some of the variations as other tangle patterns. I expect there’s going to be a lot of overlap.
Zigoli is a lovely repeating kind of pattern, full of possibilities of variations. It’s one that interests me as it will lend itself so well to the arches I love to include in my entangled artwork.
I haven’t really experimented with shadow and highlight here, but I know full well how they can really sculpt a drawing.
Although I’ve put my variations together in ribbon form, they would work well in a grid format, but also as individual motifs as kind of carved stones or ‘gems’.
So many possibilities … so many …
This was a new tangle to me, but not any more!
It took a while for me to understand it’s basic structure. Then, it was experimenting with it to fill (mostly) a page of my A5 sketchbook with just a few possibilities.
I did start adding shadow and highlight, but went on to focus on patterns in both black and colour. I may return to add those shadows and highlights to increase the illusion of volume.
It took nearly an hour for me to look back on my week in art. I didn’t think I’d done this much as I’d been unwell for a few days and needed to sleep a lot.
In the video, I share with you my observations, reflections and lessons from all of this work.
I wondered what I was going to be able to do with this tangle, which is essentially a series of zig=zags that become broken and smaller so that they seem to be wearing ‘hats’.
Surprisingly, I found it a really interesting tangle to work with, especially with the addition of shadow and highlights. They really bring the tangle alive.
It is, however, fun to add ‘dangle’ elements to the peaks of the design, both above and below, or ornaments that act like finials atop roofs.
I think there’s a lot more exploring of this pattern.
Oh, I enjoyed creating this page so much! I absolutely love botanical patterns, but I also have great affection for grid-based, repeating, symmetrical patterns.
Brrst, by Kelly Barone CZT, is one of those grid-based patterns. It’s based on a square ‘fragment’ that is rotated around a central point. The final pattern has so many possibilities for adding shadow and highlight.
I used the original Brrst in a ‘crazy’, assymetrical grid, which was a lot of fun to do.
However, what I loved the most was playing with the basic idea and modifying, exploring the possibilities. The ones I like best are where I’ve added spirals in the ‘tucked under’ circular area.
I think the triangular variations could be interesting to work with, but I’m not at all fussed on the circular ones.
My internal debate is whether I go back to sleep, or whether I work on this week’s coloring template. I’ve been awake since before 4am (it is Wednesday, so my grocery delivery arrives around 5am most weeks!), so it won’t be long before I can’t keep my eyes open.
I do know that this sketchbook page is all I’ll do today for the Inktober Tangles 2021 challenge. I think I’ll be putting aside the official Inktober challenge for now. I find I’m enjoy the Tangle challenge far more. Also, I do need to turn my attention soon to the templates for the Adorable Dogs book for Creative Haven, due out April 2022.
Armadillo skull flower? I thought I’d try a different number of skulls arranged around a mandala. They sure do look like petals of a flower. Armadillo skull is the prompt for today’s Inktober drawing from a list by Instagrammer @book_polygamist. I’ve also used the tangle pattern crescent moon from the list by @havepen_willdraw.
I used Autodesk Sketchbook Pro along with a Microsoft Surface Pen and Surface Studio as my tools.
I’m also enjoying using these grungy texture backgrounds, of which I am altering the colours as needed.
I can’t believe that Inktober is nearly over; just four more days remain. I’ll reflect on this year’s experience with my last Inktober drawing.
Art is the Adventure 