The Great Zentangle Book: Learn to Tangle with 101 Favorite Patterns

by Beate Winkler

In  The Great Zentangle Book , Certified Zentangle Teacher Beate Winkler provides simple and clear directions for creating 101 classic tangles.

Captivating creative minds the world over, the art of the Zentangle evokes meditation practices to create seemingly complicated line drawings that are actually easy to learn . These 101 step-by-step Zentangle patterns will help you relax while creating approachable and beautiful works of art.

Beginners will learn everything about getting started—from materials and tools to basic terminology and techniques . Those who have tangled before will gain inspiration from the variations presented by Winkler and her tangling friends from around the globe, including Zentangle founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. Along with tips for mastering the craft and behind-the-tangle stories from designers, this compendium of patterns will provide you with hours of instruction. 

With The Great Zentangle Book , keep up to date on current Zentangle trends with new, delicate bijou tiles and find inspiration for your own Zentangle artwork while learning fascinating information and techniques.  Relax, and set your creative mind free as each pen stroke brings you a little closer to your center.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Drawing, Reference, Crafts

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 2015

Reviews

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book with 101 tangles explained. Even my daughters love it, it's so relaxing.

[Susanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars, would have been 4 if it wasn't for the insanity of the Zentangle branding.
It contains a good selection of pattern references, but the heavy-handed branding of a drawing process ultimately limits its value.

I think there's something inherently wrong with any paid media that acts as an advertisement for courses. I didn't get this book to be directed to a course, I got it to learn how to learn a drawing technique.

I also have a big issue with anyone who walks the blurry line of branding a literal action.
The fact that the book mentions the groundbreaking news of a "new, second official tile format" is borderline crazy to me.
It's giving Inktober, and not in the good way.
I am literally not sure whether I would be hit by some copyright strike if I decided to make a website to show off my own patterns, since I am not a Certified Zentangle Teacher® (Yes, it's a registered trademark).

The attempted distinction between "doodle" and "Zentangle" is unconvincing… From what the book explains, it is literally just doodling mindfully.

The book inflates Zentangle’s mental-health benefits by implying unique therapeutic properties, even though it cites only one study on Zentangles and then generalizes to “any creative process."

In regards to the actual pattern content of the book...
- I find it odd and confusing that the "How Do I Start?" section explains that you create dots in the corners of your paper and how this creates a border for you to work in... And then in a bunch of the examples, this rule isn't even followed, some times no borders are present and other times borders are clearly broken. None of this is explained, though. How am I supposed to learn what you do, if you don't actually show me how to do it?
- Some of the tutorial pictures are waaaay too complex. One of them has a setup like this: 1) draw a swirl 2) draw 3 complex swirls around it, which completes a shape 3) add more of steps 1-2 4) add even more of steps 1-2. It baffles me that they wasted 2 pictures on showing the expansion of the pattern rather than breaking down step 2 to something that made it make a little more sense
- For a technique that is based off of "rules" (or what they themselves refer to as "structure") in doodles, it's weird how none of them are actually explained with words. It would be nice to get some kind of literary explanation for some of the things you're supposed to do to help with understanding it.
- "As soon as we leave the tile format behind, we speak of Zentangle-inspired art". Wouldn't that also qualify as doodling? Am I crazy? What if it was done by a person who knew nothing about Zentangles? It seems like you can just slap the Zentangle-brand onto whatever you like.

What I did like
- A good selection of patterns
- Great that they show examples of the design in context of other designs
- Great that they show variations on the design

[Andrea Huelsenbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite Zentangle® book right now. Subtitled Learn to Tangle with 101 Engaging Patterns, the book breaks down each pattern into clear steps. This step by step design is key, because many of the completed patterns look way more complicated than they actually are.
Also, each pattern has several examples of the design being combined with other patterns, and showing possible ways to shade for depth and dimension.
The book also explains the history, benefits, and philosophy behind Zentangle, besides listing recommended materials.
What makes this book different from other Zentangle books I’ve reviewed is the way each pattern gets its own page. There’s plenty of room for as many as nine step-outs and for Beate’s (and other Certified Zentangle Teachers’) comments about each pattern. There’s even a glossary of terms in the back.
I know that step-by-step directions are available on the web (I have a whole board of Zentangle designs on Pinterest), but looking them up can be tedious. It’s nice to have a good book of patterns that you can just flip through.

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned about Zentagle two years ago, and I've been quite bad at really incorporating it into my life regularly. But I still love the concept of it, and this is a great resource for it! It's not necessary for Zentagle, since you can just grab pen & paper and tangle yourself. But I'm someone who likes being inspired by the patterns of others, and this book is great for showcasing many patterns in an orderly and accessible format. It's one pattern per page, with a little step-by-step and then some examples of this pattern used in Zentangles.
Really recommended if you want more patterns, but also if you are curious about Zentagle and want to see how it is used by people.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you need step-outs of the popular tangles, this book is it. 101 engaging patterns.

[Judith Richmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well organized with groups of tangles for beginners and the more experienced. Includes a 2 page gallery of completed tangles, a list of terms, and an illustrated index of the included tangles.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a Zentangle session at a local library and was very intrigued. Wanted to know more about this craft. Interesting, easy to understand and informative. Great reference.

[Andria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fabulous resource to find tangles to learn and is my go to book for looking up what I need to know, has great examples and samples of finished work.