Hi there! Thanks once again for the pleasure of your company 🙂
It’s been a minute since we’ve explored an ogee grid tangle, always fun ones to have a mindful creative time with.
Today’s Pheasant tangle is from Texas CZT Suzanne McNeill. Last month we explored her Slender tangle and both add to her many, many tangles and tutorials on the site.
Suzanne published Pheasant in her Zentangle 10 – Dimensional Tangle Projects booklet, the same publication that her recent Soundbites tangle comes from. Check out the BOOK REVIEWS > ZENTANGLE 10 page on the top menu bar for more about this publication.
From the publisher’s description:
The design possibilities of Zentangle extend in many dimensions! Combine the art forms of paper crafts and tangling to create memorable 3D keepsakes and one-of-a-kind gifts for every season. Inside you’ll discover wonderful paper projects for booklets, greeting cards, angels, ornaments, beads, boxes, accordion folds, and more.
Peacock feathers were the inspiration for Pea-Fea and Pavonia, and now joining those we have pheasant feathers abstracted into a tangle. When I went looking for an image of pheasant feathers, I was surprised to learn they’re available for purchase for use in decor and crafts (collected naturally, cruelty-free) like these gorgeous ones from male Ringneck pheasants on Amazon:
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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.
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As usual Suzanne’s tangles are illustrated without shading but a touch of graphite can always add a bit of dimension and pizazz.
Some years ago Suzanne sold Design Originals company to Fox Chapel Publishing who now hold the copyright for her publications. Fox Chapel Publishing and Suzanne have both graciously given me permission to post her copyright-protected images on TanglePatterns for your personal offline reference. Reposting/republishing these images is not permitted.
Suzanne illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Pheasant below. This one really lends itself well to ZIA interpretations with colored inks and glittery ones like Sakura’s Gelly Roll Stardust pens.

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. “We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.” ~ Albus Dumbledore
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 suzannem for more of Suzanne’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.
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Share your tangle on TanglePatterns
Everyone is invited to share patterns on TanglePatterns.com, you do NOT need to be a CZT. In order for patterns to be considered for publication they must be submitted to me by email. In other words you have to let me know about them.
For a submission to qualify as a tangle it must be a genuine pattern (“a repeated decorative design”) and not “a thing to draw”.
From The Book of Zentangle:
“Keep it Non-representational. Zentangle artwork is intended to be non-representational. Zentangle’s elemental strokes are also non-representational.
We don’t teach complex elements such as hearts, stars or flowers. Tangles are also non-representational.”
Remember that tangles never start with pencil planning.
"A tangle has no pre-planning with pencil guidelines, grids or dots, no erased lines."
If you need a refresher on what makes a tangle, read the A PATTERN IS NOT ALWAYS A TANGLE page on the ZENTANGLES menu bar at the top of any page.
For details on how to submit your pattern for consideration visit the SUBMIT YOUR PATTERN page on the top menu bar of any page on the site. On that menu you will find these two pages:
The first page includes instructions on how to prepare and send your JPGs. (Please save me time and do not send PDFs.) It also includes a link to this PDF submission form.
When your examples include additional tangles from the site, please list them in your email. (This saves me time and my memory some wear and tear.)
If your pattern is posted on your blog, attach your steps and tile JPGs to your email and be sure your email includes the direct URL so I can link to it.
And remember, to quote Zentangle's co-founders Rick and Maria: tangles should be "magical, simple and easy to create", non-objective patterns of repetitive strokes that are easy to teach and offer a high degree of success to tanglers of all ages.
"Keep the tangles as little like 'drawing something' as possible."
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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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BRAND NEW!! TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE, 2025 Edition |
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The 14th Edition of the TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE is an instant-download 117-page interactive digital eBook/PDF containing over 2,000 tangles on the site from May 2010 through December 31, 2024. 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! |
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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. |
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 | |
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