A. How to Make Repeated Pattern
One unique characteristic of pattern is symmetry. There are four types of symmetry operation including translation, reflection, rotation and glide reflection. (1) Translation symmetry is defined as “the movement of a figure a described distance in a described direction”. The distance and angle between the figures remain constant and the figures neither rotate nor reflect. Simply put, it is a simple repetition of a figure along a line creating an identical motif.11 (2) Reflection symmetry mirrors one half of a figure and reflects to create the other half.12 (3) Rotational symmetry is created around a central point rather than a line or across a plane . Different degrees of rotation will result in different orders of variation and outcomes.13 (4) Glide reflection symmetry, as the name suggests, involves two operations, gliding and reflecting in no particular order.14 When creating a motif, different operations could be combined to yield diverse motifs, for example, by synthesising the concept of spacing and rotation. With different orientation, spacing and symmetry operations as described, they may constitute to a completely different set of patterns.
Linear symmetry and planar symmetry are types of pattern created by manipulating and duplicating symmetry operations in a one dimensional and two-dimensional way. Linear symmetry describes operations made along a line.15 In contrast, planar symmetry refers to a symmetrical figure made in two- dimensions or across a plane.16 It is made by putting a motif inside a cell and repeating along the x axis and y axis across the plane. 5
6
1
2
3
4
11 Paul Jackson, How to Make Repeat Patterns: A Guide for Designers, Architect and Artist (London: Laurence King, 2018), 22. 12 Ibid., 26. 13 Ibid., 30. 14 Ibid., 34. 15 Ibid., 39. 16 Ibid., 39.
9
