Escher-type Tessellations by Rotation Around Vertices


Polygons that can be used:

Any square
Any regular hexagon

Types of symmetry found:

Translational symmetry
Rotational symmetry

Technique:

1. Choose any side. Draw any type of line design from one vertex to the other vertex along that side.


2. Rotate that design around one of vertices (90 degrees for a square, 120 for a hexagon), and trace the design on the adjoining side.


3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the other two (square) or four (hexagon) sides.


4. You now have a completed tessellation piece. Use your imagination to decide what your piece looks like and fill in some details.


5. On a piece of paper trace out the shape near the center of the paper. From there, continue to fill the entire piece of paper with the tessellating shape, as though you where building a puzzle in which all of the pieces were the same.

6. When the paper is completely covered with the tessellation, add in the details from step 4. You may wish to use different colors or designs to spice up the picture.

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