1. Creating Tessellating Art
• Artwork inspired by M.C. Escher

2. Tessellations
Tessellations are arrangement of shapes that
cover the picture without overlapping and without
leaving spaces.
Typically, the shapes making up a tessellation
are simple similar regular shapes, such as the
square.

3. M.C. Escher developed the
tessellating shape as an art form
Escher was a graphic artist, who specialized in
*
woodcuts and lithographs. Cornelis Escher
He was born Maurits
*
in 1898, in Leeuwarden, Holland.
His father wanted him to be an architect, but bad
*
grades in school and a love of drawing and design
led him to a career in the graphic arts.

4. Escher Self-portrait

5. He was unknown until the 1950’s
*
But by 1956 he had given his first important
exhibition, was written up in Time magazine,
and acquired a world-wide reputation.
Among his greatest admirers were
*
mathematicians, who recognized his work as
pictures of mathematical ideas. This was amazing
because he had no formal math training.

6. Escher saw tile patterns that gave
him ideas for his art work
His interest began in
1936, when he traveled to
Spain and saw the tile
patterns used in the
Alhambra.
He spent many days
sketching these tile patterns,
and later claimed that this
“was the richest source of
inspiration that I have ever
tapped.”

7. Alhambra Palace
*
The Alhambra is a walled city and fortress
in Granada, Spain. It was built during the last
Islamic Dynasty (1238-1492).
*
The palace is lavishly decorated with stone
and wood carvings and tile patterns on most of
the ceilings, walls, and floors.

8. Alhambra Castle
Alhambra consists of palaces
built by several rulers, each had
his own.castle.

9. The Alhambra Palace is a
famous example of
Moorish architecture.
It may be the most well
known Muslim construction.
Islamic art does not usually
use representations of living
beings, but uses
geometric patterns,
especially symmetric
(repeating) patterns.

10. The idea behind several of the buildings of
Alhambra was to create a Paradise on earth.

11. Escher used the geometry in his
art that he saw at Alhambra
*
As his work developed, he drew great
inspiration from mathematical ideas he read
about, often working directly from geometric
shapes.
He was also fascinated with paradox and
*
"impossible" figures, and developed many
intriguing works of art.

12. Convex Concave
Lithograph, March 1955

13. Escher was fascinated by every
kind of tessellation
*
In 1957 he wrote an essay on tessellations.
Mathematicians, had shown that only the
triangle,
square,
regular polygons, and hexagon
*
could be used for a tessellation . Escher used

14. Sometimes Escher changed the
basic shapes
By “distorting” the basic
shapes he changed them into
animals,
birds,
and
other figures.
The effect can be
both startling and beautiful.

15. Escher Horses

16. Lets make a simple tessellating
shape

17. Begin with a simple geometric
shape - the square

18. Change the shape of one side

19. Copy this line on the opposite
side

20. Rotate the line and repeat it on
the remaining edges

21. Erase the original shape

22. Add lines to the inside of the
shapes to turn them into pictures.

23. Add color to enhance your picture.

24. By repeating your shape you create a
tessellated picture

25. Escher liked
what he called
“metamorphoses,”
.
where shapes
changed and
interacted with
each other.

26. Another example
of metamorphosis

27. Lets make a simple tessellating
shape

28. Begin with a simple geometric
shape - the square

29. Change the shape of one side

30. Repeat the line on the opposite
side

31. Change the shape of the top

32. Repeat this line on the bottom

33. Erase the square

34. Turn shape looking for two
hidden animals, flowers, fish,
insects, or birds.

35. Draw a line that separates the two
hidden shapes you have found.

36. Add a few lines that bring out
your hidden shapes.

37. Separate the two shapes so you
can use them one at a time

38. Make four versions of each shape, each
version with more detail
The most
detailed shape
can be changed
quite a bit

39. Make four versions of each shape
with more detail
The most
detailed shape
can be changed
quite a bit

40. Color all of one
type of shape the
same basic color
scheme

41. Line up the simplest shape with
the most complex along the
bottom

42. Line up the next most complex
with the next simplest

43. Add the next row in the same way

44. Completed Tessellation

45. Completed Tessellation

46. Completed Tessellation

47. Completed Tessellation

48. If you find Escher too
challenging, here are examples of
another type of project for
tessellations that you can also do:

57. LETS GET
STARTED!