One Zentangle A Day: A 6-Week Course in Creative Drawing for Relaxation, Inspiration, and Fun (One A Day)

So far it's been a good learning experience. I really like doing these. Not sure if I'm exactly getting into the mediation mode that the author is hoping I'd attain, but I do consider what designs I want to use where. Ms. Krahula is good at trying to explain some of the drawing concepts such as shading, light placement, depth etc. There's also the use of words such as tanglenhancer, tangleation that I find bothersome but may in fact be normal words within the tangle community. The book is filled with step by step drawings for the patterns you're to learn. In the later lessons she starts to show you other ways to do tangles by adding color and how to apply tangles in other areas of art, jewelry, fabric, ornaments etc. There's also various art work from other artists that are beautiful to look at and can help you get ideas for your own work. Overall, I think this is a pretty good introduction to zentangles. It doesn't overwhelm you with material to learn. She does have a list of supplies, which I took as more of a suggestion. I didn't want to spend the money for special tiles, pens, markers etc. without knowing this was something I'd like or not. So I've just been doing these in a mixed media sketchbook. I did buy the Sakura micron pens, but they weren't that expensive. (update: Dec 2016, the sakura pens didn't last as long as I'd hoped. I ended up replacing them with Faber Castell Pitt artist pens. The tips on these are larger, (longer?), so it seems that they should last longer. They are very smooth and I haven't had any bleed through. They come in similar sizes as the microns so these are a good substitute IMO.) I'd say give this a try it's fun to do. Not very time consuming, unless you want it to be. A nice outlet for creativity and for those of us who like to doddle

This is a perfect first-timer Zentangle book. It really motivated me to start drawing again. After this book I got The Art of Zentangle: 50 Inspiring drawings for the meditative artist, which was a great second book after this one! I did love Krahula's approach to zentangle. She makes you appreciate the moment, the pens you use, and the paper or tiles you're using. It's all very relaxing and fun. Now I'm doing how to draw books and getting better and better. When I first started I hadn't drawn in years and very much felt like a non-drawer. I have a lot more confidence now and it all started with this book. I even think I might do this book all over again and I would still create different tiles. She recommends you use artist tiles, I did for some, but later I started doing it in a journal using high quality paper and I loved it. I'd like to add that I bought this book when my mom was fighting cancer and I was devastated. It did help me calm down and find some peace while I was going through a tough time. It wasn't a magic cure, but it made some moments better. I also got the book for my mom, but she was mostly too sick to enjoy it. She didn't make it and the loss was/is devastating but I still have the art to help me through. I feel like this book helped my path.

I own several books on Zentangle. This is the first one I got and the one that got me into it, and it is the best of the lot, but there is certainly room for improvement. First the pros: I like that it is organized as a series of daily lessons that build upon each other. This si the book's greatest strength. This encourages you to make Zentangle a daily practice, or at least a frequent/regular one. I did more than one lesson per day early on and later had to skip days or take longer to do some of them, partly due to my schedule, and partly because the projects became more time-consuming (and costly) later in the book. This also encourages you to try things--media and patterns and techniques that you might not otherwise try. The other books are not structured this way, but are more like random collections of stuff with a bunch of tangle step-outs (visual instructions for how to draw the patterns) appended. That said, there is generally something worthwhile in the random collections of stuff, but what is lacking is structure. This book takes the newbie or experienced tangler through various principles and techniques of art while introducing new tangles at a pace that makes it easy to integrate them into your practice. It also has you keeping a sketchbook as a place for practicing new patterns and techniques and working out ones of your own, another valuable art practice. The cons: As I mentioned earlier, the materials used in the projects get more costly as the book progresses. If you are buying everything recommended, it could get a bit pricey. That said, you will then have a nice collection of materials with which to continue your practice. I wish that the author had given some time to sustainable art materials. Some of the things she recommends, such as Gelatos and all those disposable markers and pens, are just grossly over packaged and lead to more plastic waste. There are various refillable technical (i.e. Rapidosketch, etc.) and fountain pens that use bottled inks and which are more affordable and less wasteful in the long run. And, as others have mentioned, the book would be better with better editing. Overall, this is the best introduction to Zentangle that I have seen and would give someone new to this practice a firm foundation in the discipline, and would fill in gaps and expand the horizons of someone who started tangling with a more random approach. To those critics who say that Zentangle is some evil, corporate patented form of doodling designed to profit those who founded it, I have this to say: that is nonsense--you can practice this art form without ever buying any Zentangle-branded merchandise--all you need are technical pens of the appropriate nib sizes, permanent black ink for them (and other colors as you see fit), ordinary graphite art pencils of any brand you want, a couple of stumps available at any art store, and quality paper. The branded Zentangle tiles are made from Fabriano Tiepolo paper, which is available at any real art store in big sheets that you can cut down to 3.5" squares for a lot less money, but most any quality printmaking paper (such as Stonehenge) or 90-140 pound watercolor paper cut to size will do. You can use a library card to borrow a book for free, or just visit any of the numerous websites now available (Tangle Patterns, for example), thus starving the alleged corporate beast. Or you could just keep complaining rather than trying out what may prove to be an accessible and enjoyable entry (or re-entry) point into the visual arts.

I bought this along with a starter set of pens and Zentangle tiles. It didn't take long before I had a really impressive finished tangle in front of me! The book walks you through the backgrounds of Zentangle and starts you with some tasks like practicing how to make the starter "string" and simple patterns on sketch paper. You then practice new patterns and techniques each day and then use them on your tiles. I will admit that I cheated and didn't use the "one a day" method at all; I skipped ahead to try different tangle patterns and just went right for the tile. I'd consider myself pretty good at drawing, and my first tile turned out really well! I think the book would be great for those who are uncomfortable with drawing because it takes each step slowly, and those who are ready can skip ahead no problem. I'm glad I found this new (new to me, at least) art form. I find it very relaxing and the final product is really impressive. It always looks much more complicated than it actually is! I found this to be an adequate starter book for Zentangle and I'm happy with my purchase.

I purchased this book last week prior to embarking on a cross country trip. I scanned it from beginning to end and then started doing the lessons from the beginning (although I have been skipping around a little when I'm doing my daily zentangle just to add an extra pattern or two. It is easy, fun and definitely increases my focus. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, and I really appreciate the diagrams on how to do each stroke. Even the most complicated patterns are easy to do by following the steps Beckah lays out in her diagrams. I'm amazed at the beauty of the five Zentangles I've produced so far. Even the very first one I did is lovely. I also appreciate the recommendations Beckah gives on materials. I'm looking forward to trying some of the exercises towards the back that demonstrate how to branch off from the standard black and white. I bought it in the Kindle edition because I was leaving the next day and didn't have time to wait for the mail. Normally with a book like this that has many illustrations, I would purchase a hard copy, but the Kindle version Is surprisingly easy to use and the nice thing about that is that I can have it with me wherever I go just in case I want to do a Zentangle while I'm waiting or practice some of the patterns. Thanks Beckah for giving me the tools and ideas to feel confident getting started right away! I highly recommend this book.

Zentangle is not as easy as it is touted to be!!! This is the complaint of a non-artist like myself being led down a rosy path as if I could produce these beautiful images immediately. I kept buying zentangle books trying to figure it all out. This is the book I should have bought first. (Well, I found another one that should be first: Let's Tangle by Kathleen Murray--well, go ahead, buy both of them!!) What I especially like is her hints such as " go slowly to get the proportions right" -- Instead of saying, "shading will improve your zentangles", she is specific, saying "If you want a piece to remain angular, the shading must have straight edges"-- If you have been frustrated trying to reproduce patterns that are "easy", buy this book and the other one I mentioned here. Zentangle is an absolutely great way to feel creative, to help when you are in crisis, to just have fun with drawing. (I practiced tangles when I was bored out of mind on jury duty) If you follow the lessons in this book, you will be creating beautiful work. It is amazing.

I have been participating in a weekly zentangle group, and have started doing a daily zentangle as part of my meditation activities. This book is a great introduction to the activity.

I am reviewing a Kindle purchase, not the print version. First, regarding Zentangles: this is a method for meditation. Despite the title of the book, it is not primarily about drawing or having fun or even creativity. It is a visual approach to attaining the mindful focus that is the goal of meditation. Many people use the type of drawing involved in Zentangles for all these things, but they are not the original purpose. Don't be disappointed by this. Second, the book itself. I was attracted to the daily practice as a discipline- and also to the low Kindle price available when I bought it. Book pros and cons: Pros: - Daily prompts that seek to build on previous exercises. - Illustrations of completed tangles that use the day's and previous days' concepts - Reasonable pace of material presented Cons: - Mediocre directions for individual tangle forms. Despite being shown in step by step fashion, the directions were often puzzling, and I had to resort to Googling directions for a clearer explanation. - In common with most instructions for Zentangle, overly expensive materials are emphasized. If you purchase branded Zentangle "tiles" (the precut paper used for tangles) you will spend a lot of money. Even if you just purchase the high end art supplies listed in the book you will be out over a hundred dollars. While I respect the goal of valuing what you produce, I value the process over the product. - Again, with all Zentangle instruction, there is a disconnect between insisting that the forms of each tangle be followed with some precision and the assertion that there are no mistakes in tangling. Finally, the book mostly does what I spent my $3 to get. But the instructions can be frustratingly confusing, and it's foolish to spend a lot of money on supplies you don't need. Start with a smooth writing, fine tip black pen, a #2 pencil, and a blank (unlined) journaling book. You already have the pencil, you probably have the pen, and you can get the blank journal at a discount store or on Amazon for very little. Then, if this becomes an important part of your daily life, you buy some nicer materials later.