Talavera Tile Pattern Maker
Design a painted tile in the Talavera style and see it as a tile wall. Pick a centre motif (a rosette, star, cross flower or medallion with 4 to 16 petals or points), a corner motif and a border, then a set of glaze colours. Corner fans are centred on the corner, so where four tiles meet they join into one whole rosette. Every tile is four-fold symmetric: turn it a quarter turn and it looks the same. Set the tile size and the joint, then print a tile wall or whole tiles to cut out at real size, or download a single tile as SVG or a 300 DPI PNG. Nothing is uploaded.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Print at 100% (Actual size): tiles print at real size and the bar in the footer checks the scale. The SVG and PNG tiles are one tile at real size; set them side by side for a repeat.
Tile
Wall
Runs in your browser with our own code: nothing you type is uploaded or saved. Every motif is drawn by our own code; no historic tile is copied. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed.
How to make a Talavera-style tile pattern
- Pick a preset, or set the tile size and the unit.
- Choose the centre motif and the number of petals or points.
- Choose the corner motif, a border and the glaze colours.
- Set the joint width and colour, and a tile wall or whole tiles.
- Download the PDF and print at 100% (Actual size), or the SVG or PNG tile.
What you can use it for
- Kitchen and bathroom backsplash mock-ups at real size
- Craft tiles, coasters and trivets to paint or print
- Wallpaper, fabric and gift wrap repeats
- Party, wedding and fiesta decorations
- Stencils and vinyl from the SVG
- Pattern and symmetry lessons
The 15 presets
| Preset | Tile | Centre | Corners | Border | Colours | Joint | Tiles on Letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eight-petal rosette, corner fans | 10 cm | rosette (8) | fan | none | Cobalt, yellow, terracotta and green | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Sixteen-petal rosette | 10 cm | rosette (16) | rosette | none | Cobalt, yellow, terracotta and green | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Eight-point star with corner fans | 10 cm | star (8) | fan | none | Cobalt, yellow, terracotta and green | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Twelve-point star, cobalt | 10 cm | star (12) | rosette | none | Cobalt blues | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Cross flower with corner leaves | 10 cm | cross flower | leaves | none | Cobalt, yellow, terracotta and green | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Medallion in a dotted band | 10 cm | medallion (12) | none | dots | Cobalt, yellow, terracotta and green | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Yellow-first rosette | 10 cm | rosette (8) | fan | none | Yellow first | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Green-first cross flower | 10 cm | cross flower | fan | none | Green first | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Terracotta star in a band | 10 cm | star (8) | leaves | band | Terracotta first | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Corner fans only (rosettes where four tiles meet) | 10 cm | none | fan | none | Cobalt, yellow, terracotta and green | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Four-petal rosette, cobalt, outlined | 10 cm | rosette (4) | rosette | line | Cobalt blues | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Black on cream | 10 cm | medallion (8) | fan | none | Black on cream | 0.2 cm | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Small 5 cm tiles, no joint | 5 cm | rosette (8) | fan | none | Cobalt, yellow, terracotta and green | 0 cm | 12 whole + 8 cut |
| 4 in tiles, 1/8 in joint | 4 in | star (8) | fan | none | Cobalt, yellow, terracotta and green | 0.13 in | 2 whole + 4 cut |
| Whole 7 cm tiles to cut out | 7 cm | rosette (8) | fan | band | Cobalt, yellow, terracotta and green | 0.6 cm | 6 whole |
Tile counts are for a US Letter portrait sheet and are worked out by the tool.
Checks
| Check | Result in our tests |
|---|---|
| Four-fold symmetry | every point of every shape has its quarter-turn partner in the same colour, every preset |
| Corner motifs | every piece crossing a tile edge meets its copy on the next tile |
| Tile wall | the colour at a point equals the colour one tile along, across and down |
| Tile size and joint | every tile on the grid of tile size plus joint, within 0.2 mm in the PDF |
What prints
| Download | What is in it |
|---|---|
| A tile wall or whole tiles at real size, vector, with the tile size, joint and a check bar | |
| SVG tile | One tile at real size in mm: ground, border, corners and centre as their own paths |
| PNG tile 300 DPI | The same tile as a picture |
| PNG sheet 300 DPI | The PDF sheet as a picture |
For a cut stencil of a motif, use the Stencil Maker; for a cutter that needs DXF, SVG to DXF.
Which tool to use
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Painted tiles with rosettes and corner fans | Talavera Tile Pattern Maker (this page) |
| Blue and white tiles with pictures and corner ornaments | Delft Tile Maker |
| Star-and-polygon geometry | Islamic Geometric Pattern Generator |
| Texture maps of tiled surfaces | Tile Texture |
| A picture made of small tiles | Mosaic Maker |
Other tools: the Islamic Geometric Pattern Generator for geometric star patterns, Tile Texture for texture maps and the Mosaic Maker for mosaics.
More free tools
Tiles, patterns and print?
Pattern and print tools that run privately in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
What does this make?
Square painted-tile designs in a Talavera style: a centre motif, corner motifs and an optional border in a set of glaze colours, shown as a wall of tiles with joints. Every motif is drawn by our own code; no historic tile or maker’s design is copied.
Why do the corners make a rosette?
The corner fan is drawn centred on the tile corner and each tile shows a quarter of it. Where four tiles meet, the four quarters make one whole rosette. Our tests check that every piece crossing a tile edge meets its copy on the next tile.
Is every tile symmetric?
Yes. Each shape is drawn four times, turned a quarter turn about the tile centre, and the petal counts are 4, 8, 12 or 16. Our tests turn every point of every shape a quarter turn and find its partner in the same colour.
Which colours can I use?
6 glaze colour sets: cobalt, yellow, terracotta and green; cobalt blues; yellow first; green first; terracotta first; and black on cream. The joint colour is your choice.
Does the tile wall repeat exactly?
Yes. Tiles sit on a grid of tile size plus joint. Our tests paint hundreds of points of the printed sheet and check the colour at a point is the same one tile along, across and down.
Can I print tiles at real size?
Yes. The PDF is real size with a check bar in the footer: print at 100% (Actual size). Choose Whole tiles only to print complete tiles to cut out, or Tile wall to fill the page.
What sizes can I use?
Square tiles from 2 cm to 18 cm (they must fit on the page) in cm, mm or inches, with a joint from 0 to 1 cm. Common wall tiles are 10 cm or 4 in.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit.
Is anything uploaded?
No. Every tile is drawn by JavaScript in your browser. Nothing you choose is sent anywhere or saved when you close the page.