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

I have already bought this book 3 times and I end up giving it as presents. It's a great guide to learning Zentangle patterns even if you are not "arty". The patterns are graphically explained, there is not a lot of writing, but it is sufficient explanation and the images are clear and easy to follow. It takes no time to get going with your own variations, based on the patterns shown. Combinations are endless! Lots of inspiration in the images shown, you can use even the images that are part of the design of the book, on the side of pages etc. to inspire you. I soon found my self looking at patterns everywhere, door panels, ceiling rosettes, fabric prints, even the growth pattern of plants, and of course flowers. Old buildings are covered with interesting patterns that can be used to tangle. The V&A has hours of fun to offer in the patterns of their textile collections, as do most museums of art in London. You could say the Victorians invented tangleling... just look at any architecture from that era, and of course William Morris, his textiles are a great source o inspiration. A great book all around, I highly recomend it.

This is an amazing book. It doesn’t just give you patterns to copy, it makes you think about simple designs, in a way that makes each piece individual. I am no artist, but I have made zentangles which look amazing.

Really enjoying this book! It is clear and easy to follow. It shares great patterns and step by step instructions for the different designs. It also details shading techniques and focuses on finding individual style and making your own art for your own joy. Highly recommend.

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book. As I am still thinking about it ten years after my initial purchase, I have given it an extra star, though I am still not sure I like the book. The biggest pro is that the book is organised very much into daily lessons, and you can more or less a follow these lessons if you want to. That is what I did, and it set me up well in the Zentangle method. I am still practicing years later. Another pro is that this is one of the few very comprehensive Zentangle books available. There are many short pamphlet type books that can give you good ideas or help you with some aspect. This one introduces pretty much every Zentangle concept I've come across. But that's more a criticism of the library of Zentangle books available, rather than exactly a pro for this book. There is a lot of space in the market for someone to write a similar book that doesn't have all the problems this book has. The only exception to this is Maria and Rick's own Primer book, which is amazing and I very much recommend, but they don't seem to have UK distributors for their products, and it's very expensive to buy here. Now on to the problems. If you treat the book as a course like it suggests, it is very confusing. Most days introduce three new Zentangle patterns, and you're expected to use them, and what you've used on previous days, to draw a Zentangle tile (or similar in a sketchbook). Instead some days introduce another major concept. But on a lot of days it isn't clear what that lesson is intending to teach, or there are loads of extra concepts introduced and exercises suggested that contradict making a tile that day. Much later in the book, it suggests that the facing page of each day's double paged spread is a suggestion to make a Zentangle Inspired Artwork(ZIA). But that isn't explained until far into the book. And even then it is never explored whether you're expected to make two drawings each day, or to keep the ideas for later, or whatever. And many facing pages definitely don't describe a drawing, sometimes it's a concept you can use on any tile, like shading advice, sometimes it's a huge printing project to make multiple pieces. Basically, in the end I would largely ignore this facing page in order to be able to move on, it's helpful going in to know there will be extra ideas and stuff on most facing pages you probably can't use that day. It's also worth mentioning that in several years of drawing after the book I've never gone back to do any of these suggested extra projects, even when I'm desperate for ideas. They just aren't inspiring and many are unclear or confusing. I can tell I'm waffling on, but I guess that is because it made me confused and frustrated day after day when working on the book, and some days I'd just be angry and resentful as I made my drawing. This is my biggest criticism. Yes, you can treat this book as a course of daily exercises. But the author themselves is not fully committed to that idea, so you do have to do some interpretation of your own to make it work. There are many other little problems. One being that unlike other Zentangle books, the artwork in the book often isn't good, so there is nothing to inspire you. Often you wonder why you'd use a certain tangle because it looks so awkward, but if you look online you can find it used beautifully. General editing issues, such as every day having a long list of equipment needed that you won't use. The course isn't the full six weeks, as the final section is mainly just suggested ideas it would be hard to accomplish in one day. A lot of things in the book are confusing or not explained fully. It is just poorly conceived and edited. Some are complex issues more advanced artists would know, such as dealing with cool and warm version of a given colour like red, which I didn't understand at all when I used the book. It is explained in a couple of paragraphs, well before you really need it or can use it. A lot of stuff about shading, composition, etc, is like this. Shoved into the course when it is far too early for someone new to art to understand it, and then hardly explained at all. Very expensive materials are suggested at the start of the book, but then some of that stuff isn't even used, and other materials are used but aren't fully explained. This book did get me into spending more than I'd intended, and to some extent I appreciate being introduced to luxury materials (I think treating yourself as much as you can budget for it part of Zentangle. It is intended to be a break that makes you feel good, and even expensive pens are quite affordable in the big scheme of hobby purchases), but it is a double edged sword, as it makes Zentangle feel a bit sleazy and like you're being advertised to and pushed to spend money the whole time. You can complete the whole book with just ordinary things like fineliners pens (Faber Castell PITT pens are great but not even needed), pencils, and any paper you've got. A few little extras like colours of some kind, tortillons or blending stumps, white coal pencils and white gel pens are nice to have. The book pushed me to buy a few things that turned out to be useless even when I went more deeply into Zentangle. This leaves me not knowing whether to recommend the book. It's got big problems, but is probably the only similarly comprehensive introduction to Zentangle. The Primer book is much better I would say, with a better ethos. The only thing this book has that's better is it sets you up with around 30 activities to do in order. If you don't have one of these books, you can learn these things online, or from a pile of smaller books. But it might be hard to get a clear idea of what the whole Zentangle method is. On the other hand, you probably don't need that as this is supposed to be about finding whichever bits you find fun to use yourself. The method overall is a bit commercial and pushy. But after years of reflection I forgive them for that, because they put out a lot of free content, and in some ways are quite generous with their ideas and skills. Maria's own artwork is amazing, and no other big figures in the field can come close to it.

This is a great book for beginners of this type of doodling art. As someone who really can't sit still without wanting to make something, I was intrigued when I came upon this book. You are able to produce little pictures without a great deal of equipment, just sitting with a pad on your lap. The book begins with simple designs & instructions that you build on each day & I find it relaxing & absorbing to do. The pictures can become more complex as you go, introducing colour if you want to. I think this would be great if you had a creative block or were just wanting something to do while bed-bound or on holiday or while he is watching the football.

Unusual drawing course for those who struggle with art, this book walks you through developing different art techniques in note sized daily lessons. Easy to pick up and follow, each lesson combines several new elements into a "tile" design, some of which are really pretty. Very accessible language throughout, and easy to fit in around life's many other commitments. Will it teach my partner to draw better? Time will tell, but she certainly has enjoyed it so far!

A really good book if you start Zentangling. It contains a lot of patterns and techniques.

This book has good diagrams to explain how to make different zentangles which I found very useful.. However apart from that I didn't like the book - it is too dogmatic about the materials and processes you MUST use to make a 'proper' zentangle. The constant 'rules' didn't inspire me. An index to the different patterns or a summary chart would be a useful addition as the author keeps referring to them in subsequent chapters and I can't remember all the names - in the end I made my own index for the different tangles. My advice is to choose for yourself what you want to take from the book and then use it in your own way. Certainly experiment with different pens/papers etc - you dont need the ones she says. There is a lot of material to cover each day which may leave you feeling stressed or disappointed - quite the opposite to what zentangling is all about. Personally, I like the more inspirational approach of zen doodling books.

Livre en anglais - Très bien pour aborder le Zentangle

Muy bueno

Das Buch hält, was es verspricht: in sechs Wochen lernt man nach und nach die Grundmuster der neuen Entspannungskunst Zentangle kennen. Leicht verwandt mit dem klassischen Formenzeichnen sind Zentangle zunächst in kleine Quadrate (im Buch werden 8x8 cm empfohlen) gemalte Muster, die "Schritt für Schritt"-Zeichenmethode führt dabei rasch zu Konzentration auf das Tun und damit zu geistiger Entspannung. Anders als bei Formenzeichnen haben die Muster also einen festen, kleinen Rahmen, was den Effekt hat, dass auch Zeichenanfänger nicht erst einmal wie geschockt vor einem großen weißen Blatt sitzen und Hemmungen überwinden müssen, ordentlich groß loszumalen. Die kleine Form erleichtert den Einstieg enorm. Jeden Tag lernt man zwei bis drei neue Muster kennen, zwischendurch wird das Erlernte vertieft, indem man z.B. Muster kombinieren oder Licht und Schatten einfügen soll. Auch bei völlig unbegabten Menschen (mancher kann einfach nicht frei zeichnen) entstehen so hübsche kleine Kunstwerke, man ist selbst verblüfft, mit welch simplen Mitteln man schöne Effekte erzielen kann. Am Ende gibt es noch interessante Erweiterungen wie selbsterstellte Mandalas, Buchstabenmuster und Malen auf schwarzem Papier. Man braucht dazu nicht die Menge an Materialien, die am Anfang des Buches dargestellt wird, eine Din-A 6 Kladde mit Blankoseiten, weiche Bleistifte und Buntstifte reichen völlig. Egal, ob am Abend nach der Arbeit (oder morgens im Zug auf dem Weg dahin), im Urlaub, am Wochenende oder sogar im Wartezimmer, hat man die Muster erstmal erlernt, kann man mit wenig Material und Aufwand jederzeit entspannend tätig werden.

Ottimo acquisto, arrivato nei tempi previsti, ben imballato, senza danni o segni di usura. Ben illustrato e con spiegazioni esaurienti.

As a beginner Zentangler, I asked for suggestions on what books to start with. One Zentangle A Day was the most suggested and I'm so glad I listened. It is beautifully illustrated and well written with concise, easy to follow instructions on how to create beautiful patterns and tangles. I found it easy to follow and not overwhelming. Each chapter gives an outline of what is entailed and has a week long daily activity with a pattern or patterns to learn. It is meant to be covered in six weeks with six chapters, each with seven lessons per chapter, but can easily be adapted to your own pace and schedule. It starts with an introduction to Zentangle and gives a list of suggested supplies but many people start simply with paper and pen. Along with the book, I bought some Zentangle tiles and micron pens, but found that I wasn't ready to start creating on tiles yet and instead picked up a small sketchbook to practice in. The tiles are beautiful though to be able to create a finished Zentangle on. I'm so glad I bought this book. For me, it is not a book to be raced through in six weeks. I am going through it slowly, almost savouring everything I am learning and enjoying the time to slow down and immerse myself in the experience. It's a book I will return to over and over again.