How to Draw a Pink Gemstone with Tombow Markers

  Here's a video tutorial on how to draw a simple pink gemstone using Tombow's dual brush markers. I used colours from the set of ten, bright.

dramatic browns

  I have a mini-tutorial for you this week!

  For this week of Joey's challenge, we had to use the pattern, "Frames". I saw possibilities with it, but felt that I could simplify its step-outs further... Here's the tile that I created for the challenge.

  And here's the mini-tutorial on how I drew a simplified version of "Frames", if you'd like to learn.

  Other than that, I've been super excited to show you what Debra Huff did to the embedded letter tile I sent her a while back. This was, of course, for the Travelling Tangles Project. Here's my start:

  And here's how Debra finished it:

  Absolutely stunning, isn't it? There are so many tiny details, I keep finding new things each time I look.

  I'm finally back to creating videos.... I have upcoming videos already completed. So if you're not subscribed to my YouTube channel yet, you totally should. And if you live in Singapore, you should totally come attend a weekly Zentangle class with me. May is going to be the last month that I'm teaching as I'll be going for my maternity leave from June onwards. Find out more about my classes, via this link.

  As always, thanks for dropping by. I'll see you next week, and until then, keep tangling!

How to Draw: Ginili

  Here's a mini tutorial on how you can draw Ginili.

How to Draw: Abeko as a String

Abeko is such a pretty tangle, and it's versatile too! Learn how to draw Abeko as a string by watching this video.

Watercolour Background with Tombow Markers Tutorial

  A short and sweet tutorial on how to create watercolour backgrounds using Tombow Markers.

How to Draw: Cadent

  Cadent is such a pretty tangle and you can do so many things with it... However, in this video, I focus on just teaching the steps to draw the tangle, and varying the "S"-curves of the tangle.

  You can, of course, vary the spheres, vary the grid, vary the size of different elements in the tangle, and also add different patterns inside Cadent. It's so versatile!

  I'll be posting another video of how to draw a triangular Cadent next. Why so much Cadent? Because I wanted to post a new "Draw With Me" video, but then realised that it was a little too advanced for beginners to understand on the get-go. So this video, and the triangular Cadent video will be stepping stones to my next "Draw With Me" video. Excited yet? I know I am. ;)

  Until then, keep tangling!

How to Draw an Ammolite Gemstone

  You know what's great? Tutorial Tuesdays! Today, I'm going to show you how to draw an ammolite gemstone and it's going to be beautiful.

  First off, what are ammolites, you ask...? They're the kind of gemstones that dragons would keep in their hoards, that's what they are. Go search for "ammolite" on Google. Go on. I'll wait.


... Gorgeous, aren't they?

  And I made a video that will show you just how I drew this gemstone:

  Here's the video: https://youtu.be/pzWNUpQfPjE


  The tile was part of Travelling Tangles' March Swap. The theme for that month was gemstones, and this tile of mine went to Lynn Noga who completed the tile this way:

  I was absolutely blown away by how amazing it turned out. I never would have thought to finish it that way. If you'd like to do collaborative Zentangle tiles with other artists from all around the world, join us over on the Travelling Tangles Project Facebook page. (Link to it is right here.)

Moonstone Tutorial

  Moonstones have lots of different colours in them. So you're going to have to do some noodling around with your own gemstone even if you decide to try following my tutorial. I do hope that my video would help you in some ways, though... To get a sense of the colours you can use, or the ways to colours the gemstone. Because moonstones look so pastel and have such soft colours, I decided to use complimentary colours for the stone's shadow instead of using black like I usually do.

  The materials I used are:

1. Original Zentangle® tile
2. Uni-ball Signo Broad Pen for highlight
3. Prismacolor coloured pencils

    The colours I used are as follows:

1. White PC938
2. Sky Blue Light PC1086
3. Non-Photo Blue PC919
4. Periwinkle PC1025
5. Indigo Blue PC901
6. Lilac PC956
7. Lavender PC934
8. Pumpkin Orange PC1032
9. Beige PC997
10. Jasmine PC1012

  And here's the photo reference I used:

Link to where I found this picture.

  If you liked this tutorial, here's another jewel tutorial that you might like: (click here)

  If you have any questions or requests for future videos, let me know in the comments section below.

Singapore Sling Zentangle Step-Outs

  I was in the Certified Zentangle Teachers (CZT) Seminar 21, and it was there that I learnt how to draw "Auraknot". I loved how simple it was to create, even though it looked so beautifully complex. However, to me, Auraknot felt a little.... harsh. I wanted to make it look softer, more feminine. "Perhaps I should round out the point-y parts," I thought to myself. It was then that I created "Singapore Sling". I didn't come up with its name, by the way. I showed the tangle to Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, and much later, they emailed me saying that, amongst themselves, they would refer to the tangle as "Singapore Sling" as I lived in Singapore and the tangle resembled a sling. I found the name delightful and have stuck with it since then.

  If you already know how to draw Auraknot, this will be a breeze. The main difference is that the lines inside the Auraknot are tapered (you'll understand what I mean when you look at the step-outs), and that instead of starting with a point-y shape, you draw a flower shape, instead.

  Here are the step-outs:

To see this in a larger format, you can right click > open in a new tab
Or if you're on mobile, you should press and hold the picture. A little menu should pop up to allow you to open the picture in a new tab.

Instructions in more details:

1. First draw your basic outline. Kind of like a flower. It can have as many "petals" as you like. 
2. Draw a line.
3. Aura that line. Make sure you taper the ends. ("What does that mean?" You might want to have a look at the picture below to get what I mean.)
4. Turn your tile. Draw another line.
5. Aura that line. Remember: tapered ends.
6. Turn tile. Aura line.
7. Turn tile again. Aura line again.
8. You know what to do.
9. You've completed one round around the original flower shape that you drew. Now you can go another round. I usually go two or three rounds in total. Then it starts getting too crowded in the flower shape... 

  Now, what do I mean by "taper the ends"....

You can also see how different Auraknot and Singapore Sling actually are.
The concepts behind how to draw them are very similar, though.

  Here's what my mother, Joni, and I have created using Singapore Sling:

Singapore Sling with jewels.
Done by Joni. She likes to add perfs around her Singapore Slings.

Here's Singapore Sling with Nipa.

Here's one done on a black tile with some glitter Tipple and soapstone highlights.

Tiny Singapore Sling on a regular Zentangle tile...

And for contrast, a beautiful and huge Singapore Sling done on a postcard-sized paper.
Paired with colourful Tipple (we love using Tipple around here), and some gold accents.

  I also continued to explore in my sketchbook the various things I could do with Singapore Sling...

Varying the shapes, how  the lines overlap, the number of points you draw...
These all change the outcome of how your Auraknot/Singapore Sling will turn out. Explore options for yourself!

And as a throwback, this is the drawing that sparked my intrigue in how different Auraknot and Singapore Sling could look if I tried drawing it in different ways. (Yes, you can even add perfs or beads INSIDE Singapore Sling!)

Last but definitely not least, here's a tile in which I drew something that was an Auraknot-Singapore Sling hybrid. I loved the tile then, and I still love it now.  ^-^

  Also see my "Mooka, and then some..." post where I show you my way of drawing Mooka and the many things you can do with it. You can find it by clicking right here.

  Update: I made a video of me drawing Singapore Sling.

  I hope you found this post inspirational. Will you be trying out Singapore Sling? I'd love to see what you do with it. Keep tangling~

Mooka, and then some...

  "Mooka" was amongst the first few patterns that I got to know after I learnt about the Zentangle method. However, I was never fond of it because of how it didn't close up. I felt confused about how to shade it, and I didn't quite know what patterns to put behind it. (Did it even have a "behind"..?) Thus, it became a tangle that I never got around to using it.

  Fast forward to about a month or so ago... One of my students mentioned that they really liked how Mooka looked and asked whether I would teach the pattern in class. I voiced my concerns about the pattern to them, but added that I would figure out a way to make the pattern work for me- for us. I'm not one to give up easily. And after some fumbling about, I found a way to make Mooka easier to work with. For once, I actually liked Mooka. It then took on a life of its own and expanded to more ways than one.

  So, here's my step-outs to my tangleation of Mooka:

The last box with the star symbol just shows you how I draw each part of the Mooka.
I might post a video of me drawing Mooka as that might be easier to understand.

  There are so many more things you can do with this version of Mooka! Here are some ideas to get you started:

I especially like it as a border.

Here's a Zengem with Eddyper and Mooka at the bottom as a flourish.
I have Zengem tutorials on my YouTube channel. (Click here if you'd like to see them.)

  What I hope you take from this post is to look at old patterns with fresh eyes every now and then. To attempt tangles you previously didn't enjoy, just to see whether you'd have a change of heart. To think of new ways to draw a tangle so that you would enjoy using it. I hope I inspired you and that you learnt something from me today. I'd love to see what you come up with using my tangleations of Mooka. Have fun and keep tangling~

Making Zengems/Jewels 3D

  I posted a video on my YouTube channel earlier this week. In it, I showed you how to make your Zengems/jewels look literally three-dimensional. It's a really simple and easy method. In case you missed the video, here it is:

  I've completed quite a couple of zengems using this method. Here are some of them:

The one you saw in the video.
Also, notice the really pretty "Mooka" that I used as a border. I'll be posting a "Mooka... and then some" tutorial soon.

I love this emerald green.

  How did I do it? The answer is that I used Mod Podge's Dimensional Magic. It absolutely has to be Dimensional Magic and not any other glue. I tried using normal white glue, and also Mod Podge Gloss, but they both dried with bubbles in them and ended up looking horrid.

  The back of the bottle says to allow 3 hours of drying time, but I usually let them dry overnight. You can draw multiple jewels and then set them aside till' you collect a good amount of them. And then mod podge them all at one go. It's more convenient that way.

  Do not shake the bottle as doing so will cause bubbles to form in the glue. If you cap the bottle properly, the glue will remain runny. If you must somehow shake the bottle, don't shake it up and down, but instead roll the bottle between your hands (like if you were to start a fire with sticks). You can keep a pen knife and some tissue handy so that if there are bubbles in the glue, you can poke them/remove them before you let the glue dry.

  I hope you create many beautiful things with this new knowledge. Leave me a comment in the comments section below if you'd like, and don't forget to keep tangling~

This is the how-many-th jewel that I've drawn..?

  You're here for the tutorial, eh? It's quite simple, really. Watch the video then read the steps to follow along what I'm doing.

1. Very lightly outline the shape of the jewel with a pencil; not forgetting to add a border for it.
2. I'm adding the darkest tone to the left side of the jewel; which is different from what I usually do. But I'm a rebel like that.
3. Now for the mid tone. You'll notice that I'm following the shape of the jewel- which is a sort of bean shape. It's at this point that I have a slight regret for choosing green as the colour of the jewel. (Is it a jewel, or a shiny bean?) ... But onwards we must go.
4. Lighter tone... And then the lightest tone (which is a sort of grass green). Looks good.
5. Now we add black. Just to the very edge of the dark side of the jewel.
6. And now we saturate the colours, moving from the darkest colour to the lightest colour.
7. Now for the highlight. I'm using a white Uni-ball Signo Broad pen. Adding white to here, here, and just a little tiny bit there and there.
8. Shall I lighten things up a little? ... Yea. I'll try. Using a white coloured pencil, I'm lightening the jewel just a tiny bit. 
9. Looks good?  ... Looks good. Now all we need is to go crazy with the Zentangle around it. However, I messed up that part. You don't need to see my shame, so there's no video of that.

  Hope this tutorial was fun. I should make more of these light-hearted tutorials in the future. I'm going to start adding voice-overs to some of my videos. And I have a super long tips and tricks video in the pipeline so look out for that. ^-^

  If you'll like to read a more serious tutorial, read this blog post: (click me)

  Keep tangling~

Tutorial: Blue Jewel/Jem/Gem on White Paper

  As requested, here's a tutorial showing how I draw a blue jewel/jem/gem on white paper. I wanted this second tutorial to teach you something different from my first, so in this video, I don't use a pen to add highlight. Instead, I use the white of the paper as a substitute. I'm hoping this will be useful for those of you who don't have a white pen, or don't enjoy using pens with your coloured pencils. 

  Note that I'm using Derwent's Coloursoft pencils, and so I'm not adding any water (unlike if you use Derwent's Inktense pencils). I don't think there's a need for notes this time around because everything is pretty much written out in the video. I've already planned to make another video with some tips on using dry coloured pencils to create jewels. Many artists use Inktense pencils or watercolours, and I think those of you who are looking to just use dry coloured pencils will find my next video useful.

  As always, feel free to ask questions in the comments section below, and also to make requests for what coloured/shaped jewels you'd like to see in my next tutorial. ^-^

how to draw jewels/jems/gems for Zentangle

  Isn't the new trend of jewels (or jems, or gems) such fun? I've been looking at all the beautiful works being posted online and I've been so inspired. Having used coloured pencils as one of my main mediums for the past two years and counting, it was a no-brainer that I should try drawing these jewels for myself. And to help others who would like to try it out too, I've made a video showing a really simple way to create these jewels.

Basically, every jewel will have a dark, medium, and light part. Choose what colour you want your jewel to be, then pick three or four pencils from that family of colours. Pro-tip: Choose rougher paper. If you're going to draw on printer paper, it's not going to look as great as compared to if you used drawing paper... If the paper is too smooth, the pigment of the coloured pencils will not have enough tooth to grip on so the colours will look dull.

  So for example, if I wanted my jewel to be red-orange, this might be the pencils I'd use:

  If I wanted my jewel to be blue, this might be the pencils I'd use:

  If I wanted my jewel to be green, this might be the pencils I'd use:

  In the video, I decided a purple jewel would look nice. Pro-tip: When using coloured pencils use small circular motions to lay down the pigment. You can see me doing so in the video. This ensures that the colours will be nicely blended and that the jewel will look smooth.

  So what, exactly, am I doing in the video...?

1. I first start off with Blackberry C280 and lay down the dark part of the jewel.
2. Moving on to Purple C250, I add a mid-tone.
3. Bright Purple C240 comes next. Small circular strokes and light pressure is the trick.
4. The last colour I use is Deep Fuschia C140. It goes over the entire jewel.
5. Then I use White C720 to lighten the area around the highlight.
6. Is that done? No, not really. I move my way back from Deep Fushia, Bright Purple, Purple, and lastly Blackberry.. Just to saturate the colours and make the jewel really pop.
7. Then I use my white uni-ball signo broad pen to add the highlights. (I struggle a little in the video to get the ink flowing because my pen is running out of ink.. oh no~)
8. And we're done!

Pro-tip: If you feel that the coloured pencils aren't filling the entire space and it bother you, there are many ways to solve it. You can:

• Use a white pencil (but note that doing so will lighten your colours)
• Use an old brush with stiff bristles to brush the pigment into the paper. This might sound ridiculous but I guarantee you it works.
• Use spirits. I'm talking about mineral spirits here, but feel free to pray, too.
• Derwent sells colourless blender pens. Linky link to a review of them right here (click me).
• Use colourless blender pencils.. They're just pencils with wax/oil (depending on the brand you buy from). Think of a coloured pencil without the colour. That's a colourless blender pencil. Here's mine:

  Here are some other jewels I've made:

  As stated in the video, I'm using Coloursoft coloured pencils by Derwent. Prismacolours were great when they were made in the USA, but now they're made in Mexico and the quality of their pencils has gone down the gutters since. Polychromos are great too, albeit being a little expensive.

  If you'd like me to do another video using different colours, or drawing a different shaped jewel, request them in the comments section below. And don't be shy to ask questions too.   ^-^


  Liked this tutorial? Click here for more jewel inspiration!

30 Tiles Zentangle Challenge (coloured version)

  About three weeks ago, I showed you guys the 30-tiles Zentangle Challenge project that my mum, Joni Toh, and I did. (If you haven't seen it, you can click this link to view it.) And as promised, we're back to show you guys how the coloured version of the project turned out. ^-^

  I used Derwent's Inktense bars, which I love love love. However, I noticed when I was adding tangle patterns on the tiles, that the colour did choke up the Sakura pens and I had to run them over a scrap piece of paper every now and then to get the ink running again. No biggie, though. Just a mild inconvenience.

  We used paper from the same paper mill as the ones Zentangle® uses for their original tiles.

Here's how the paper looked like after laying the Inktense on it.
I left a white border around the entire paper.

After adding water, plus using some tissue to blot some areas to add visual interest.

After drying, plus adding strings to the entire piece.

It was messy work. My fingers got all dirty.
Everything washed out really easily, though.

And here's the work after we finished all the tiles:

I didn't reduce the picture's resolution, so if you'll like to see the patterns we used, you can just right-click > open image in a new tab.

  The project was so much fun to do, and we're both really happy with how it turned out.

  What are your current favourite Zentangle patterns? I'm trying to find new and/or old patterns to learn. When I first started learning Zentangle, my favourite pattern used to be "Paradox". I've really liked working with "Diva Dance", "Undu", "Onion Drops", "You Are Here (YAH)", and "SharlaRella". I'm currently in love with "Pixioze". Let me know your favourites in the comment section below!

30-Days Zentangle Project

  I have an exciting project to show you...

  Basically, after the exhibition started, my mum and my artistic creativity started to slow. So to combat that, we thought of a project to do- a 30 days Zentangle project. The idea was to do at least one Zentangle tile a day.

  We got one large sheet of paper. Drew out 30 Zentangle tile-sized squares onto it. Drew many many strings onto it. Made sure to number each tile and indicate which way was the right way up. And then cut the paper into the individual tile sizes. 

  We finished the project before the 30 days period, because on some days, we did more than one tile. After finishing all the tiles, we placed the tiles into their correct places, then glued them onto a larger paper. My mum also did a calligraphy of "Everything Is Art" on the left side of the paper. Here's what the final piece looks like.

I didn't adjust the size of the picture this time. So if you want to see all the pretty details on each tile, just right-click the picture, and select "open image in a new tab".

  We thought the project was a great success and also created a coloured version of this challenge. You can see it via this link.

  If you do get around to doing a 30-tiles Zentangle Challenge, do leave us the link to your blog post in the comment section below. We would love to see what you did. ^-^

Tutorial Tuesday: Turn a Shirt into a Scarf

  I ordered some stuff from Threadless.com over the Halloween period because they were having a free international shipping promotion. I had my eyes set on this particular jacket that I really really liked, but then I thought since they were giving free shipment, I should try getting a grabbag. 3 t-shirts in whatever size you want, for USD $25. Awesome.

  So I ordered two different sizes; female L and male M, just to see the difference in size and cutting... And thus began the wait.

  The goodies finally arrived and I received my super gorgeous jacket, plus 6 shirts. I liked them all but there was one shirt in particular that I didn't like....

This one.

  Now, I know who Kid President is. He's from the Soulpancake channel on YouTube and I absolutely love the good vibes that Soulpancake has and all the awesome content it produces, and Kid President is a sweetheart. But I just do not like wearing people's faces on my shirts.

  So... I did what any crafty person would do.

  I repurposed the shirt into a scarf. And I'm going to show you how I did it. ^-^

 
  I'm assuming you've already picked out the shirt that you want to use for this project.

First step: You cut the shirt horizontally. The place you make the cut depends on how long you want the fringes of your scarf to be. The more space you cut, the longer the fringe of your scarf can be, or the thicker your scarf can be.
I am using a printed shirt, so I cut along the highest point that was not printed.

Next, you flip the cut-out portion 180 degrees and cut the fringes. You want to keep the sewing of the hem intact otherwise the threads will come undone during washes.
For illustration purposes, I placed the scissors where it was on the shirt in the previous picture.

  Following along?

 A note of advice: make sure that the number of fringes you cut is an even number. This is important.You should have your fringes now. Stretch them. They'll curl on their cut edges after you do that and look nicer and also be easier to tie.

Next you tie two strands of fringe together in a dead knot and keep going until you're out of fringes. This is why you need to make sure the number of fringes you cut is an even number. Otherwise you'll have lonely fringes without a friend to tie to. 

Tieing will take a while, but go slow to make it look neat.  This is how the ties should look.

Next, do the same tieing thing, but slightly lower this time.

Once that's complete, you have your base for your scarf.
You can chose to end it here. Or you can keep going to add details to it like I did.

I still have the rest of the shirt... So I cut horizontal strips from that. (You can choose to cut the entire section away instead of following what I did, but I didn't want the Kid President print to be recognisable.)

All the strips. Andddd~ Kid President looks creepy now. But nevermind that.

Bundle the strips together...

Then cut some excess cloth so that you can tie the bundle of strips to your fringe circle.

Like this.

Tadaa~ You have made yourself a scarf. 

  There are a huge number of different variations to this tutorial that you could do. For example, instead of cutting stips, you could just cut one huge section and tie that to your fringe circle. Or, you could cut the shirt directly under the armpits so that you wouldn't need to tie anything together, like this tutorial shows.

  I hope my tutorial has inspired you to try to repurpose your old shirts into something new... There literally are thousands of tutorials showing you how you can change your old shirts into tote bags, or mini rugs, pouches, scarfs, wall art, and lots of other things so if this tutorial didn't tickle your fancy, do some hunting around to find a project you'd like to do.

  Shoutout to Threadless for creating some amazing tshirts with designs from some amazing artists