How to draw PHICOPS

This tangle pattern was the subject of a recent weekly Zentangle® challenge run by Canadian CZT Laura Harms.

Phicops (“sounds like f-eye-cops”) was developed by her husband Brad, who writes:

“It reminded me of an arthropod shell, so i looked up images on google and came up with one that was sort of in a spiral shape, which is called a phacops. The golden spiral (based on the Phi ratio, which is 1.618:1) has always been an inspiration to me, so it seemed a perfect fit.“

According to Wikipedia, “Phacops is often found enrolled, a biological defense mechanism widespread among smaller trilobites but nearly perfected by this genus.”

The basic concept behind this tangle can be used in a variety of different ways.

It was very tempting to go with its iconic “Sydney Opera House” look, however my main example above developed into a very simple structured version and I added an aura of perfs around the outside edge.

Sydney Opera House, photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Brad and Laura present the step-by-step instructions for drawing Phicops here on her blog. Phicops is also featured in completed Zentangles and a Zendala. Update July 2022: Laura’s blog seems to have gone missing and until she has it restored, here for your convenience are her steps for tangling Phicops.

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. Click the image for an article explaining what copyright means in plain English. “Always let your conscience be your guide.” ~ Jiminy Cricket

Here is Laura’s Zendala featuring her husband’s Phicops:

Very cool. This one should keep you entertained all Super Bowl XLVII weekend. Enjoy!

Check out the tag bradh for more of Brad’s patterns on TanglePatterns.com.

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