Today's Tangle - CubX

A few days ago, Ina Sonnenmoser challenged the members of the Pattern-Collections Facebook group to try her latest pattern called "CubX" which you'll find HERE at Pattern-Collections.com. I gave it a whirl and I drew the tile above after a few attempts. Once I had figured out how to draw it, I ended up changing the order of some of the steps and a couple of other things. While drawing another "CubX" tile yesterday, I scanned it after each step thinking that it might be helpful to post the procedure here on my blog with large, easy-to-see images and tips. 

UPDATE: The Pattern-Collections website has shut down. Click HERE to view this pattern.

Step 1 - I start by drawing a box grid then I divide the squares into triangles that span four squares each. I drew the grid lines very lightly with a pencil. I darkened the scan to make it easier for you to see where the lines are.

Step 2 - Next I draw smaller triangles inside each of the larger ones. The trick here is to try to keep the space between the inside triangles and the triangle grid lines the same on all of them. Also, if you draw the inner triangles very close to the grid lines, you'll end up with very skinny cross bars. I like them to be a little bit thick so I leave a good size gap.

Step 3 - Once I'm happy with the small triangles, I go over them with a pen. By drawing them in pencil first, this allows me to make small tweaks as needed when I go over the lines with my pen. As you can see, my triangles aren't perfect or all exactly the same size. This is art, not drafting, so I try not to worry about imperfections. It will still come out looking very cool even if some of the lines are a bit wonky.

Step 4 - In this step, I start to connect the triangles. I found it easiest to draw all of the horizontal connectors first and in pencil. Draw each little connector line from the top or bottom points of the triangles, depending on which way they're facing. They should extend from the right side of each triangle and stop when they hit the triangle grid line.

Step - 5 - Now I add the diagonal connectors, again in pencil. When you draw each connector, keep an eye on the angle of the nearest triangle. Your connector should run parallel to the side of the triangle that runs the same direction. I've highlighted two examples in red and in blue that show how the angle of the connector runs parallel to the side of a triangle that's near it.

Step 6 - In this step, I trace over the pencil lines of the connectors with my pen. Again, nothing is actually precise or perfect but it's close enough. Remind yourself that you're having fun, not doing work. At this point you can start to see where the cubes will be. The pencil grid lines will come in handy soon because where they intersect in the center of each cube is where you will eventually form the front corners of the cubes.

Step 7 - Just to make it more obvious, I drew a pencil dot where the grid lines intersect on each cube. Make sure that you draw dots on the outer edge of the drawing where some of the cubes are going off the edge.

Step 8 - In this step, I connect the corners of each cube to the dots that I drew in the previous step. I do this in pencil first just in case I make a mistake and draw a line in the wrong place. I've highlighted one of the corners in red to make it easier for you to see what to do in this step. Again, make sure that you draw any lines that belong to cubes that are partially out of view.

Step 9 - In this step I used my pen to trace over the pencil lines that I drew in Step 8.

Step 10 - This step is going to be a little hard to explain and it's not the way that Ina shows on the step-out. What I've done here is extend the lines of the cross bars so that they overlap the adjacent side of the cube. I do this in pencil because I want to be able to make adjustments when I go over them with pen later. The idea is to leave a bit of a gap between the extended lines and the solid edges of the cubes. I've highlighted two of the lines with red so that you can see what I'm talking about. These lines come out of each cube on three sides. Remember to add these lines to the cubes that are partially out of view.

Step 11 - Still using a pencil, I connect each pair of lines that I drew in step 10 with a "V" shape that follows the same angles as the corners of the cube. Make sure that you leave a bit of a gap between the "V" and the edges of the cube. I've highlighted the V's on one of the cubes so that you can see how they are positioned.

Step 12 - In this step I go over the pencil lines from steps 10 and 11 with my pen. Don't erase the grid lines yet. You'll need them in the next step.

Step 13 - Trace along the grid lines that run down the center of each cross bar. I did this first in pencil and then traced over them with my pen. I've highlighted a few of these lines so that you can see where they should go. Remember to draw the lines along the outer edge of your picture where the cross bars aren't completely visible as I've indicated at the top and bottom of the drawing in red.

Below is the finished tile:

I later decided that it looked pretty cool with the tile rotated in a different direction as you can see below:

Below is the rotated tile in greyscale: