How to draw BALES

Bales is a fun tangle pattern to draw and uses a grid to get started. Simple rice shapes built around the grid in both directions complete the tangle.

Bales offers an almost mind-boggling array of possible variations include adding different shapes between the “flowers” (dots, circles, diamonds, etc.), shading, and filling in shapes as the pattern takes form.

The Zentangle® instructions of this original tangle by Maria Thomas are here. Maria also shows how using some of the variants mentioned above change the look of this pattern.

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UPDATE: November 11, 2017 – Project Pack #01. In this project series, in the two videos below CZT Martha Huggins (Maria’s daughter) demonstrate Bales using White Sakura Gelly Roll Pens on black Zentangle tiles.

In the first video (7:29) Martha uses a diamond shape in place of the usual Bales rice or seed shape for a lovely variation.

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In this second video (5:13) from Project Pack #01, Martha demonstrates Bales using its regular rice/seed shape.

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Update: December 11, 2017 – Project Pack #02. As part of the Twelve Days of Zentangle, 2017 Edition, Rick Roberts tangles a variation of Bales starting with Florz (at 9:57).

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UPDATE December 10, 2018 – Project Pack #04. As part of the Twelve Days of Zentangle, 2018 Edition series, in this Day 8 video starting at 04:05 CZT Julie Willand of Zentangle HQ demonstrates how to tangle Bales.

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UPDATE July 18, 2020 – Project Pack #10. As part of The Legend of Zentangle project pack series, Maria tangles Bales starting at 34:25 in this video.

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UPDATE July 23, 2020 – Project Pack #10. As part of The Legend of Zentangle project pack series, Maria tangles Bales at 24:12.

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UPDATE July 25, 2020 – Project Pack #10. As part of The Legend of Zentangle project pack series, Maria tangles a variation of Bales starting at 18:30.

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UPDATE May 22, 2021 – Project Pack #14. As part of the Accessing the Artist Within project pack, Molly and Martha tangle Striping, Sampson, Bales, and Tipple on the “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart” spread in the custom booklet.

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UPDATE December 15, 2021 – Project Pack #16. As part of the 12 Days of Zentangle – Keeping Score project pack, Maria tangles Bales at 20:15 in this video:

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UPDATE December 22, 2021 – Project Pack #16. As part of the Twelve Days of Zentangle – Keeping Score project pack, Maria begins creating Bales at 15:21 in this video.

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UPDATE May 15, 2023 – As part of Zentangle’s 21-day challenge honoring May’s Mental Health Awareness month, Day 5’s Bijouism is Beautiful and Beyond, and Molly tangles Bales (its Fife variation) in this 17:42 minute limited audio video:

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Sandy Bartholomew provides her instructions and insights about drawing Bales here.

Check out the tag zentangle for more Zentangle®-original tangles on TanglePatterns.com.

For a complete list of Zentangle’s Project Packs click the PROJECT PACKS link in the pink alphabetic tangle menu bar.

Related Links

1. Looking for tangles by Artist or Type? For details visit the ABOUT > HOW TO FIND TANGLES BY ARTIST OR TYPE page on the top menu bar of any page on the site.
2. What is a Zentangle? — if you are new to the Zentangle Method, start here for the fundamentals.
3. Zentangle terminology — a glossary of terms used in this art form.
4. How to use the site — an excellent free video tutorial showing how to use the site as well as pointing out lots of useful features you might have missed.
5. Linda's List of Zentangle-Original Patterns — here is the complete list of original tangles (aka "official tangles") created and introduced by founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, including those not published online. If you are new to the Zentangle Method I highly recommend learning a few of the published Zentangle classics first.
6. "A Zentangle has no up or down and is not a picture of something, so you have no worries about whether you can draw a hand, or a duck. You always succeed in creating a Zentangle." Thus patterns that are drawings of a recognizable naturalistic or actual object, figure, or scene, are not tangles. A pattern is not always a tangle — here's what makes a tangle. TIP: tangles never start with pencil planning.
   • Un motif n’est pas toujours un tangle — Qu’est-ce qu’un tangle ?
   • Un diseño no es siempre un tangle — ¿Qué es un tangle?
7. How to submit your pattern deconstruction to TanglePatterns
8. For lots of great FREE tutorials on TanglePatterns, click on the TUTORIALS link in the pink alphabetic menu bar below the tangle images at the top of any page.
9. Strings! Have we got STRINGS! Click on the STRINGS link in the pink alphabetic menu bar below the tangle images at the top of any page for 250 different (free) Zentangle-starters. More than enough for any lifetime!
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11. If you have questions about the TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE, visit the BOOK REVIEWS tab on the top menu bar of any page on the site for COMPLETE details!

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