How to draw BOXED UP

Boxed Up is a cool grid-based tangle pattern from Minnesota tangler Angie Whalen and it’s one I rediscovered while reviewing my tangle archives which I do on a regular basis. Occasionally a tangle gets overlooked, or a submission will be too similar to something recently posted so it gets put aside until I dig it up again.

When I added Angie’s DiamondX tangle to the site some time ago, I commented on her observations about Zentangle®:

“Angie certainly captured the essence of Zentangle, it’s not about drawing some thing. It’s about making deliberate pen strokes one at a time and ending up with a lovely ensemble of harmonious patterns. You don’t even have to know what the end result looks like, you simply follow the steps in sequence and see where you end up. Guaranteed to be relaxed and delighted if you are following the Zentangle Method.”

Boxed Up is really brought to life with the shading you can add to it in a variety of ways. I usually have trouble drawing simple squares in one continuous stroke, I always seem to end up with one side having a curve to it (tricky thumb). I resolve this by drawing all the straight strokes that go in the same direction at one time. Then I turn my tile and connect up the “tops and bottoms” of the squares with all the remaining lines. That I can handle and it saves frustration when you’ve drawn 3 perfect sides and the 4th does whatever the heck it wants to.

Angie illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Boxed Up here on her flickr account. If you need help downloading images from flickr, there’s a tip I included with the tangle Intwine.

Check out the tag angiew for more of Angie’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.

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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