How to draw PLAD

When you’re just in the mood for a really simple, airy tangle, North Carolina CZT Nancy Newlin’s Plad tangle will fill the bill perfectly.

Plad is Nancy’s 5th tangle on the site, the elegant Panthe was her first and Podz her most recent.

Nancy writes,

“Plad (rhymes with ‘glad’) evolved out of playing with grids.“

Plad is built on a basic grid then embellished with orbs (Step 3). Then the tips of the orbs are connected in each grid square by an inner square (Step 4).

Fun with Plad on a wonky grid

Varying the size of the orbs and playing with different graphite or ink fills opens up lots of interesting possibilities for Plad. Wonky grids are a fun exploration too. For my main example above I filled the orbs with graphite and added a touch of shading. ZIA enthusiasts could go wild (or subtle) with color on this one.

Nancy illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Plad below and she demonstrates it in a minimalist monotangle tile.

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, altered, reproduced or republished. They are for your personal offline reference only. Thank you for respecting these rights. For more information, click on the image for a discussion entitled “Artists for Respect” by several prominent artists.

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.

Check out the tag nancyn for more of Nancy’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.

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A word about rulers

Many great tangles begin with an underlying inked grid (reticula) and they are always drawn freehand.

"Just as we point out that there's no eraser in a Zentangle Kit, there's also no ruler. ... With a relaxed focus and leaving rulers and preconceived notions aside, expect to be surprised and delighted." ~ Zentangle blog.

I've noticed quite a few "Zentangles" — and even tangle instructions — around the net where a some type of straight edge, stencil or other mechanical aid has been used to draw the underlying grid. Or even (egad!) to draw straight lines (or circles) making up the pattern within a Zentangle.

As CZT Sandy Hunter writes, "there is no zen to be had in the preoccupation with perfection."

Here's what I say ...

Zentangle is all about you and your pen

So put away the rulers and experience the Zen.

and you may quote me. 🙂

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