How do you create Teasles? Here are some basic instructions to get you going.

Supplies
For starters, all you need is a pen, pencils, an eraser, and paper.

If you just want to doodle or play around, an ordinary ballpoint pen could do the job. But just in case you find that you've created something really neat, I'd highly recomend that you get yourself a good marking pen such as a Pigma Micron pen because it is archival quality, waterproof and fadeproof. Start with size 01, then add 005, 03, 05 and 08 for a choice of nib sizes.

Pencils and erasers are only needed to lay down a grid pattern to work with. If you use a hard lead nib such as an H8 or H9 and keep it really sharp, the lines will be so faint that you probably won't even need to erase. I'll refer to these pencils as grid pencils.

If you want to add shading to your design, then use a softer lead pencil - anything from a HB to a 9B. The higher the number, the softer the lead and the darker the color. I'll refer to these as shading pencils.

For paper, if you just want to doodle, regular 20-lb bond paper will work. If you are looking to do something more artistic and classy, then get some good art papers. Decide if you want something with a bit of texture to it, or if the results would look better on a smoother surface paper. 90-lb hot press watercolor paper is a good choice for the classier work.

 
For playing around, I use 80-lb cardstock paper. I cut an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet into 3 strips (3 11/16" will give you three strips of almost equal width). Then I cut those in half (4 1/4"). This size is easy to carry around along with a pen and pencil. It also makes a good size to mount on the front of a simple card (an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet folded twice).

Instructions

For a first exercise, let's do a simple doodle. Start with a piece of paper, a pen and a pencil. With your grid pencil, draw a rough border and scribble an overlapping line through it. Then fill in the spaces you've created with repeating patterns - from simple to as complicated as you want. Check the Designs & Patterns page for pattern ideas, or the Products page for books and resources with more ideas.

The Designs & Patterns here will usually be given in basic forms such as the one on the left. But what adds interest to these patterns is playing with curved and slanted lines such as the pattern on the right.

Play around with other possibilities too. Try doing the patterns in a negative version like these two samples.

Use a pencil to add shading to parts of your design to give more of a three-dimensional feel.

Use bands or borders between your designs - or in the designs themselves.

Get creative with your outer borders. They can be any shape you want them to be.

Sometimes it's fun to start with one little shape and then keep adding to that until you have a whole piece.

Once you get going with this, the possibilities are endless. So dig in and enjoy!

By the way, what can make this even more fun is to take a Teasles Class or have a Teasles Party. You'll be thoroughly inspired by all the other designs and ideas that will show up.