Zen Doodling

I have a gazillion Zentangle books, doodling books, drawing books. I know there is some controversy about this one and Sandy Steen Bartholomew's. I own all of Sandy's books and hesitated buying this one because IF there was plagiarism I didn't want to reward it. Then I ended up buying Scrace's Zendoodling Mandalas. That is one of the best creativity books I'm have ever purchased. So I ended up buying this one.Yes, there are some very distinct similarities. I can see that she did use Sandy's book as a jumping off point. What did I expect when someone doesn't have authorization to use the term "Zentangle", but skirts the issues by calling it "Zendoddling" and using many of the same concepts? Not exact duplication, but, well, definitely not completely her own ideas either and several ideas were far too much like Bartholomew's to just be accidental. She should acknowledge their influence and thank Bartholomew's and the Zentangle folks. It may be too late for that because the hard feelings have been allowed to fester for so long.That being said, Scrace's style and approach book are different and really enjoyable. For someone with so much talent, it is sad to see the "borrowing". This book provides new ideas though and a solid way of demonstrating and describing how to do things.I would suggest the Mandalas book over this one for pretty much everyone - the mazes section alone is drool worthy and provides hours of fun.

I am a Certified Zentangle Teacher and added this book to my personal library recently. After going through it several times, I don't understand exactly what the author is trying to say. Zen Doodling was chosen as the title because the word Zentangle is registered and cannot be used. The author has printed what appears to be her personal doodling examples and likens it to Zentangle in a rather veiled, confusing manner. It is apparent the author has read several of the books on Zentangle -- many are paraphrased within this volume -- yet there is no credit given for that inspiration. The Zen Doodle method is a watering down of Zentangle -- the specifics are there, but not identified. Many of the patterns used do not appear to be Zentangle patterns, nor does she suggest the use of Micron 01 pens and Zentangle tiles. This is a book on doodling, with zentangle information culled from other volumes and reworded. My thought is, if you're going to put Zen in your title, it is an attempt to tie it to Zentangle. Although she used her own wording and illustrations, the content is not entirely her own -- and the volume would not exist without it. The authors whose works she has drawn from, as well as Zentangle founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, should be acknowledged and thanked for their inspriation. This is a doodling book, folks. As such, it may help you with your practice of Zentangle, but there are other volumes out there (Creative Doodling, published by Walter Foster) whose titles are more accurate. Zentangle is a wildly successful and beneficial art form - I have no issue with people writing books on the subject. But when so much of their content is dependent on other published volumes, it ceases to be original, new information. This is a book I find it difficult to feel "good" about, given the heart and soul of Zentangle. Had the author chosen to credit her sources and inspiration, it would be more acceptable to me.

I started tangling a few years back and I have not stopped since. I have all the Zentangle books and collected many patterns and works of art on Pinterest. I know that there is bickering about whether this is plagiarized or stealing from the original creators of "zentangle" but like anything else (Starbucks, Caribou, Dunkin Donuts, Gloria Jeans, etc.) new versions will be created. So is it stolen? No. This book is different from the others and I did not see any plagiarism in this book compared to the other books on zen-doodling, doodling, zentangling, zendalas, sketching, drawing how-to books, etc. But if you really want to get upset about it, then don't buy it.This book offers: many colored pics, shading, mandalas, color wheels, texturing, using ideas from nature, fabrics, mixed media, enlarging, alphabet doodling, 3-D art, etc. There is a wide range of topics but nothing is covered in dept except maybe for the mandala section. If you just like to collect books on this kind of art or your a beginner, you should find something neat in this book.

Found very little to inspire me in this book I'm sorry to say. The suggestions for projects using zen doodles were very pedestrian. Where colour was used in the book, it showed little subtlety - many of the drawings etc reminded me strongly of work I've seen in other other Zentangle books.The book has its place in the doodling world - but the use of Zen in the title is misleading and smacks of hopping on the Zentangle waggon - I guess that is not unexpected, a successful notion will inspire spin offs, but unfortunately this book adds little to the Zentangle oeuvre - but, as I said, it is a reasonable book about doodling - though, when you think about it, why would you need a book about how to doodle? You just DO doodling - that's the whole point - there is not rhyme, reason, pattern, philosophy behind doodling, it just happens! Zentangle is guided and there is a philosophy that powers it. This book straddles the two worlds, but falls mainly in the doodling category.If you are looking for a Zentangle book, I'd suggest you don't buy it. If you doodle and want some new ideas, then may be this is the book for you.

This is a wonderful book and it arrived in great condition .....in fact I ordered 2 of them.....one for myself and one for my daughter's birthday. Just getting started with Doodling so this is all new and fun and exciting! There must be a thousand books on this subject and they are all different. However, I read many of the reviews on this one and it is held in high regard. So I went with it and am not sorry. This is an excellent beginners book with really good illustrations so I recommend it as well. Am looking forward to the next!!

This is so full of ideas, you are given the basics in a few pages then it launches into styles, themes, layouts and application to different materials, goods and even clothing and shoes.There is so much covered and such a lot of pointers, all in brief sentences with lots of examples.It covers the simple to the complex, including square, circular, linear page layouts, multi-sheet and tiling, borders, lettering, use of colour, shading and much, much more.It is a book that tells and shows you, then gets you thinking beyond the book contents.An excellent allrounder ideally suited to the newbie, beginner and more experienced of all ages.

Doodling into a relaxed art form? Well it is just doodling! The book is well constructed in that the author takes the reader through the basics and builds up ideas and shows the way that a couple of lines can build up complex patterns and without bothering too much about expensive materials. It's sort of a kind of knitting with lines. The book is suitable for a wide age range in that beginners will feel comfortable with the way that information is explained and for those more experienced, patterns are constructed quite clearly. Great for confidence building.

Fantastic book to get you started on this absorbing arty craft especially if like me you are not a natural artist and need a bit of confidence and inspiration to get you going. Really colourfull, well laid out and user friendly. If you'd like to try Zendoodling I don't think you could have a better book than this to fire your enthusiasm.

I can happily recommend this book on zen doodling as it stands out in attractive content.

I caught sight of this book on holiday and was immediately drawn to the idea of creating fun doodles and designs even if you don't have expensive art materials, masses of time or an ability to draw. Even I can produce squiggles and am looking forward to progressing with them. (My students liked the book too, when I showed it to them. I think it has a wide appeal) I'll be buying some more copies as gifts.