Before we start

This article will build on what was discussed in Part 1, so if you haven't checked it out yet, you may want to do so now.  As with part 1, all grids are formed with cloned line segments, snapping is heavily used and duplicating is key to setting up the grids quickly.

Triangle Grid

In the first part, we discussed two configurations for creating interlocking patterns based on the triangular grid.  The first configuration created two different shapes which interlocked, and the second created a pattern which interlocked by flipping every other shape around the horizontal axis.  There are several other configurations and we'll take a quick look at a couple of them here:

These grids are created by taking three different line segments, cloning each of them and arranging them into a connected grid.  Both of these patterns allow each side to be modified separately.  Like the first pattern in part 1, the left pattern will produce two different shapes which interlock.  The right pattern will will contain only one shape.  Each triangle side is formed by duplicating and rotating the line segment by 180 degrees as done in part 1.  Lets take a look at these in action:

Square Grid

Interlocking square patterns are definitely the most common type you'll see.  Without even knowing it, you have already been dealing with them.  In the above example, imagine deleting all of the green line segments.  What you end up with is a shape composed of four sides.

That was easy!  You may have noticed that in this case, both configurations contain one shape which is interlocking.  The configuration on the left is used all over the place.  If you're into fashion (I'm not, but my wife is), you're probably familiar with the popular 'houndstooth' pattern.  Lets try making that:

Hopefully the steps here are self-explanatory.  Surprisingly, I've seen this vector pattern for sale at a few sites, but now you can create it yourself without too much trouble.  The last step in the above image was to use the smart fill to create a closed shape, rotate it 45 degrees and duplicate it to create the final pattern.

You may have noticed that since the red line is symmetrical, I could have used two red lines, 1 flipped over the vertical axis.  Doing so would require me to only modify half of the shape.

My shower curtain also has a four sided interlocking pattern.  It has another configuration.  Lets try to recreate it:

Yet another configuration allows you to easily create spiral type shapes.

Hopefully this has piqued your interest, but if not, lets try using the smart fill again to create a closed shape that you can fill

There are several other square grid configurations. Escher, who was a master at tessellation used many of them.  Below is one of the more complex square grid configurations Escher used, and a vector version of his art using that configuration:

What's next?

There is still the hexagonal pattern.  Hexagon grid also has several configurations and if you look at the triangle grid at the top of this page, you can see two of them (hint: you'll need to delete some line segments).

When you create a grid configuration, save a .CDR of it before you start modifying it,  this way you can experiment with it as much as you like without having to recreate the grid.

Enjoy!