How to create tessellations

Before starting Tessellations
1.Before starting your tessellations you need to
have all the toolbars on your screen.

If you haven’t got the Draw toolbar then go to
2.
View – Toolbars –Drawing or click on the
Drawing button in the Standard toolbar.
3.Students will need to learn how to tear of floating
Menus.
4. Click on the AutoShapes button, click on Basic
Shapes and then click on the bar at the top of the
menu and drag, it will float and you can drag it
anywhere you like on the screen.
Other menus you may have to drag onto the screen
are

© Jacqui Sharp updated 2008 Page 1

Create your own Tessellations
Step One:
1. Change your page view so that you can
see most of your page (50% or 75%).
2. Click on AutoShapes .
3. Click on Basic Shapes.

4.Drag and click on the Title bar to make that
menu float.
5. Click on the Triangle shape.

6.Click and drag a triangle shape on the page
(don’t make it too big as you are going to cover
the page with lots of triangles.)

Hint: if you make it too big, click once on it
and press Delete on the keyboard.


Step Two:
1.Make sure the triangle is selected (it will have
white handles around it.
2.Press Ctrl - D (Windows) or Apple – D (Mac)
lightly.
3.This will duplicate your triangle exactly
4.Move it into place next to the first triangle.

Hint: use the arrow
keys on the keyboard
to move shapes


Step Three:
1.Repeat Step Two until you have at least 6
triangles across the page.

2.Click on the first triangle again, duplicate it.
3. Go to Draw – Rotate or Flip – Flip Vertical.
4.Move the triangle into place.


Step Four:
1.Duplicate that new triangle again and move it into place
2.Duplicate more triangles and see how they fit into a pattern.
3. If you want to duplicate or flip more than one shape at a time
do this
a.Click on one triangle and then hold down the Shift key and
select the other triangles, they will all have white handles
around them, once they are all selected duplicate or flip them
together.


Step Five:
1. Colour your triangles by clicking on the Paint Can

button and selecting a colour.
2.Hold down your shift key and select multiple
triangles to fill them in at the same time.


Step Six:
1. Click on the Paint Can button
2. Add interesting colours and effects by

selecting Fill Effects.
3.Select different colours to make different
effects.
a. Click on Two colours and select

different colours from the drop down
menus
b. Click on a Shading Style and then

click on one of the Variant boxes to set
the shading style
c.Click OK


Step Six Continued:
1. Or choose the Texture Tab to add a
different style of pattern.
2. Clicking on the Pattern tab will create
another different effect.


Step Six continued:
1. Clicking on the Picture Tab will
enable you to insert a photo or a
graphic into the shape.
2. Click on Select Picture, navigate to
where your pictures are stored.
3. Choose a picture and click OK.


Step Seven:
1.Select a different shape from
AutoShapes and test how that one will
reflect and translate.
2.Will it fit in and interlock with itself?
3. If it doesn’t fit in exactly hold down your
Ctrl (Win) or Option (Mac) key and use
the arrow keys on the keyboard to make
it move in tiny steps.


Step Eight:
1. From AutoShapes select a Hexagon
2.Try fitting triangle shapes around it
3. You will need to use the Rotate button or the green

rotate circle on the shape
4.Can you translate these shapes?
Hint: if you have put your triangles around the
hexagon you will need to group them so that they
all move as one shape. Click on one shape, hold
down your Shift key and select all the other
shapes. Go to Draw – Group.


Step Nine:

1.Experiment with different shapes to see
which ones will tessellate, reflect and
translate.
2.All shapes must have no colour.
3.Fill the page.
4.Print out your tessellation so another
student can colour it in.


Step Ten:
1.Design Wrapping paper for a special
occasion
2.Who is it for?
3.What is the occasion?
4.Why have you chosen this particular
design for this person?


Tips and Tricks
To drag several objects together, click on one, hold down the Shift
key and then click on all the other shapes, they will all be selected.
Click in the middle of one shape and drag them all at the same
time.

Another way to select all of the objects together is to click on the
Select Objects button on the Draw Toolbar and then click and
drag the mouse around the group of shapes.

Hold down the Shift Key (option for Mac) when dragging a shape
onto the page, it will be perfectly proportional.

Hold down the Ctrl Key (option for Mac) and click and drag on a
shape and it will duplicate, keep clicking and dragging on the new
shape and it will duplicate.


Tips and Tricks
Use the 3D menu button on the Draw toolbar to add a 3
dimensional view to your tessellations.

Press the Ctrl D Key (Apple D for Mac) when duplicating a shape.
If you don’t click anywhere else, after duplicating but stay selected
on that new shape, move it into place and then Ctrl D that one, the
computer will remember the exact distance to place it and will
move it directly in line with the previous shape.

Tessellations are quick to make once you have your main pattern
organised. Select the entire main pattern, group it by going to
Draw-Group, now it is one single graphic, duplicate it and move it
into place.
The AutoShapes menu has more choices when you click on More
AutoShapes.


How to create tessellations

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