How to Make Horse Tessellations

Tessellations are geometric patterns resulting in numerous identical tile pieces that are repeated over and over again without any space between. Tessellation patterns have been prevalent in art since the 14th century, when Moors used the repeating patterns to decorate the Alhambra. 1930s artist M.C. Escher used tessellations to create conceptually complex drawings. If you would like to make your own horse tessellation pattern but don't know where to begin, use this simple card stock cut-out format as a guide to create your own tessellation masterpiece.

Cut out a triangle from the left side of the square to create the horse's neck. The triangle should be positioned slightly higher than halfway up the square.

Tape the triangle onto the back of the card stock square so that it is level with the area where it was cut out. This will represent the horse's tail.

Cut out a triangle from the bottom of the card stock square to separate the horse's front and hind legs. This triangle should be positioned slightly to the left of the center of the square edge.

Tape the cut-out triangle onto the top of the square to create the horse's ears and mane.

Place the card stock horse tessellation onto the top left corner of a blank sheet of paper. Trace around the edge of the card stock tessellation tile, using a pen.

Move the tile to the right of the traced horse tessellation. Position the tile so that there is no overlap between the back end of the traced tessellation and the card stock tile. Trace the tile.

Repeat Step 6 until you draw a complete row of horse tessellations. Line up the tile under the first row so that it fits underneath without space or overlap. Continue to draw rows of tessellations until the entire paper is covered.

Add details such as eyes, noses and hooves to the horse tessellations.