DIY Harry Potter Zentangle

Recently, a friend of mine introduced me to a unique way of doodling. Have you heard of Zentangles®? It's a remarkably fun yet complex way of breaking up our paper into repetitive, unique patterns. Immediately, I thought of how can I make these drawings Harry Potter related. And, here is my own little experiment and tutorial for how to draw a Harry Potter Zentangle®. This is a great thing to do when you're bored. Enjoy!


What you'll need:
Paper, Pencil, black permanent markers, coloring markers (pencils, markers, crayons, etc.)

1. The Zentangle process starts out pretty easy. About a half an inch away from the edge your paper, draw a rectangle. And, then break up your paper into sections with lines. Erase and re-do and until you're satisfied.

You can really use any kind of paper - in your journal, notebook, blank sheets. I had some left over paper from a design class, so I'm using Artagain bristol paper - a nice heavyweight paper.
   2. Next, we pattern each space repetitively. Normally, this step is done simply in permanent marker - but since I'm prone to making horrible mistakes even with doodling, I started off in pencil and worked my way up to pen.

There is plenty of pattern inspiration all over the web, but since this is HP inspired, I drummed up a little list to get our magical, creative juices flowing:

broomsticks, owls, cats, Basilisk fangs, Sorcerer's Stone, lightning bolts, socks, the Horcruxes, books, deers or your own patronus, Deathly Hallows symbol, Hogwarts Portraits, wand fights, the Tri-Wizard Tournaments, rubber ducks, Undesirable No. 1, the Hogwarts flag patterns, Platform 9 3/4, 'Maurader's Map', the Golden Snitch, Luna Lovegood glasses, potions, spells, wands, 'Always', 'I Solemnly Swear', 'Until the End'.

3. If you did what I did - filled in the paper first with pencil - next we take permanent markers and filled in all the outlines. If not, skip this step and go to #4.

4. To color in, or not to color in: that is the question and is completely up to you. Most zentanglers leave theirs black and white, but many more also color it in

5. Our finished result: my Harry Potter Zentangle®.

There is something to consider when making Harry Potter Zentangles. You can go all over the map like we did above, or maybe try a challenge to see if you can fill a page of only one theme - like things that represent your favorite character, book, or movie.

If you made a Harry Potter Zentangle inspired from this tutorial, email me. I'm more than happy to feature it on the blog!