A Little IX

The recent CZT training I went to was the ninth such class held by Zentangle®. Rick and Maria came up with a new tangle for our class called IX, representative of our 'nine' designation in roman numerals. Kind of clever. This one is really hard for me to get flowing. This is the tile I drew in class as they walked us through it. I also have sketched out notes in my portfolio they gave us to work in.

A couple nights ago, I pulled out my instructions for IX and gave it another go. I like this one better, although I'm still not comfortable with my interpretation.  I think I let the shading get the best of me, but I shaded with a grey pitt marker and can not change it. So. I think this shading is just awesome - right.

Then I remembered the gold pens and black tiles and gave this a try. Bigger, bolder, filling up the tile with the design itself. And I believe I like this one best. Can anyone tell me how to shade something like this?