Dog Tessellation

This is an instructable with directions on how to make any tessellation. To make this specific one, follow the pictures to the best of your abilities.

Supplies

For this you will need:

Scissors

Tape

A pencil

2 separate drawing surfaces, preferably thicker than regular printer paper

Step 1: Create a Square, and Decide What You Want the Front of You Tessellation to Look Like.

Make the square as perfect as possible. Leave space outside of the square, in case your tessellation needs additional length or width.

I chose a dog, so I traced the outline of what I wanted on the right side on the left side of the square. This is because:

***When creating a tessellation, what you draw into one side, you will tape onto the opposite edge***

Step 2: Cut What You Drew, and Tape It Onto the Opposite Side.

Cut in from the edges, and leave as much buffer as possible, since you may want to use that space later.

I used tape on both sides of the flashcard, for reinforcement. Remember that this is a stencil, and it doesn't matter how good it looks.

You want to have a good plan for what the finished product will look like, because you don't want too much negative space. If you do, you might end up having to cut the image and leave that space dead. I needed to ensure that I would leave the proper amount of space to justify calling the image a dog.

Step 3: Repeat Previous Step With Bottom/top

Repeat the process, and make sure to think about how cutting out of the bottom will affect the aesthetic of your subject.

Step 4: Make a Plan for What Your Subject Will Look Like

Take a look at the rest of the space within the square, and decide what space belongs to the subject, because you will relocate the rest. Try to let the subject take up as much space within the square as possible. Once you've done that, cut out the negative space and tape it to the opposite edge.

Make sure that the negative space you are moving will fit onto the opposite edge without ruining the shape of the subject. This will take some creativity, and mental trial and error. Given the shape of the dog's head, this could pass as a body size if it is sitting down, though it is stretching it a bit.

As you can see, it's okay if it doesn't really look like anything, once the image is embedded within itself, it will look better.

Step 5: Trace Your Stencil Anywhere on the Page.

I made mine as parallel with the edge of the page as I possibly could, Looking back, it was a little dull and I wish I had gone for a diagonal finished product.

Step 6: Repeat, Cautiously

I like to do an entire row and then move onto the next row, instead of choosing at random where to embed my next image. This will minimize the inevitable warping and imperfections in the image, since you can almost start from scratch fairly frequently.

***Remember! You can't have two tracings that aren't touching each other! This will surely result in dead space because they won't fit together***

It won't be perfect, but don't get discouraged. It will turn out fine.

Step 7: Add Detail

The blank image didn't leave me certain that it was a dog, and it was kind of lame. Add detail as you see fit. I defined the face, ensured that fur was visible, and left the body alone. If you want, add color.

With this you'll be finished.