How to draw ODDBALZ

Our super easy Monday tangle named Oddbalz comes to us from Australian and newly-minted CZT Franciose (Frannie) Lip and it’s her first on the site.

Australia now has 37 Certified Zentangle Teachers of the exactly 3,000 CZTs in 40 countries. (For the complete list by Country, visit ZENTANGLES > TEACHING ZENTANGLE > LIST OF CZTS BY COUNTRY on the top menu bar).

Frannie introduces herself,

I live in Brisbane, Australia, and grew up in a little Queensland country town called Wondai … yes, I am a country girl at heart! For as long as I can remember, I have always been interested in creating art, and over the years have experimented with different artistic mediums and art forms.

I was introduced to the Zentangle® drawing method in late 2015 when I was dealing with some difficult life lessons. For me, right from the beginning, the simple beauty and process of the Zentangle Method was key. I spent days and weeks alone with my journal and pens … working things through in my head, whilst tangling in my journal. From there, my love for Zentangle just grew and grew, and before I knew it, this amazing global community had opened itself up and welcomed me in … the possibilities were endless. I don’t know where I would be now, had I not discovered Zentangle when I did.

Almost two years later, I am a passionate Zentangle artist; and, having been fortunate enough to make the unforgettable ‘Zentangle pilgrimage’ to Providence, RI, earlier this year, I am also one of Australia’s newest CZTs.

Working in corporate finance during the day, my regular nightly Zentangle practice is my sanctuary and ‘happy place’. I am so profoundly grateful to Rick and Maria for giving us the ‘colour’ of Zentangle, and sincerely thankful for everything it has brought into my life. As Co-founding Partner of ‘AusTangle – Tangle Retreats and Seminars in Australia’, I hope to be able to ‘give back’ by increasing awareness, within the wider Australian community, about the potential health and therapeutic benefits that can be achieved with regular, daily Zentangle practice.

Frannie’s Oddbalz is formed on a “channel grid“, where you first create columns or channels to develop the tangle. These make a nice easy change of pace for completing a section of your Zentangle® tile.

Frannie illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Oddbalz below where she also includes two variations out of many possible. Frannie features Oddbalz in a striking and exuberant variation including the Zentangle-originals Knightsbridge and Mooka.

Image copyright the artist and used with permission, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Please feel free to refer to the steps images to recreate this tangle in your personal Zentangles and ZIAs, or to link back to this page. However the artist and TanglePatterns.com reserve all rights to these images and they must not be publicly pinned, reproduced or republished. Thank you for respecting these rights. Click the image for an article explaining copyright in plain English.

As you enjoy any of the tangles on the site, please do leave a comment of thanks and encouragement to show the artists you appreciate them for sharing their creativity to inspire yours.

Worth Repeating: I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who leaves comments on the site.

Though I don’t often reply unless there’s a question to be answered, I am always thankful to each and every one who contributes.

When you see your comment appear, be assured I’m sending you warm hugs of gratitude through the ether! 🙂

A special word of thanks to everyone who has taken time to contribute their thoughts on yesterday’s question: Zentangle Community: When you haven’t been tangling for a while, how do you get started again? Lots of great suggestions there. If you haven’t shared yours yet, please keep them coming!

Check out the tag franniel for more of Frannie’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!
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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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