Tangle Art Supplies

I first became of the Zentangle /Tangle movement while visiting a local craft store. Adult coloring books and Zentangle books are big business right now and there was a large area of the store devoted to books and supplies. I connected instantly with this style of art and thought it would be a great idea to have some form of art that I could do that didn't take up much time or space, especially since I knew that I would be less active for a few months. However, I did buy some supplies that I was unhappy with later, so for those who want a little more guidance...

Tangle Art Supply Recommendations (Short Version):

• Black pen: Prismacolor black fine-line markers -- These are more waterproof than Micron or Sharpie pens, which is important if you like to color tangles with water-based markers. They are acid-free. I generally use size 05 (0.5mm) most of the time, with size 03 (0.3mm) for finer detail and size B (brush tip) to fill in large black areas.
• Paper: Strathmore Artist Tiles -- I like white 4" by 4" tiles. Larger sizes take a really long time to fill up unless you do simple and/or very large patterns. A 6" by 6" tile works well with kids, in my experience, especially if you are using wider tip markers. You can also buy these in tan and black.
• Colored Pens for adults: Tombow Dual Brush Markers if you want a lot of colors and want to experiment with color blending. Copic markers seem to be good also if blending isn't as important (I only tried them out in the store) and have the benefit of being reasonably waterproof. Sharpie permanent markers are a good option if you want a good variety of inexpensive pens.
• Colored Pens for kids: Use "washable" markers if you must, but regular Crayola pens have much richer color. Try to get more colors than they typically get in school or add different color options. If you can trust your kid with Sharpie permanent markers, those are a good low-cost option with a good variety of colors. If your kids draw tangles in black and then color them, I recommend getting a good waterproof marker (such as a size 1 (1mm) Prismacolor black fine-line marker) to draw the patterns so that their markers won't smear the lines.
• Pencil, pencil sharpener, eraser (Zentangle purists say not to have an eraser available -- whatever)
• some kind of blending stub if you want to shade your tangle using pencil
• access to some collection of tangle patterns is helpful
• small (around 4" to 6") ruler to help plan difficult tangle patterns
• helpful stencils. I like starting many tangles in circles (typically 3") and sometimes separate tangles by using circle stencils in some way. Letter stencils can also be helpful.

Art Supply Investigations (Long Version)

Initial Supplies

As a start I purchased two drawing books: Joy of Zentangle and Time to Tangle with Color available at my local craft store. The official Zentangle kits didn't have many pieces of paper in them and the paper looked too small to me (3" square), so instead I opted to buy some of the items separately. The books specifically recommended black Pigma Micron pens in different widths, so I bought size 01 (0.1mm), 03 (0.3mm) and 1 (1mm) to give me some options to try. These pens have the advantage of being acid free (which means they shouldn't fade over time or attack the paper they are on) and are "waterproof" (more on that later). Near the Zentangle supplies they were selling white Strathmore Artist Tiles which are also acid free, so I bought two sizes: 4" by 4" and 6" by 6". I didn't see the recommended colored pens in the store (Tombow Dual Brush Markers), so I initially skipped that. I bought a white Gelly Roll pen so I could retroactively add white over other colors or experiment with using white marker on black or tan backgrounds.

Best Black Pen

Get the best waterproof, acid-free black pen to do the tangle patterns, especially if you like to use markers (or watercolors) to color your tangles. Discovering that your "waterproof" black pen line smears as soon as you start adding color is not fun. I have not found a black pen that is 100% waterproof when you color over it with a color pen, but Prismacolor black fine-line markers are the best I've found. Definitely better than Sharpies, Micron pens, or Copic Markers. I generally use:

• size 05 (0.5mm) for most lines
• size B (brush tip) for filling in large areas (size 1 also works)
• size 03 (0.3mm) for the occasional fine detail.

Even with a pen that is relatively waterproof, giving the ink at least 10 minutes to dry before coloring it or resting your hand on it (as you tangle or color another area) is a good idea.

Color Marker Comparison

When picking color markers, some considerations to keep in mind are:

• number of available colors
• drying speed (affects how much blending or accidental smears I get)
• available pen widths and shapes
• price
• ease of replacing individual markers
• acid-free (better for art you want to last a long time)
• how even and clear the color is

Of course some of these are more or less important to different people. I experimented with a few different types of markers at an art store (Copic markers) and at home (Sharpie permanent markers and Tombow Dual Brush Pens). Here are some notes about each:

Tombow Dual Brush Pens

• Expensive (currently $125 on Amazon for 96-color set, which is $1.30 each)
• Water-based (more likely to smear on completed artwork if it gets wet, but allows more color blending, including "indirect coloring")
• Acid-free
• Two tip sizes on each pen
• Small variety of colors sold individually at some art stores; buying pens individually on Amazon is expensive if you include shipping costs

Copic Artist Markers

• Really expensive (currently $239.99 on Amazon for 72-color set, which is $3.33 each)
• Alcohol-based (less likely to smear on completed artwork, but dries fast enough that color blending is difficult)
• Some versions have replaceable nibs (points) and replaceable ink cartridges
• Provides a color chart that shows pen colors in the context of a complete color wheel, which I admit is pretty cool.
• Acid-free
• Different tip sizes and chisel tips are available

Sharpies Permanent Markers

• Inexpensive (Currently $59.99 on Amazon for set of 72 colors, which is only $0.83 each
• Alcohol-based  (less likely to smear on completed artwork, but dries fast enough that color blending is difficult)
• Not acid-free
• Once tip size for each pen (but you can buy pens with different tip sizes)