I’m sharing with you today a drawing method that I like to follow from time to time and I thought you might enjoy it too.  I call this Repeat Pattern Stacking.  It’s super easy to do and a fun change of pace every now and again.  I created this drawing method when I was just a young gal. Drawing these zendoodles anywhere I could in a graffiti like fashion.  More on discovered white space on papers than on walls, but I must admit the janitor did have to paint over a few of my creative endeavors in the school bathroom.  Shame on me!!!

Pattern Stacks are whimsical drawings with shapes webbed together with added silliness along the way to create a sort of structure.  The stacks are not meant to make sense.  As a matter of fact they are much more fun when they are caddywompus and falling over sideways.

How to Draw a Repeat Pattern Stack

1. Start at one edge of your paper and draw a basic shape. Keep it simple by using a circle or square or some other really super easy shape.  Draw the same shape directly above the first one you drew so the two are touching.  Continue drawing your shapes stacked one on top of the other until you run into the other side of your paper edge – or you just get tired of stacking.

2. Then draw a curved line from the bottom shape to the next one up or down all along the outer edges of your stack.  Continue doing this until all your shapes are webbed together.

3. Next – darken/fill any open spaces between your shapes and within the webbed areas.

4. Add a base to your stack so it appears to be sitting on something.

5. Then add any additional embellishments or colors to suit your fancy.

Avoid This Major Mistake!

I know I have quite a few Tanglers who read my blog and one of the themes in tangling is that there are no mistakes.  Well in building Repeat Pattern Stacks there really is a wrong way and a right way.  The wrong way to draw a stack is to set your mind towards high quality strokes, or strive for perfection in your work.  Being serious is also a mistake.  The correct way to draw a stack is with the mind of a child, keeping to the basics, and totally having fun with it.  My motto with stacks is: Keep it Simple! Have Fun with it!

How-To Video:

Creative Challenge Fun!

Now it’s your turn. Draw a stack or two…. or more!  And after you give it a try I hope you’ll consider jumping in to our Repeat Pattern Stack Creative Challenge at the Line Weaving Community too!  Earlier this week I  posted three ideas in our forums to tickle your muse into having a bit of fun.

• Draw a garden, a row, or a crowd of stacks hanging out together.  Each stack with it’s own personality.
• Create a stack using the letters of a name, along with at least one other shape that represents the persons name.
• Create a stack that is so bent over and misshapen-ed that there’s no way it would actually be able to stand on it’s own if it were made up of real objects.

Meet the challenge by using these prompt to create something whimsical in your sketch pad, post it into our gallery, and you’ll have your name entered into our gift package drawing!  Wahoo! Freebies!  You can get all the details in our Grand Opening Event #3 posting.

Worksheet for Repeat Pattern Stacks

Here’s a downloadable guide showing you the steps to take for Repeat Pattern Stacks.  Feel free to pass it along to others too. It might be just the thing to put a smile on their face today!

Click here to download the PDF worksheet.

~ Cindy
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