8 Hour Grid Tangle - Breaking the Rules

This is a drawing that I spent 8 hours drawing, coloring and shading. That's about the average time I spend on larger drawings now, but this was one of the first that I spent so much time on. I remember as I was using the graph paper to create these patterns, that I really wanted to color this purple and orange. I didn't really care that these two colors don't typically go together, I just really wanted some contrasting colors that I don't use very often and I just wanted to color some of the drawing. I used pencil instead of markers to create the appearance of different textures within the drawing. I really wish the shading showed better on camera because in person it's a unique effect.

If you've been a long time viewer of mine, you might have noticed that I like to "break the rules" when it comes to colors and even technique. I like finding my own style. If you research how to choose colors and how to shade, there's many resources on how to do it the "right" way. Even in my Zen Doodle Unleashed book I have the "right" way outlined, but I also stress that this isn't nearly as important with tangle patterns as it is with realistic drawings. I use shading in areas that I think it will look good.

Using graph paper is a great way of experimenting with different patterns that requires grid lines to create the pattern. I like to use 4x4 graph paper when I am trying new patterns and a smaller 5x5 when I want to create a detailed drawing. When I don't need a grid for the entire drawing, I will create grid lines with just a ruler and pencil in a few select areas and the size of the graph will depend on how large I want the pattern to be in the drawing.

Here's the video for the drawing. Please don't listen too much to the audio. I no longer teach classes through ANU, my classes are with Skillshare instead.