Abstract Pattern

Make an abstract pattern from 10 shapes of our own: a pebble, an arc, a squiggle line, a wave stroke, a dot cluster, a half-moon, a leaf shape, a grid-cross, a bar with round ends and a ring. The squiggle and the wave are true offset curves, so the stroke keeps the same width all along, and our tests measure it. Compose them four ways from a seed number: scatter (a small tilt), tossed (any turn), layered (large pebbles, leaves and half-moons under smaller shapes) or mirrored (the left half reflected onto the right). In every layer no two shapes touch, not even across the edges of the repeat, so the tile joins its neighbours with no seam. Pick five colours, such as earth tones, neutrals or bold brights, then download a seamless SVG tile at real size, a full-size PDF with a shape key, a 300 DPI PNG or a background PNG at an exact screen size. Nothing is uploaded.

100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

How to make an abstract pattern

1. Choose a preset, or pick a shape set and a composition.
2. Set how many shapes, the repeat size in inches or centimetres, the size mix, the tilt and a seed (change the seed for a new arrangement).
3. Set the shape size and the smallest gap between shapes.
4. Pick five colours: a ground and four inks.
5. Download the SVG tile, a background PNG, or the PDF; print at 100% and check the 1 in test square.

What you can use it for

• Wallpaper, wrapping paper and stationery
• Fabric, cushion and tote bag mock-ups (real-size tile)
• Website, slide and phone backgrounds (SVG tile, PNG)
• Book covers, posters and packaging backgrounds
• Notebook and planner covers (full-size PDF)
• Wall stencils and painted murals (shape key at a large size)

The 13 presets

#	Preset	Shapes	Composition	Shapes per repeat	Repeat
1	Earth tones, organic, scattered	Organic	Scatter	22 shapes	6 × 6 in
2	Neutral beige and black, tossed	All 10 shapes	Tossed	26 shapes	6 × 6 in
3	Bold primaries, tossed lines	Lines	Tossed	24 shapes	6 × 6 in
4	Layered pebbles under squiggles, terracotta	Organic	Layered	34 shapes	6 × 6 in
5	Mirrored organic shapes, sage	Organic	Mirrored	20 shapes	6 × 6 in
6	Rings, arcs and half-moons, mustard and navy	Round	Scatter	22 shapes	6 × 6 in
7	Squiggles only, pink on cream, tossed	Squiggle line	Tossed	26 shapes	6 × 6 in
8	Pebbles only, stone greys	Pebble	Tossed	24 shapes	6 × 6 in
9	Bold shapes on charcoal	All 10 shapes	Tossed	26 shapes	6 × 6 in
10	Mirrored lines, blue and orange	Lines	Mirrored	18 shapes	6 × 6 in
11	Layered, olive and rust	All 10 shapes	Layered	36 shapes	6 × 6 in
12	Black on white, all shapes, tossed	All 10 shapes	Tossed	26 shapes	6 × 6 in
13	Fabric scale: 15 cm earth-tone repeat	Organic	Scatter	22 shapes	15 × 15 cm

Each preset only fills in the fields; change any setting afterwards.

The 10 shapes

Shape	Used large in the layered composition
Pebble	Yes
Arc (half ring)	No
Squiggle line	No
Wave stroke	No
Dot cluster	No
Half-moon	Yes
Leaf shape	Yes
Grid-cross (3 × 3 plus signs)	No
Bar with round ends	No
Ring	No

All shapes are our own drawings. Page 2 of the PDF draws each shape used, large.

Compositions

Composition	How the shapes are set
Scatter	Seeded positions with a small tilt, no two touching
Tossed	Seeded positions at any turn, no two touching
Layered	A few large organic shapes underneath, smaller shapes on top, none touching within a layer
Mirrored	Shapes in the left half, each reflected onto the right half

Which tool to use

You want	Use
Own organic shapes composed as a repeat	Abstract Pattern (this page)
1980s zigzags, triangles and confetti	Memphis Pattern Generator
Circles and bars on a strict grid	Bauhaus Pattern
One random blob shape	Blob Generator
Simple CSS backgrounds	SVG Pattern Generator

Also handy: the Memphis Pattern Generator, the Blob Generator and the SVG Pattern Generator.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from the Memphis, Bauhaus and blob tools?

The Memphis Pattern Generator draws 1980s-style zigzags, triangles and confetti chips on a bright palette. The Bauhaus pattern page sets circles, quarter circles and bars on a strict grid. The Blob Generator makes one random blob shape. This page has its own set of softer shapes (pebbles, leaves, half-moons, constant-width squiggles) and composes many of them by rules: scattered, tossed, layered or mirrored, with no two touching.

Will the pattern repeat without a seam?

Yes. A shape that runs over an edge of the repeat carries on from the opposite edge, so copies placed edge to edge join with no seam. Our tests compare the pattern one repeat over by sampled colour, for every preset.

Do the shapes ever overlap?

Not within a layer. Each shape fits inside a circle round its centre, and the maker keeps every two circles in the same layer at least the gap apart, measured round the repeat (the first preset keeps 0.12 in between 22 shapes). In the layered composition the small shapes sit on top of the large ones on purpose.

Is the squiggle line really the same width all along?

Yes. Each edge is the centre curve moved out by half the width along its normal, so the stroke is 8 % of the shape size wide everywhere (the wave 15 %). Our tests measure the distance from every point on one edge to the other edge, before and after scaling and turning.

What does mirrored do?

The maker places shapes in the left half of the repeat and draws each one again reflected in the centre line, flipped and turned the other way, so the pattern is symmetric left to right.

Is the tile the exact size I set?

Yes. The SVG tile is written in inches or centimetres (the first preset is 6 in square), and the PDF prints the pattern at full size with a 1 in test square.

Is it free?

Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit.

Is anything uploaded?

No. Everything is drawn by JavaScript in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.