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What to try
- Choose Lotus, Compass or Lace. Change the petal count, opening and detail; isolate one motif to see the source of the whole mandala.
- Draw your own gesture, switch reflection off, then change the petal count. Choose an ink palette and save the mandala as a PNG.
What to look for: Reflection makes a pair; rotation repeats it around the center. This playground remembers gestures and repeats them again when the rule changes. In the Lab’s raster canvas, new symmetry rules apply to new strokes.
How it works
A reflection reverses one coordinate relative to an axis. Radial symmetry rotates each point by multiples of a full turn divided by the number of segments. Repeating the complete stroke creates related marks while leaving the artist free to choose the original gesture.
Drawing symmetry and image kaleidoscopy happen at different times. Symmetry duplicates incoming marks as you draw. A kaleidoscope remaps an existing image into repeated wedges, which can also reflect alternating segments. The latter introduces resampling and boundary choices.
Use it in the Lab
Use the Lab’s symmetry settings for repeated brushwork. Use the Kaleidoscope effect to reorganize an already composed layer, and inspect a live preview before committing.
Limits & distinctions
Overlapping translucent strokes can become darker or more opaque than isolated strokes. Raster symmetry is limited by the pixel grid, so rotated edges may not be equally sharp in every direction.
Sources & references
Guide updated