Tessellation

MTH/157

Tessellation Patterns

Sandy Mackey

September 1, 2013

Evan Schwartz

Tessellation Patterns/Checker Board

I chose a rather simple yet complex square design for my tessellation assignment. I wanted my viewers to see the optical illusion that the black and white colors and pattern that is used in it. Personally, I like the fact that this was a simple design, but very effective on how people will perceive it. When you look at the design you might think you see a sort of slant or tilt, but in reality there is none. This tessellation design displays how your eyes can deceive you on the concept that the image is really not there. It is how our brain works. On my checker board tessellation design it is the use of a translation only. There is no rotation or reflection transformation. The reason why there is no rotation or reflection transformation is because of the color of the squares and how they are in line with each other, this is how the transformation pattern is used. As you can see, I have the squares translating down and right, and down and left, repeating itself over and over again, as with any tessellation design this could go on forever. Every other square is colored black, and then I have the white squares created to have the optical illusion that there are no straight lines. If the translation design was not used for this tessellation assignment then the optical illusion would not exist. If you notice how each of the squares starts and stops and there is some variation along with this. The colors and lines give it the illusion that each line does exist in the viewer’s mind. Even if I changed the pattern of squares and colors, it would still be a tessellation design, but it would not be the same creative design as it is now.

I find this activity to be a great learning tool for students, the younger students would be better using cut out shapes for them to learn first. I could see how the younger students would have...