Art Deco Pattern
Make an art deco pattern from 6 motifs built on exact geometry: a sunburst of rays from the centre of each tile, a sunrise from the bottom edge, fans in half-offset rows, stepped bands, concentric arches and chevron bands. Choose the motif size in inches or centimetres, the number of rays, steps or bands, and 2 to 4 colours, such as black and gold or navy and gold. Download a seamless SVG tile, a 300 DPI PNG or a PDF at full size, and tick Border strips for a page of strips to cut out for cards, shelves or invitations. Every ray sits at its exact angle, every arc is a true circular arc and every tile repeats edge to edge (all tested). Nothing is uploaded.
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Page 1 is the pattern at full size with a 1 in test square. Tick Border strips for a page of strips to cut out; the pattern carries on across the joins.
Motif
Colours
Extra page
Runs in your browser with our own code: nothing is uploaded or saved. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed.
How to make an art deco pattern
- Choose a preset or a motif.
- Set the motif size and its options: rays, rows, steps, bands or angle.
- Pick 2 to 4 colours and the background.
- Download the SVG tile for fabric, wallpaper or the web, or the PDF to print at full size.
- For trims and invitations, tick Border strips and cut along the outlines.
What you can use it for
- 1920s-style party invitations and decorations
- Wedding stationery, menus and place cards
- Wallpaper, fabric and gift wrap
- Painted walls, furniture and tile layouts
- Book covers, posters and packaging
- Website and slide backgrounds (SVG tile)
The 14 presets
| # | Preset | Motif | Size | Colours | Seamless repeat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gold sunburst on black | Sunburst | 4 in | 2 | 4 × 4 in |
| 2 | Sunrise border, navy and gold | Sunrise | 6 in | 2 | 6 × 3 in |
| 3 | Fans, black and gold | Fans | 2 in | 2 | 2 × 2 in |
| 4 | Pleated fans, emerald | Fans | 2 in | 2 | 2 × 1.6 in |
| 5 | Blush fans, rows alternate | Fans | 1.5 in | 2 | 1.5 × 1.5 in |
| 6 | Stepped band, black and gold | Stepped band | 3 in | 2 | 3 × 1 in |
| 7 | Stepped bands, mirrored rows | Stepped band | 2 in | 2 | 2 × 1.5 in |
| 8 | Stepped tiers, four colours | Stepped band | 4 in | 4 | 4 × 1.2 in |
| 9 | Concentric arches, teal and coral | Concentric arches | 2 in | 3 | 2 × 1 in |
| 10 | Arches in offset rows | Concentric arches | 1.5 in | 2 | 1.5 × 1.5 in |
| 11 | Chevron bands, black, gold and cream | Chevron bands | 2 in | 3 | 2 × 0.75 in |
| 12 | Steep chevron bands, navy | Chevron bands | 1 in | 2 | 1 × 0.4 in |
| 13 | Sunburst, four colours | Sunburst | 3 in | 4 | 3 × 3 in |
| 14 | Fine sunburst, cream and black | Sunburst | 2 in | 2 | 2 × 2 in |
Each preset only fills in the fields; change any size or colour afterwards.
Sunburst and sunrise rays
| Sunburst rays | Angle per ray | Sunrise rays | Angle per ray |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 45° | 4 | 45° |
| 12 | 30° | 6 | 30° |
| 16 | 22.5° | 8 | 22.5° |
| 24 | 15° | 12 | 15° |
| 32 | 11.25° | 16 | 11.25° |
| 48 | 7.5° | 24 | 7.5° |
Stepped band (4 in wide, 1/4 in steps)
| Steps | Step width | Band height | Share in colour 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 in | 0.5 in | 75% |
| 3 | 0.67 in | 0.75 in | 66.67% |
| 4 | 0.5 in | 1 in | 62.5% |
| 5 | 0.4 in | 1.25 in | 60% |
| 6 | 0.33 in | 1.5 in | 58.33% |
| 8 | 0.25 in | 2 in | 56.25% |
The stepped shape covers (k + 1) ÷ 2k of its band, for k steps.
The motifs
| Motif | Built from |
|---|---|
| Sunburst | Wedges between rays at exact angles from the tile centre, optional centre disc |
| Sunrise | Rays over 180° from the middle of the bottom edge, optional half disc |
| Fans | Circles in half-offset rows, each lower row over the row above, with rays and rings from each centre |
| Stepped band | Even stairs up and down, one or more colours, mirrored rows |
| Concentric arches | Half rings about one centre, optional offset rows |
| Chevron bands | Bands between parallel V lines at a chosen angle |
For fine line rosettes and banknote borders, use the Guilloche Pattern Generator. For simple zigzag stripes and quilt strips, try the Chevron Pattern Generator.
Which tool to use
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Sunburst, fan, stepped, arch or chevron band repeats and border strips | Art Deco Pattern (this page) |
| Line rosettes and borders | Guilloche Pattern Generator |
| 1980s shape scatter | Memphis Pattern Generator |
| Zigzag stripes | Chevron Pattern Generator |
| Traditional Japanese motifs | Japanese Pattern Generator |
Also handy: the Memphis Pattern Generator and the Japanese Pattern Generator.
More free tools
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Frequently asked questions
What is art deco?
A style of visual arts, architecture and product design that emerged in Paris in the 1910s and flourished in the 1920s and early 1930s. Its patterns use geometric forms such as sunbursts, stepped shapes, chevrons and zigzags.
Which motifs are called art deco here?
The sunburst, the sunrise, the stepped band and the chevron bands, which an encyclopedia article on the style names or shows. The fans and the concentric arches are named by their shapes only.
How are the sunburst rays spaced?
Evenly: a full sunburst with N rays has one every 360° ÷ N, and a sunrise spreads its rays over 180°. The number of rays must be a multiple of the number of colours, so the colours alternate all the way round.
How do the fans fit together?
Each fan is a circle; the circles sit in rows, each row moved across by half a fan, and each lower row lies over the row above. The rays come from the centre of each circle and the rings are circles of the same centre, so the drawing stays exact where one fan covers another.
What is the stepped band?
A stepped pyramid: each step is the same height and the same width in from the step below, so the outline climbs and falls in even stairs. Tick One colour per tier for bands of colour, or Mirror every other band for stepped shapes that meet.
Will the tile repeat without a seam?
Yes. The SVG tile is one full repeat of the motif and its colours, so copies placed edge to edge join with no seam.
What are the border strips?
A page of strips of the pattern, as wide as the page allows, with an outline to cut along. Join strips end to end; the pattern carries on across the join.
How is this different from the guilloche generator?
The Guilloche Pattern Generator draws fine spirograph line rosettes and borders. This page builds bold filled motifs: rays, fans, steps, arches and bands.
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.