Zentangle Unicorn Coloring Page

There is hardly an empty spot on her. This zentangle unicorn coloring page fills a standing unicorn with bands of pattern from shoulder to tail. Scales cover her neck, chevrons and checks run across her barrel, rings march along her sides, and even her mane locks hold beads. She stands in front of a large halo of petals with a crescent moon rising inside it.

It is a slow, detailed page for teens and adults, and for patient kids of about 10 and up. Give it a few sittings. An hour is a good start, and you may not finish on the first night.

Find the patterns

Follow her body from back to front and you will see the bands change. Near the tail there are scales, then diamonds with smaller diamonds inside, then a thin column of rings. The middle has chevrons, with more rings and a soft patch of scales beside them. Checks, chevrons and diamonds finish the band across her chest.

The neck has its own stack of patterns: scales at the top, a strip of triangles, a band of leaves, a row of rings and a block of diamonds. Her legs carry patterned cuffs. On her face you will find a small flower on the cheek, a row of beads down her nose and a line of tiny diamonds along the jaw.

Zentangle unicorn coloring page color ideas

With this much pattern, a plan helps. Give each band one color and let white do the rest. Or keep the whole body in two colors, like black and gold, and save the bright shades for the halo.

• Jewel set: purple and teal with gold accents
• Soft set: mint, lilac, peach and pale yellow
• Bold set: navy and red
• One color: shades of blue from pale to dark

Color the outer petals lighter than the unicorn so she stays in front. The scale band along the ground can be teal and mint, which gives her a solid base to stand on.

Tips for tiny cells

Good light matters more than you would think. Sit at a table with a lamp, and take a break every twenty minutes to rest your eyes. Sharpen your pencils often. A dull point turns neat cells into a smudge.

Work in one band at a time and go from the top of the body downward. If you are right handed, go left to right, so that your hand does not drag across wet ink. Test any marker on the back of a spare sheet to see if it bleeds.

Some cells have small white centers. Keep those white. They are like tiny windows, and they add sparkle when the page is seen from across the room.

What zentangle means

The Zentangle Method is a way of creating images by drawing structured patterns called tangles. They are built from simple strokes such as dots, lines, curves, S curves and orbs. Beginners use a small paper square of 3.5 inches. Our page is a coloring take on that idea, so you get the patterns ready made. Unicorns are a nice fit for it, since a spiral horn is already a pattern in itself.

Add your own tangles

The halo behind her has room for more. Take a fine pen and add your own small patterns inside the petals. Start with a row of dots, then a row of little arches. Soon you will see how simple strokes build into something rich.

For an art class, give each student a single band to redesign. They can copy the shape of the band on scrap paper, invent a new pattern and add it to the page. Later, swap pages with a friend and color each other's designs. It is a calm way to end a busy week.

More pattern pages

Our zentangle cat coloring page uses the same style with a playful cat. For a round design, try the unicorn mandala coloring page.

Questions