Popular Easy Motifs in Tessellation Art
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Some motifs show up oddly often in tessellation art. Why?
And, what rules should guide you in choosing an easy motif?

BIRDS

When you choose a motif for your tessellation, choose something exotic with a shape that's got vagueness, variety, and flexibility.

Birds are a very popular theme amongst tessellation artists. Almost all of us have done a bird design. Below, check out examples by Dr. David Annal, M. C. Escher, Hop David, and me, Seth Bareiss.

Why are birds a popular theme? They're not quite as flexible as fish and gym socks. However, they can be posed with no wing, one wing, or both extended; the feet can be down or folded against their body. Their necks are sometimes as long and snake-like as an eel. Their wings can arc forward or back, or be held out straight.

Short straight neck?
No problem.		 Long straight neck?
We can do that.		 Curved neck?
Still looks good.		 S-curved neck?
Yep... no problem.		 No, no, no.
That's too silly.

OK, so they're posable. That's not the only reason, or even the best reason. I can think of two other reasons.

It's a simple body plan. There are no finicky rigid parts that stick out like the spines on a porcupine or the antlers on a jackalope.

The body plan is vague and varied. Unless the artist says "this is a yellow-crested sand diving beach warbler", the artist has a lot of freedom to mix and match body parts from several species. Unless you were a bird expert, you probably wouldn't notice the wrong beak on an eagle, or a long round tail that should be short and square.

OK, that's a
good looking bird. Right?		 Even if we change
the tail...		 And change
the neck...		 And change
the beak...		 And change the wings.
It still looks good.

Think about it: you know what a parrot looks like, but can you remember whether its tail is square or round? Are its wings long or short? I don't remember either. A drawing of a parrot would have a lot of flexibility, because our vague memory makes so many variations acceptable.

However, looking at a mammal, we'd spot a mix-and-match right away. Antlers on an elephant? A trunk and tusks on a lion? A horse face on a housecat? Bunny ears on a cow? Riiiiiidiculous!

Antlers on an elephant? A trunk and tusks on a lion? A horse face on a housecat? Bunny ears on a cow?

So, why is a bird a good choice for a tessellation theme? Well, it's fairly flexible; its shape is simple; it's fairly posable; and our concept of an acceptable bird is very vague, so you can change its shape without people saying "thaaaat's noooot riiiight!"



Easy Motifs in Tessellation Art
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