Friday, April 13, 2012

SNIRCLES


I've been playing with a new pattern. Meet SNIRCLES. 
Named so, because they are drawn in a snircular shape. Obviously.

This pattern requires a little bit of concentration. It's not difficult to draw, but you have to pay attention. Just remember north, south, east, east, north, west, south, north, west, east, west, and you'll be fine.

Just kidding.



Some ideas and variations I ran with while working through the steps.






Some tips for successful 'snircling':
For maximum zen, draw all of your outer circles at once. Then all of the auras (step 2), then all of the inner auras (step 3), then all the 'tails' (step 4). It's easier to keep track of which lines are going in what direction that way.

When drawing the initial circles, go slowly and make a complete circle every time. Don't stop your line because you bumped into another circle because they will look more misshapen that way. A little bit of overlap is ok.

If you curve your tails rather than keeping them straight, your spheres will look more dimensional, which can be further enhanced by shading later on.

Keep your snircles small, or they'll run rampant. Just like children, the bigger they are, the harder they are to wrangle. ;o) And there's nothing worse than an errant snircle!


As you can see, the direction they face can make a big difference in the way your full pattern looks.


 inward-facing





side-facing






random (only 50% zen, requires some decision-making while you draw)





same one, only stringier.







I know that non-representational art is the whole point of Zentangle... but if it wasn't, wouldn't these little tulips look cute tucked into a tangle?? I couldn't help myself. Let's blame the fourteen years I spent decorating cookies for a living.

The red pen is quickly becoming the bane of my blogosphere existence. I swear, I try to remember to use it, but by step two or three I forget and have to start all over. Or I draw the wrong step in the wrong color. It is BUSTING MY GROOVE. See the basic steps I drew up, at the beginning of this post? I hope you like them, 'cause it took three tries to get the right parts in the right colors!

My theme song for this next attempt will be a really catchy song by The Afters, appropriately titled 'Start Over'. ;o)

*seven index cards later*

Sooo... sorry about the lack of red ink here, but here are the steps for the fancy border. 




I love this one. How could you not, when it looks like a breakdancing caterpillar? There's so much room for variation with this pattern. Look at the difference in the two borders at the bottom, just from changing the direction of the snircles.


...and there's so much potential in the SHADING.


That's it for now... thanks for reading! As always, I'm open to suggestions for improving the process. 




10 comments:

  1. I love, love, LOVE snircles!!! Can't wait to start snircking! (I hope you don't mind the added "k"--"snircing" didn't look right. Or should it be "snircling"?)
    Thanks for sharing this cooooool new tangle with us, and inspiring us with all those variations!

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  2. Ah - I think I've found the subscribe button! Quite by accident! Very happy despite my stupidity ! Jakki

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  3. Jakki- You didn't overlook it the first time. I added the button after you suggested it. Took me a while to get it coded right... I'm not that technologically savvy, but I'm a pretty good guesser! :o) Thanks-

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  4. Gosh - well then - this little conversation has blasted both of us up into the stratosphere of computer savvy! However, I, for one, will not wallow in hubris! When it comes to computers they tend to leave me in a state less than full Red Alert, and then they zoom in with some completely heinous bug/set of circumstances which only my genuis-level son can solve. He, however, fled with his new bride to Korea two years ago to escape my pitiful cries for help!

    Sandy - I look forward to receiving your updates! I found Zentangle late last year - I asked for the Kit for Christmas as I couldn't think of anything else I wanted or needed (what a nice zen sort of place to be!) - I tentatively started some tangles and then, by chance, when we came down to Florida for the winter (first time doing that) I met Debbie Perdue at a local farmer's market where she just happened to be helping out a friend and had put out some Zentangles she happened to have! I've been able to go to 4 classes with her, which I've loved. However, I've also been trolling the internet for zentangle blogs - I've discovered several people whose work I love (you being one) but I've also uncovered a very OCD tendency to become totally mired in the web search to the detriment of my real life - gotta work on that one!

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  5. Thanks, Jakki! I really appreciate your enthusiasm. And your grammar. And your vocabulary. And your punctuation. And your sense of humor. ;o)

    FYI, if you're not already on Pinterest, it's a veritable gold mine for tangle patterns and Zentangle-inspired art (ZIA). And if you go to tanglepatterns.com and subscribe, you get emails with links to instructions for drawing patterns that people submit to the website. Also a gold mine. Two gold mines in one day...you're gonna need a bigger bucket!

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  6. I *love* Snircle... It might be favorite get-me-through-this-conference-call-alive pattern yet!

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  7. Snirc, snirc, snircle! Love it. Lots of opportunity for variation here. What a fun tangle. Thanks!

    Shoshi (snircing to herself)

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  8. Thanks for another great tangle, Sandy. Snircle On!

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  9. Bonnie RobinsonApril 04, 2018 7:55 PM

    Snircles are adorable! Thank-you for your great idea and fabulous sense of humour! (I'm Canadian:. we like to add the occasional extra vowel. Blame the British.) ��������

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  10. So glad Linda Farmer featured Snircles in her blog last week. I did't know the pattern before and it is so cute! Glad to add it to my list.

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