To create a grid that excludes tessellation features that do not intersect features in another dataset, use the Select Layer By Location tool to select output polygons that contain the source features, and use the Copy Features tool to make a permanent copy of the selected output features to a new feature class. Crack-Free Tessellation Displacement (CFTD) is a set of tessellation shaders designed to patch 'cracks' that occur when displacement is applied to a model with UV discontinuities. I.e., if your model's texture does not tile perfectly, this will result in displacement cracks on the edges where the tiling breaks.
Mosaics are a great creative medium for kids. An easy art form to grasp and one that’s been around for thousands of years. They can make for a very considered activity involving counting and planning – suitable for a range of learning activities.
Year 3 using the mosaic tool for a Romans classroom display
The Mosaic Maker is a free web based activity we’ve built for designing mosaics and tessellations. Our aim was to build a fun versatile design tool for children that encourages exploration and experimentation. It’s simple enough for all primary year groups to use and has proven useful in developing mouse control in younger children.
There are over 50 shapes to play with so that as a child’s confidence and ability grows, they have the building blocks to construct more complex patterns.
Very simple to use – select a tile and colour, then start drawing on the grid. You can rotate the tiles by pressing the space bar or clicking repeatedly on a tile when you select it.
- Identify and create geometric tessellation patterns (also known as tiling) with these printable worksheets and activities. Tessellate: Drawing Patterns FREE. Draw tessellations on graph paper for one of the pentominoes shown. Includes examples.
- How to Create Simple Tessellations Tessellations are a fun, hands-on way to explore STEAM, whether you are in art class, math class, or in a STEM or STEAM classroom. Certain basic shapes can be easily tessellated: squares hexagons triangles Combination shapes, complicated shapes, and animals such as the ones found on these sites are also.
We’ve had some great feedback on it’s use in a range of lessons and after school clubs. We were also thrilled with reports of good engagement from children with autism and ADHD.
Using the tool to design mosaics in year 3
Whether you’re wanting to design a Roman mosaic in KS2, tessellations and repeating patterns in Maths or just want a creative activity to get the juices flowing. We hope you’ll find this activity a useful addition to your lesson plans and after school clubs!
Mosaic and Tessellation Gallery
Learning Playground
The Mosaic maker is part of a new site we’re building at www.learningplayground.co.uk . A fun educational website, full of free KS2 activities. It will cover a broad range of topics and allow children to explore, experiment and play whilst learning.
Summary
Generates a tessellated grid of regular polygon features to cover a given extent. The tessellation can be of triangles, squares, diamonds, hexagons, or transverse hexagons.
Usage
To ensure the entire input extent is covered by the tessellated grid, the output features purposely extend beyond the input extent. This occurs because the edges of the tessellated grid will not always be straight lines, and gaps would be present if the grid was limited by the input extent.
The output features contain a GRID_ID field. The GRID_ID field provides a unique ID for each feature in the output feature class. The format for the IDs is A-1, A-2, B-1, B-2, and so on. This allows for easy selection of rows and columns using queries in the Select Layer By Attribute tool. For example, select all features in column A with GRID_ID like 'A-%', or select all features in row 1 with GRID_ID like '%-1'.
- To create a grid that excludes tessellation features that do not intersect features in another dataset, use the Select Layer By Location tool to select output polygons that contain the source features, and use the Copy Features tool to make a permanent copy of the selected output features to a new feature class.
Syntax
| Parameter | Explanation | Data Type |
The path and name of the output feature class containing the tessellated grid. | Feature Class | |
Extent | The extent that the tessellation will cover. This can be the currently visible area, the extent of a dataset, or manually entered values.
| Extent |
(Optional) | The type of shape to tessellate.
| String |
(Optional) | The area of each individual shape that comprises the tessellation. | Areal Unit |
(Optional) | The spatial reference to which the output dataset will be projected. If a spatial reference is not provided, the output will be projected to the spatial reference of the input extent. If neither has a spatial reference, the output is projected in GCS_WGS_1984. | Spatial Reference |
Code sample
GenerateTessellation example 1 (Python window)The following Python window script demonstrates how to use the GenerateTesselation tool in immediate mode.
GenerateTessellation example 2 (stand-alone script)The following stand-alone Python script demonstrates how to programmatically extract an extent from a feature class and use the extent to fill the parameters of the GenerateTessellation tool.
Environments
Tessellation Maker Free Patterns
Licensing information
Interactive Tessellation Creator
- Basic: Yes
- Standard: Yes
- Advanced: Yes