How to draw MEDUSA

Happy Friday!

It’s not only the first of September but it’s also our long Labor Day weekend, yay! Soon it’ll be Fall and can pumpkin spice lattes be far behind?

Today we have a tangle treat, Medusa, from Spanish CZT Tomàs Padros.

Before we get to learning all about Medusa, let’s enjoy Tomas’s delightful examples to give you ideas of where it can go. It looks complex but in true Zentangle® fashion, it’s easy to tangle, one stroke at a time. Something fun to explore this long weekend.

Isn’t that ZIA tile amazing? Took me a beat to see how Tomàs accomplished the great optical illusions effects. I think it definitely needs to be biggified to make room for this lovely creation.

Tomàs introduces and explains his Medusa tangle:

The name of the tangle is pretty obvious. It reminds me of both hair and the sea, so the name has marine resonances and at the same time mythological echoes associated with a character with unfortunately well-known hair.

What I like best about this tangle is that it looks as if the ogee grid has overlapping areas. But it’s just an effect of the auras, because the ogee grid is always drawn in its entirety.

Each ogee cell has at least one complete aura on one side and a partial one on the other, embedded in the previous one, as if it were passing below.

This resource and the shading is what generates that sensation that the sections of the ogee grid overlap each other. It is an optical effect derived from the fact that the lines of the ogee grid are lost among the auras, while these, which at first seemed to constitute secondary or decorative lines, take center stage.

Between gimpy thumb and aging eyesight, my Medusa example didn’t quite emerge as I’d hoped but I’ll accept its wonkiness all the same.

Tomàs illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Medusa below and includes his helpful tips:

The main deconstruction is what I call Option 2. That’s the original idea. But you have to be especially careful in steps 2 and 3 because the longest auras change position.

So I created a second, somewhat simpler version (Option 1) in which the large auras are always on the same side.

In any case, it is optional to use a regular grid, as in the deconstructions, or irregular, as in the examples (above). I like the irregular ogee grids because they are more fun and less rigid, therefore easier to draw. The number of auras is also optional.

Image copyright the artist and used with permission, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. These images are for your personal offline reference only. Please feel free to refer to the images to recreate this tangle in your personal Zentangles and ZIAs. However the artist and TanglePatterns.com reserve all rights to the images and they must not be publicly pinned, altered, reproduced or republished. (Small side note: if you look at the legalese in Pinterest, you are legally responsible for obtaining permission to post every photo that gets ‘Pinned’. Giving credit or sharing the source link doesn’t count.) Thank you for respecting these rights. For more information, click on the image for a discussion entitled “Artists for Respect” by several prominent artists. “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” ~ C.S. Lewis

As you enjoy any of the tangles on the site, please leave a comment of thanks and encouragement to show the artists you appreciate them for sharing their creativity to inspire yours. Your thanks helps motivate them to continue to share! And please share a link to your favorite tangles on social media. Thanks!

Check out the tag tomasp for more of Tomàs’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.

.oOo.

Free Download: How to draw four basic grids (reticula) for your Zentangles

Like some help drawing grids? (In the Zentangle PRIMER Vol 1, Zentangle HQ is now referring to grids as reticula and give 30 examples.)

Here is a free TanglePatterns PDF download showing how to ink a basic Freehand Squared Grid, Freehand Diamond-Shaped Grid with a Triangle variation, and a Freehand Ogee-Shaped Grid.

You can always locate this tutorial again by visiting the TUTORIALS tab on the pink alphabetic tangle menu bar.

.oOo.

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!

.oOo.
Enhance your Zentangle experience while supporting TanglePatterns:
CURRENT EDITION! TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE, 2024 Edition
	The 13th Edition of the TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE is an instant-download 109-page interactive digital eBook/PDF containing approximately 2,000 tangles on the site from May 2010 through December 31, 2023. It's a great resource and a must-have digital tool for using the site. Visit the STORE > E-BOOKS page and help keep TanglePatterns.com going by getting your copy now!
	"Linda, Thank you! I was relying on too few and getting stuck after 3 years of daily working with Zentangle. This has inspired me to ‘begin again’ with renewed excitement." ~ Barbara R.
See the BOOK REVIEWS page for more details on its features and view a sample page. Note: this is a digital product you download immediately when you place your order, nothing will be physically mailed to you.
GIFT ORDERS FOR ANOTHER PERSON: To give the TANGLE GUIDE as a gift, visit this page to place your gift order.
If you're new to Zentangle® and tangling, my TanglePatterns.com BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO ZENTANGLE is just what you need to get started. Also available en Français and en Español.
	This is the only Zentangle book you'll ever need: the fabulous Zentangle PRIMER Vol 1. It's your CZT-in-a-book by the founders of Zentangle®. Visit the STORE tab on the top menu bar or click on the image. For more about the content and to read the rave reviews, visit the BOOK REVIEWS tab.
NEW! Now available in KINDLE format for $9.99. Spanish Edition here. Japanese Edition here.
"Absolutely the best Zentangle Book yet! As an accomplished artist I used to think I did not need instruction on this art form. How wrong I was! My tangling improved by leaps and bounds after reading this book. If you think you have Zentangle down then you need this book more than ever!" ~ Kris H
.oOo.