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.

Step-Outs to Naida

  I love my new tangle pattern, and I couldn't wait to post the step-outs to it even though I haven't used it in too many of my tiles just yet...

  I saw the tangle in a video I was watching on YouTube... It was on a curtain. Oh, the places we find tangle patterns....

  I worked on the step-outs and decided that I wanted to name it to have some links to water. I had narrowed the list of possible names down to three. I showed the tangle to a friend and asked him which name suited it the best. He said he liked "Naida" a lot because, to him, the pattern looked like the ripples that would appear in the water if a nymph was standing in it. I love that visual image so much!

  Here are its step-outs:

  And a video showing how I draw it, in case you're more of a hands-on learner:

Here's a tile I did with Joni Toh.

And here's one I did with Danielle DeRome. This one was done for the Travelling Tangles project.

  Here are some pages from my sketchbook:

Some variations of it.

And combining it with other tangles.

  I hope you have fun with this new tangle. I'd also love to see what you do with it, so feel free to leave direct links in the comments section of how you have used it in your art works.

  Another tangle? Ever thought that it's annoying how "Mooka" doesn't 'close' properly? Here's how I fixed it. It's my version of Mooka.

A-Yolk-Ah

  I found the time to get some challenges done this week!

  For some reason, I keep referring to "Akoya" as "Ayoka"........ *sighs exasperatedly* I did, however, very much enjoy drawing it.

Tile for Purely Zentangle.

  Tiles for this week's Diva Challenge: Shattuck

I'm in love with how this tile turned out.

And here's another. A collaboration between my mum, Joni Toh and I.
She did the beautiful jewel. I did the tangling.

  Here's one for Joey's Challenge. I took a whole lot of liberty with the "high five" string...

I swear I was trying to use all three of the tangles she listed; Coil, Pais, and Puf... But then I accidentally drew Yin-Cut instead of Puf.... Oops.

  Here's something that one of my students drew in her sketchbook. She was inspired by my wavy Arukas.

  Lastly, I've just found a new tangle. I've named it "Naida" and there is meaning to its name. You'll learn all about it in the post I make showing its step-outs. I found that you can do so many things with it. I'm so excited to show you.

Here's "Naida" in a tile. It's the leaf-shaped tangle.

  Thanks for reading, and may inspiration always find you. ^-^

Busy As a Bumblebee

Ahhh~ I didn't post here last week! I did post new videos over on my YouTube channel, though. (Click here to see what I've been up to over there.) I've started a new series called "Draw With Me" where I draw one or two tangles on a tile in real time so you can follow along. And then you get to complete the tile on your own. I'm already on my way to finishing editing the third video of the series. ^-^  And.... I've also posted new Zengems tutorials.

  In other news, I've completed lots of tiles, too.

Simple border Zendala.

Wavy Arukas with Luv-a as a border and Diva Dance as a background.

A tile done for Pi Day.

Here's a tile Jane Eileen and I did together for the Travelling Tangles project.
Join us over on the Travelling Tangles Facebook group.

A tile done during a class. I should've used an orange coloured pencil to shade the tile, though...

Here's Mi2 (Me Too). I seem to be addicted to drawing it.

And finally, a pretty Zendala.

  There are reviews and even more tutorials coming up. So watch this blog~   ^-^

Winner of Canson Inspiration Sketchbook Giveaway

  Congratulations to Cheong for winning the giveaway. I did a little switch-a-roo and gave Cheong one blue and one brown sketchbook (instead of two of either of the colours). I also enclosed a Sakura Micron pen as a bonus gift. ^-^

  Thank you to everyone who took part in it. Do look out for my next giveaway happening some time in June 2016.

This is what Cheong received.
The little note hides their address.

iLight at Marina Bay Sands

This was the sunset that happened that day.

  iLight is Asia’s leading sustainable light art festival, and has returned for its fourth edition. The exhibits all have to do with light and shadows. To promote environmental conservation, the artists have also incorporated recycled materials to their art works.

  The event happens from the 4th to the 27th of March 2016. It also spans a really large area and so I highly recommend wearing comfortable footwear when you decide to visit it. There are make-shift food stalls just outside of Marina Bay Sands so you can have dinner there first. Then head towards the bazaar area to buy hand-crafted items, and also have fun at Uncle Ringo's carnival. The actual light exhibits are scattered throughout the area. I loved one exhibit in particular, "Emograph".

  "The mysterious Emograph measures the visitor’s pulse and transforms it into a bright mosaic of colours and sound when a finger is inserted into the installation. The pulse triggers a motorised kaleidoscope into action, projecting the image onto a facade, at the same time converting the pulse into a complementary soundtrack." It's an instillation done by the “I DID IT" Society, a group of artists from Latvia. Here's my heartbeat:

  There also was a make-shift Haagen Dazs store that was the perfect place to take a little break at. Do try their limited edition flavour whilst you're there- chocolate with salted caramel. Really yummy.

  I was there for two and a half hours and didn't actually get to visit the entire event... I didn't go to Uncle Ringo's carnival, nor did I visit the exhibits at the Floating Platform.  So of course I'll visit it again this coming week. I leave you with this photo of me with angel wings... And if you visit the iLight event soon, you, too, can turn into an angel. Even if for only a few moments. ;)

Step-Outs to Velonia

  "Velonia" is Greek for "stitch". There's a basic way to draw the pattern, and once you get that, you can just add little humps to each of the stripes to get a more three-dimensional effect. And then to do away with the lines that go through the pattern, you just add Striping to it.

  There's a way to make this tangle easier to draw. I'll update this post with an explanatory video soon. And tiles too! I'll add example tiles to this post when I get around to using it.

Cubine with Velonia hovering over it.

A tile to celebrate National Pi Day.

Want to see another tangle done by me? Here's Jonee.

Step-Outs to Jonee

  Here's another tangle I created. It was on the edge of a basket, but I tweaked it so that it'd follow the ideals of Zentangle- that all tangles should be simple. I named it to sound similar to my mother's name...

  There are two ways to draw this tangle: a curvy way and a linear way. The curved one reminds me of chinese firecrackers, and the linear one reminds me of fish scales. Shading makes a whole world of difference for this tangle. I'll be playing around with the tangle more and will post tiles featuring it soon after.

Wanna' see another tangle done by me? Here's Versus.

Jonee within Jonee

They look like dragon scales here.

Step-Outs to Versus

  A while ago, I updated the little symbol that I would use to initial my tiles. I was playing around with a cursive "s". I fell in love with the nice swoop that the letter would provide, and I thought... why not repeat the shape? The "s" had a little loop at its top that I felt was not necessary in a tangle. I changed the loop to a sharp point. And that's how "Versus" was found.

  You can stack it, or have it apart... You can use it along a string as a divider... You can repeat it for it to be a filler pattern (although, it does look a little busy that way, to me... I might need to fiddle around with the tangle a bit more to feel more familiar with it).

  My favourite one is the last box- having two rows stacked on top of one another and shading the edges of the top and bottom. I'll be playing around with this pattern soon and will update this post with tiles after that.   View my other tangle: Singapore Sling

Update: I used the tangle for some tiles for Travelling Tangles swaps. (What is "Travelling Tangles"? Click here to find out.)

Black Zendala with shimmery acrylic paint over it.

And here's an ATC.

The tangles sure have travelled.

  It's a busy, busy week for me this week. But I'd just like to show you what Joni and I have been up to for the Travelling Tangles project...

Sandhya Manne with Joni Toh

Nancy Dawes with Joni Toh

Sandhya Manne with Stephanie Jennifer

Barb Hoopterp with Stephanie Jennifer

Nancy Dawes with Stephanie Jennifer

  Wonderful, aren't they? If you'd like to join this collaborative world-wide Zentangle project, do join us over on the Travelling Tangles Facebook page.

  And here are two coloured tiles... I'm still working through the Canson papers that I bought. (I have a review of Canson sketchbooks and papers right here. There's a giveaway at the end of that post too!)

Tripoli monotangle. I was noodling around with having beads in each of the Tripolis.

And a Paradox monotangle.

  Finally, I'd like to briefly mention that I've started to draw Zendalas. In the past, I used to use them like regular tiles- not caring about making them look symmetrical, or even filling the entire tile... However, I thought that it was about time I tried my hand at making something like those beautiful tiles I've seen other Zentangle artists do. Here's my first of many:

Striping on Paradox... Shattuck... African Artist...
Reminds me of an atom.

   And that's all I have for you. I don't think I'll be joining any of the weekly challenges. I am trying to make a flip-through video of the Derwent colouring book that is being sold at Art Friend... I am planning a new tutorial... And I am soon completing my Tiga sketchbook, and I'd like to do a tour of it after I'm done. So look out for those new posts coming to you soon. Until then.. Keep tangling! ^-^

Don't be afraid to sparkle a little brighter.

  My Zumba teacher is heavily pregnant now. So she's cutting back on classes. I used to go for her classes every Tuesdays and Saturdays, but now we only have the classes on Saturdays. I didn't want to cut back on my exercise... So I decided that I had to take up another activity. And that activity happened to be indoor rock climbing.

  Singapore has a couple of indoor rock climbing areas, which is a shocker to me, considering how small our country actually is. I chose to go to Kallang Mall, right next to the Stadium. Walkable distance from the MRT (our train system)... Accessible... Convenient... Not far from home...

  The last time I went there, we had this gorgeous sunset, and I took a few panorama pictures. Here's one:



  Onwards to artsy-fartsy things, though..

I finally got around to shading this tile.
Bales, Yew Dee, and Fassett.

Here's something I did in one of our classes: an Aquafleur flower with Sand Swirl as a background.

  Diva's challenge this week was perfect because I'm actually working on some shimmery Zendalas. They're original Zentangle® tiles, with Daler-Rowney shimmery acrylic paints laid over them. It's frustrating to take pictures of shiny or shimmery things because the camera never quite captures their magic. But "why are the tiles so empty?" you ask... Well, that's because they're up for swaps for the Travelling Tangles project.

If you've not heard about the Travelling Tangles project, though....
  Travelling Tangles is a collaborative project that aims to show how the Zentangle® method can bring people from around the world closer to one another. The idea is that you will draw on an original Zentangle tile but only finish the drawing half-way. Then you will send it off to another person for him/her to complete it. In exchange, they too will half finish a tile and send it to you for you to complete. Both you and the other person will then each have a tile to keep. You can find its Facebook group by clicking here.

So if you'd like one of these tiles, let me know in the comments section below!

  Finally, here's my tanglelendar for February. My theme for that month was circles. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. If you'd like your very own tanglelendar template that you can fill in yourself, you can find them via this link.

  Thanks for dropping by for a look. Keep tangling~