OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Hex Grid Pattern Generator
Seamless Honeycomb Tiles and Backgrounds, Free PNG
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How the Hex Grid Pattern Generator works
This hex grid pattern generator makes printable honeycomb paper. A hex grid pattern is the honeycomb: pointy-top hexagons packed in offset rows so every cell touches six neighbours. Choose outlines for a clean technical grid, random fills for a mosaic of tinted cells, or scattered sizes for a looser texture, then save a seamless square tile or a tiled wallpaper as PNG. The tile repeats without a seam, and nothing leaves your browser.
Hex grid pattern generator: three styles
Outline draws every hexagon's edge in the palette's line colour, with Line weight as a percentage of the hexagon width, which gives the familiar honeycomb, wireframe or board-game grid. Random fills colours each cell with one of four tints from the palette, chosen by the seed, and shrinks it by the Cell gap so the background shows through as a grout line; at zero gap the cells butt together into a solid mosaic. Scattered sizes also picks a tint per cell but varies each hexagon's size as well, so the grid reads as a field of loose hexagons rather than a wall of tiles. The seed decides every tint and size; Regenerate draws a new arrangement and typing an old seed back brings the same one up again, so a tile can be re-exported at a different size.
Why the column counts are odd numbers
Regular hexagons tile in rows spaced 1.5 radii apart and columns spaced √3 radii apart, and √3 is irrational, so no square tile can hold a whole number of regular hexagons in both directions. The generator uses column counts where the closest whole number of row pairs stretches the hexagons by less than one percent, which is invisible: 7 across with 8 rows, 12 with 14, 14 with 16, 19 with 22 and 26 with 30. Each hexagon is then a fraction of the tile width, so a 1024 pixel tile at 12 across has hexagons about 85 pixels wide, and a 2048 pixel tile has them twice as large with no change to the layout.
Seamless edges
Hexagons that cross the tile boundary are drawn twice, once at each side, with the same tint and size taken from the wrapped cell, so the right edge continues exactly into the left edge of the next copy and the bottom into the top. The preview repeats the tile across the stage, three across by default; set Preview repeats to 1 to inspect a single tile, or 6 to see the pattern as a fine texture.
Saving
Export as a square tile at 256, 512, 1024 or 2048 pixels for use as a CSS background, a game map, a texture or a fill in a design tool, or as a tiled wallpaper at 1920 × 1080 or 3840 × 2160 where the tile is repeated at the preview scale. Files are PNG, generated on your machine and saved straight from the browser.
FAQ
Can I make the hexagons flat-topped instead?
Not directly; the grid is drawn pointy-top. Rotating the exported tile by 90 degrees in any image editor gives a flat-top grid, and because the tile is square it stays seamless after the rotation.
How do I get a plain honeycomb without random colours?
Choose Outline. The only randomness in that style is none at all, so the seed has no effect and every tile at the same column count and weight is identical. Pick a palette for the background and line colours.
Why can't I type an arbitrary number of hexagons across?
Because the tile must repeat seamlessly, the hexagon count is limited to values where a whole number of rows fits the square without visibly distorting the cells. The five options cover coarse to fine; export at a larger size if you need more hexagons on screen.
What is the difference between this and the hexbin plot maker?
The hexbin plot maker is a chart: it takes data points and colours hexagons by how many fall in each bin. This tool draws decorative hexagon patterns with no data, for backgrounds, textures and wallpapers.
See also: all Generative Art tools, Images, Audio, Video & Screen, PDF, SVG, Simulations & Screensavers, Chart Makers, 3D Model Viewers, Drawing Pads, Mockups & 3D Making, Diagram Makers, 3D Science, Tracker Music.
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