How to Create Tessellations Using Paper
- 1). Draw a freestyle line on an index card. Start at the top-left corner and end at the top right. Make the line as whimsical as you like, full of dips and curves, but don't let the line cross itself anywhere.
- 2). Cut along the line with your scissors. When you are done, you will have two shapes that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.
- 3). Take the shape you cut from the top of the index card and, without turning or rotating the piece, move it to the bottom of the index card, laying its straight edge along the bottom edge of the card. There should be no gaps or overlaps; the two straight edges of card should lie snugly against each other.
- 4). Tape the cutout shape to the card where you've placed it, straight edge against straight edge, to form an entirely new shape whose top curving outline is now repeated on the bottom.
- 5). Repeat steps 1 through 4 for the left and right sides of the index card. Your newly shaped card will serve as the template for your tessellation pattern.
- 6). Place your finished template on a piece of paper or whatever flat surface you wish to cover. Trace around the template with a pencil.
- 7). Lift the template from the paper and, without flipping or rotating the template, fit the left side of the template against the right side of the traced shape. It should fit exactly without gapping or overlapping. Trace around the template. When you are done, repeat this process all along the row.
- 8). Don't flip or rotate the template; it should fit against the traced shape from any side. Move the template to the second row and fit its top edge along the bottom edge of the shape traced on the paper. Continue this fitting-and-tracing process until the desired space is filled.
