Double Ratoon Lesson

Today I finished the picture we started yesterday during another super intense lesson with Art Clubbers on how to create double (and even triple Ratoon loops. Ratoon is a really pretty tangle (originally deconstructed by Zentangle, Inc.), and I just love the way that it flows very seamlessly from the tip of my pen.

We started the session by exploring how to create the Ratoon loops:

Once we felt solid about the process, we started our project — participants could choose to work on a white or tan Zendala. The beginning looks pretty simple:

The second and third rows are the most fun, because they increase the complexity of the tangle dramatically:

Next, I showed Clubbers a variety of options (including how to create black pearls in the center) and also how to share work the background, letting them select their choice of medium and style. Here you can see my own work in progress and the final (completed after class).

The background was worked with tangle Opus (Zentangle).

We had a record breaking attendance, almost 100 people came to class. The first part of class was a demonstration, and in the end we broke up into smaller groups for people to fraternize and chat. Here are some of the work in progress pictures of the class participants:

Below is a close-up of my final picture. I used brown and black pen to create the line-art, and markers and colored pencils for shading. You can see my new box of Caran D’ache Pablo pencils in the background, a recommendation by the multi-talented Jenna Black, who's been raving about them no end. I took the plunge and used my Mother's day gift cards to get myself a set.

AT FIRST, I didn't quite see the advantage of the Pablos over my Faber Castell Polychromos, but after a while, wow, I am hooked, I can't get enough of them. They require NO BLENDER, they blend as smooth as butter with very little graininess. (The graininess you see at the bottom of the loops is my previous shading with the Polychromos). Aside from that, my only comment is that it takes a while for them to get super saturated color like the Polychromos, but it's totally worth it.

The other thing you might notice in this picture is the word Gratitude, and that was part of a "homework” assignment from a class I took earlier in the week with a lovely CZT. I always had somewhat good handwriting, but this class was a game changer for me. More about that later in the month!

Feel free to pin these images if you like!

As usual, all my online live classes are available for all Art Clubbers. Video recordings are made available for those who cannot participate. Learn more here