I heard about Escher-Sketch - a program designed to emulate the ingenious mosaic patterns of the late Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher - in a workshop on tessellations. And, hey, why not use a mouse instead of a pencil? It was cheap (US$39) and didn't require color, so I bought it. So far I've made some nice kaleidoscopic patterns and an Escheresque moth, but this Macintosh program is not really Mac-like.
(Install your favorite Dutch graphic artist on your hard disk.)
Using the program's pencil tool is simple enough, but how to change the width of a line differs from tool to tool; sometimes the program hangs, and the Lattice Unit Window can't be moved about the drawing window, despite what the manual claims. The Help menu lists lots of examples and some minimal tips on using the tools. Aaarggh! Okay, there are some good points. The program can generate random patterns and remembers the last eight patterns drawn. It also has a pretty good pattern library. But is it worth it? Depends on your frustration level. If you're studying plane symmetry and don't mind buggy programs, yes. Just don't forget the Raid.
Escher-Sketch: US$39. Intellimation: (800) 346 8355, fax +1( 805) 968 8899.
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Escher-Sketch 1.3
