How to draw UMBLE

Umble is one of the first Zentangle®-original tangles so it has been around for probably a good ten years.

Yesterday Zentangle co-founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas published the instructions for drawing it in their latest newsletter. I hope this is the start a of a trend of Zentangle HQ sharing more of the oldies-but-goodies with us.

Maria says she remembers her inspiration for this tangle,

“It was an image of a striped blouse I saw in a news magazine. Just goes to show, you can find inspiration wherever you look, sometimes in the most unlikely of places. I cut the picture out and kept it in our tangle inspiration scrapbook. …

Often tangles may not end up looking like their inspirations, since, with tangles, we are not trying to ‘draw’ the inspiration. …

I like that it invites the viewer to look deep into the center of the umble to see how far it might go. It is a versatile tangle, fitting into most any shape you need to fill. It looks intricate, but it is fairly easy to tangle. Umble lets you add strong elements with its focused banding or you can add patterns into the ribboning.”

Usually I start the week with a very easy tangle and while Umble isn’t difficult, I found I really have to work on the spacing. My example follows Maria’s instructions but I think I’d like to experiment using patterns in the banding in place of the strong black as Maria suggests above.

Maria illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Umble here where you’ll see a photo of the original inspiration for this tangle. And of course beautiful Zentangles by Rick and Maria featuring this dramatic tangle.

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UPDATE December 6, 2018 – Project Pack #04. As part of the Twelve Days of Zentangle, 2018 Edition series, in this Day 4 video starting at 06:51 Maria demonstrates how to tangle Umble.

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UPDATE April 18, 2020 – Project Pack #09. As part of the Spring has Sprung project pack, Molly guides us through the Day 1 video featuring the tangle Umble.

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UPDATE July 21, 2020 – Project Pack #10. As part of The Legend of Zentangle project pack series, Molly tangles Umble starting at 23:49 in this video.

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UPDATE December 6, 2024 – Project Pack #25. As part of the Twelve Days of Zentangle, 2024 Edition – Drawing Behind project pack, Julie tangles Umble and Doodah in this video:

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

Check out the tag zentangle for all of the Zentangle®-original tangles with online instructions.

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!
10. 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.
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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