Tile-A-Day: Shading

For a long time, I did not shade my tangles, mainly because, as an art historian, I worried about realism and the consistency of the light source. But during CZT training, I came to see shading as just another aspect of the pattern itself, without trying for realism or a consistent light source; shading gives depth and dimensionality to my patterns.   Now, I do consider where lines overlap and what shapes could be rounded when deciding on where to put the graphite.  Look at the difference below.

Some shading tips:  hold your pencil almost parallel to the paper, in the palm of your hand, not as you would for writing.  Place the point of your pencil where you want the shade to be the darkest.  When you rub the graphite with your tortillon (or finger or tissue), place the tip at the darkest point and make little circles to draw the graphite out.  Be sure to leave some white areas, for contrast.  

To improve my practice, I'll be looking at Chris Latourneau's Made in the Shade:  A Zentangle Workbook.

I shaded where the strips of punzel "overlap," along the centers of flux to create rounding,
and where the bands of zander cross the bundles.