Let's Get Tessellated
If the above illustration seems strangely familiar, this is probably because it was created using the mathematical principles of tessellation, most famously employed by M.C. Escher. And yet this, and the other images in The Symmetry Artists series, are the work of German illustrator, character creator and package designer Henk Wyniger.
The use of symmetry is an ancient one, with a rich history in both the fine and decorative arts. Tesselations are simply a subset of this, loosely defined as a collection of figures that fills the surface area without overlaps or gaps; so this can range from something as mundane as cement tiles in a driveway to interlocking elements of considerable complexity. In Latin, tessella was a small cubical piece of clay, stone or glass used to make mosaics (thank you, Wikipedia).
But back to the work of Wyniger. Scroll down his tesselation.de site to feast on some nifty tessellations with a modern feel. Inspired to create your own? Your next stop should be tessellations.org, which provides step-by-step examples of how to proceed. Then you should give the works of Escher, that master tessellerator, a careful study. Finally, for those addicted to symmetry, check out Artlandia SymmetryWorks and SymmetryShop. These plugins for Illustrator and Photoshop can help you generate a remarkable range of professional-grade patterns, including tesselations.
Happy tessellating!
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