How to draw CADENT and CRAZY CADENT

By Linda Farmer, CZT ~ May 8th, 2010

Cadent can be one of those “make your eyes” jump tangle patterns.

It’s a core Zentangle®-original tangle and the creative possibilities for variations are mind-boggling.

Once you get into the rhythm of drawing each S-stroke using the take-off-and-land technique, it does sort itself out. Just don’t take your eyes away! And as Maria often advises, remember to turn your tile.

Update July 2010: in their July newsletter, Rick and Maria revisit Cadent with some additional variations and they reveal how this Zentangle®-original tangle came by its name:

Cadent was inspired by the houndstooth weaving pattern.

(We call it “cadent” because a hound is a CAnine and a tooth is DENTal, thus “ca-dent!”)

Variants include using squares instead of circles in Step 1, varying the width between those “anchors”, shading, and drawing various shapes within the white space created by the lines.

Cadent is a Zentangle-original tangle by Maria Thomas. The link to her illustrated instructions for this tangle is here.

UPDATE July 25, 2013 – CZT Margaret Bremner has added a long and very creative post she calls Cadent and then some, containing a mind boggling boatload of Cadent tangleation fun.

UPDATE September 9, 2014 – CZT Norma Burnnel has added a post Cadent with a twist on her blog. Very similar end result to Fiore.

UPDATE May 4, 2018 – CZT Margaret Bremner has developed a Cadent Squared variation

UPDATE December 4, 2018 – Project Pack #4. As part of the Twelve Days of Zentangle, 2018 Edition series, in this Day 2 video starting at 9:42 Rick demonstrates how to tangle Cadent.

UPDATE April 11, 2020 – In this Kitchen Table Tangles (KTT) series video (19:04) Rick and Maria explore Crazy Cadent. When Maria finishes the first tile, around 13:00, she then shows “a bunch of different samples so you can see the possibilities“. With each sample Maria demonstrates the individual fragment that makes that sample different.

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UPDATE July 22, 2020 – Project Pack #10. As part of The Legend of Zentangle project pack series, Julie Willand demonstrates how to tangle Crazy Cadent at 28:47.

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UPDATE July 23, 2020 – Project Pack #10. As part of The Legend of Zentangle project pack series, Maria tangles Cadent at 05:15.

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UPDATE March 26, 2021 – Project Pack #13. As part of the Layers & Transitions project pack, Molly and Martha tangle Cadent and Crazy Cadent on a white square Zentangle tile.

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UPDATE December 14, 2022 – Project Pack #19. As part of the Twelve Days of Zentangle, 2022 Edition project pack, Rick tangles Cadent and Huggins in this video:

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UPDATE December 2, 2023 – Project Pack #22. As part of the Twelve Days of Zentangle, 2023 Edition project pack, Molly and Martha tangle Crescent Moon (4:38) , Tripoli (13:29), Purk (22:28), Cadent (34:58) and Jonqal (41:29) on their 5byPhive prestrung tile:

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UPDATE May 22, 2024 – As part of Zentangle’s 21-Day project honoring Mental Health Awareness Month this year, on Day 13 Molly tangles Crazy Cadent in this video.

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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.

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"... And then some"

Canadian CZT Margaret Bremner has a wonderful series of tutorials she calls "... and then some" where she takes several Zentangle-original tangles "on a wild ride of variations". Truly, you do not want to miss these creative and inspirational tutorials. Look for the links to Margaret's tutorials on these pages:

**A few Cadent Tangleations (click image)**
	Angel Fish
	Chairs
	CreZendo
	Dancet
	Dragonair
	Friehmel 1
	Friehmel 2
	Funls
	Harp
	Heartswirl
	Infinity
	Kuzek
	Lirik
	Llilly
	Maylea
	Q-Mi
	Shango
	Stella
	Xadent
	XLnt
	Xoxo
	Zenwheel

Related Links

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.
What is a Zentangle? — if you are new to the Zentangle Method, start here for the fundamentals.
Zentangle terminology — a glossary of terms used in this art form.
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.
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.
"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?
How to submit your pattern deconstruction to TanglePatterns
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.
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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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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