Submit Your Pattern

If you’ve created a pattern you’d like to have considered for TanglePatterns, here’s everything you need to know …

Is it actually a tangle?

On the “About” page I wrote about my intentions for TanglePatterns before I became a Certified Zentangle Teacher. However my philosophy was solidly affirmed from what I learned at seminar and in private discussions with Zentangle® founders, Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas.

Not all patterns are tangles. Tangles have very specific attributes:

1. they need to be simple enough to do without a preprinted grid, or pencil lines that are later erased
2. they are abstract, non-objective (non-representational) – they are not a representation of a recognizable natural or actual object, figure, or scene
3. they have no up or down orientation – no “right side up”
4. generally they are only 2 or 3 simple lines repeated
5. they are elegant, unique

Zentangle® is not about planning and making pictures.

Is it new, is it unique?

I hate to disappoint anyone by telling them their tangle isn’t new or it’s a variation of an already published pattern. So if you are relatively new to the Zentangle® method please be aware of the following:

When we think we have created a “new” pattern it’s only natural to get excited to jump in and publish it. But if you are new to this art form it’s a good idea to do your homework first. Not only because it’s fun and you’ll learn a LOT, but also because it’s up to you to make sure yours IS actually a new pattern. We are often subconsciously “programmed” by other patterns we’ve seen, and many patterns are simply universal in nature.

Between the Zentangle books and online, there are hundreds of patterns already published. So check these sources first and become familiar with existing patterns, particularly the official tangles. Have fun drawing them and if in the process you prove to yourself that your pattern is new, then go ahead and submit it.

Naming your pattern

As Rick and Maria have written”we describe Zentangle’s method as ‘non-representational.’ It’s also why (for the most part) we give our tangles names that have little relationship with what a tangle looks like.”

See if you can come up with a great “non-representational” name for your tangle too. Be creative!

How to submit your pattern

I am especially interested in as-yet-unpublished patterns. In other words your pattern is not online or in print anywhere yet and it will appear first on TanglePatterns.

That being said, I am always interested in including the best patterns on TanglePatterns. So even if you have already published your tangle online feel free to send me an email with your pattern name and the website page (URL) where you illustrate the steps for drawing the pattern so I can link to your page.

If you don’t have a website or simply prefer to have the instructions posted with your pattern here on TanglePatterns:

1. please use this PDF to draw the steps – TanglePatterns Tangle Submission < right click for PDF
2. if you prefer to use your own format please note that the steps should be drawn on blank paper, not graph or gridded paper (see “Is it actually a tangle?” above).
3. scan the finished page as a jpg file at 300 dpi in color so the red instructions show (see a very good example here)
4. email your scan as an attachment.

Please do not use this form to post doodle patterns on flickr or elsewhere online. Flickr in particular is overrun with doodle designs and patterns mistakenly identified as tangles.

Whether you have already published your tangle online or are submitting it here for first publication, it would be great if you would also include a brief comment about your pattern – its inspiration, tips on drawing or shading or variants, or whatever you’d like to say about it. And a couple of sentences background about yourself to share with our readers too.

And please, no computer-generated drawings. The Zentangle® art form is all about pen and ink.

My email to send your pattern and information is: linda [AT] tanglepatterns [dot] com.

Please note: due to the volume of email I receive, it can take up to a week before I can respond to your submission. Please rest assured I do review every email and I will reply. Thanks for your patience!

Thanks to everyone for your contributions to this compendium of “how to draw” Zentangle® tangle patterns!

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