5 Festive Zentangle® Tutorials to Add a Creative Touch to your Christmas season

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but Zentangle® is so delightful – as those well-known lyrics (almost) go.

At this time of year, we often find ourselves wanting to hide from the elements. While we’re getting ourselves all snug and cosy anyway, what better time to make a delicious hot chocolate, light a candle, and pass the time tangling?

Whether you’re looking for inspiration for festive Zentangle designs or simply want to add some holiday spirit to your tangling practice, here’s how you can bring the festivities into your art.

Supplies You’ll Need

To get started, here’s what I used for my festive Zentangle project. Feel free to adapt based on what you have on hand! You can look back to my previous blog on supplies for guidance on what tools would work best.

• Surface: A tan Zendala tile (4.5 inches across) or any surface of your choice.
• Pens: Signo metallic gel pens in green, red, and gold; a white Gelly Roll pen (No. 10).
• Pencils: Prismacolor Crimson Red (No. PC924), Poppy Red (No. PC922), and Orange (No. PC918); General’s Kimberly Watercolour pencil in Yellow Ochre (No. 717); General’s pastel chalk pencil in Grass Green (4407).
• Extras: Blending stumps, a water brush, and optionally an eraser (for rubbing out unwanted string lines).

Step-by-Step Tutorial

1. Setting up your Tile

Using the Zentangle Markus Operandus or Zen Linea’s Mandala Builder (both free online), mark out the main compass points on your tile, so the lines stretch across the surface. Sketch in a smallish orb in the centre of the tile.

2. Drawing the Star

• Ink the centre circle and alternate lines around it using your chosen pen.
• Starting from the outer point of one line, draw a gradual stroke down towards the centre, making it wider as you go. End where the next line meets the centre circle.
• Mirror on the other side to form one star point, then continue around the circle to create a four-pointed star.
• Add an aura (outline) around the entire star shape.

3. Filling the Star

• Inside the star points, draw a curved, mirrored Shattuck pattern (a Zentangle HQ tangle) or a filler of your choice.
• Aura the inside of the centre circle to give it extra definition.
• Ink in the space between the auras to create a solid, thick line.

4. Adding Locar to the Star Points

• On the outside of each star point, draw Locar (a Zentangle HQ pattern). Create a slightly curved line, adding overlapping needle-like shapes along its length.
• Colour the needles with a green pastel pencil, blending towards the centre.
• Add red “berries” with a gel pen for a festive holly effect!

Adding a Zen Gem

Zen gems are a beautiful way to finish your tile. Here’s how I created mine:

1. Lightly colour the edge of your orb with the darkest shade (Crimson Red).
2. Blend the colour into the middle shade (Poppy Red), extending it towards the centre.
3. Add the lightest shade (Orange), leaving a small highlight.
4. Repeat these layers with slightly more pressure, blending as you go then blend further with a blending marker or a white colouring pencil.
5. For a final touch, use a white Gelly Roll pen to add a sharp highlight on the opposite side of the orb.

Shading and Finishing Touches

• Add shading around the inside and outside borders of the star with graphite, blending to soften the effect.
• In the ring between the star and the Zen gem, draw gold orbs with a small highlight. Outline these orbs for extra definition.
• Use a Yellow Ochre watercolour pencil to shade the star points. Activate the colour with a water brush for a soft, festive glow.

Other Festive Tutorials to Explore

If you’re looking for even more inspiration, I wanted to mention these wonderful festive Zentangle tutorials from other Certified Zentangle® Teachers:

1. NP Arts Christmas Artwork – Zentangle-inspired wreath.
2. 15 Minutes of Zen! Cute Little Gnome – Kelli Blouin – The gnome tutorial that inspired my daughter’s Christmas card last year!
3. Not Perfect Zen – Barbara Langston – Snowflakes Holiday Card with Zentangle Patterns Brr, Syng, Snow Flower, and Ahh. This video also provided the starting point for my own tile in this blog.
4. Henriëtte Robben Tangling for Christmas 1 – A tangled Christmas bauble and festive foliage.

Share Your Festive Zentangle Creations!

I’d love to see your variations on this tutorial! Tag me on Instagram or Facebook or even email your tiles to me – I may even feature them in a future post.

For even more tips on getting started with Zentangle, download my free ebook here.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Keep tangling and sharing the festive cheer!