Zentangle Animals

Zentangles are a great way to introduce complex pattern design. Many students get stuck on the idea of pattern as just polka dots or a simple stripe, but studying the idea of Zentangles helps push the boundaries of what we consider complete, detailed pattern. 

This quarter we focused on using complex patterns to fill large, negative spaces as well as using silhouettes as a point of emphasis. The watercolor technique of wet-in-wet was used to fill our animal silhouettes while black Sharpie marks created a bold outline. Our last step was to add a little color value with colored pencils in the Zentangles.