Fengle is a “jewel of a tangle” – a new Zentangle®-original tangle from Zentangle® founders Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts.
You may recognize Fengle from CZT® Michele Beauchamp’s wonderful versions in her gorgeous Zentangle-inspired art, “On the Edge of the Sea” on the cover of your TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE, 2012 Edition. Rick and Maria introduced the CZTs to this tangle a few months ago and it has created a lot of interest.
Fengle is so elegant and yet deceptively easy to draw. That’s the key to real tangles. Not only are they abstract, they are simple enough to draw without a pre-printed grid or erased pencil dots or lines. No left brain planning. Just organic growth, one deliberate stroke at a time.
I practiced a lot of Fengles and this is a tangle where you should remember to breathe, focus on each deliberate stroke, AND remember turn your tile as you’re drawing those curvy S shapes. You will get much nicer results that way. In the end I decided to stick to the basic form for my example and leave the variations (“Fengl-ashuns”) to the masters …
Maria illustrates the steps for drawing Fengle here. You’ll also read the story behind Fengle‘s name and get a peek into Maria’s amazing journal. Plus there are inspirational examples of Zentangles by Maria and Rick with lots of creative variations to get you going. Enjoy tangling with our new official tangle, as Maria says, it’s Fengl-ishus!
Fengle brings our list of Zentangle®-original tangles up to 133 and at the risk of repeating myself, these are the best tangles to learn first. And please don’t obsess if you don’t have access to them all (only CZTs do), you can happily tangle for a very long time with the ones where online instructions are available (all here on TanglePatterns) and create endless different Zentangles without concern for repeating yourself.
However if you are fortunate enough to have a CZT® near you, you can learn more Zentangle®-original tangles and gain many more insights about Zentangle by taking classes. If you are interested in becoming a CZT I’ve recently added a new page on the ZENTANGLE menu at the top of the page where you can find out more.
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UPDATE July 20, 2020 – Project Pack #10. As part of The Legend of Zentangle project pack series, Rick tangles Fengle at 20:06 in this video.
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UPDATE December 21, 2021 – Project Pack #16. As part of the Twelve Days of Zentangle – Keeping Score project pack, Maria tangles Fengle at starting at 04:39 in this video.
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UPDATE December 13, 2022 – Project Pack #19. As part of the Twelve Days of Zentangle, 2022 Edition project pack, Maria tangles Fengle with a Brown Micron 05 beginning at 00:36 in this video:
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UPDATE December 7, 2024 – Project Pack #25. As part of the Twelve Days of Zentangle, 2024 Edition – Drawing Behind project pack, Rick tangles Fengle in this video:
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Check out the tag zentangle for all of the Zentangle®-original tangles with online instructions.
For a complete list of Zentangle’s Project Packs click the PROJECT PACKS link in the pink alphabetic tangle menu bar.
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!
- Never miss a tangle! FREE eMAIL NEWSLETTER - visit the SUBSCRIBE page on the top menu bar of any page on the site and sign up to get notices delivered free to your inbox.
- 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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March 19, 2012 | 
More like this: 
Hi, I recently purchased the Zentangle kit for $49.00. How do I go about getting the Zentangle patterns book that is promised either through a donation or buying the kit.
I really appreciate this site.
Thank you and can’t wait to get my book.
Carol DuBois
Hi Carol, I emailed the TANGLE GUIDE to you on 3/6 – will resend it now and if you don’t receive it please send me a gmail address because your provider probably blocked the large file. Thanks!
This is such a cute pattern. I like drawing it hallow inside each segment with a background behind it. Looks pretty cool!
I started practicing this and boy Linda, you are right! Breathing is most definitely required. I was breathing VERY heavy after some not so good attempts! HA!!! I ended up with some okay results, not great, but okay. LOVE the tangle though!
I knew I saw it somewhere; the Fengle tangle! When I first saw it it looked too hard to do, but then I got it in my inbox with the instructions. I can do that! I think it is very elegant. Kahna
Love it. Fangle (fengle) Tangle. At first glance, it looks so complicated; having it deconstructed though and just taking it one stroke at a time is the way to go.
I’ve started copying the steps to the various tangles into a little notebook, which fits in my purse so that if I’m in the mood to tangle when I’m away from my computer, I’ve got lots of designs available. It also gives me a chance to practice each tangle before including it in a piece of art.
Click on my name above to see the cover of my notebook, which is Zentangle-inspired art, and includes the Fengle design in the upper right corner.
Fengle is one of my favorite tangles. It has many distinctive looks, depending on how you shade/color it.