Spiral and cone checkerboards

The checkerboard maker has a new layout setting. The grid is still the default, and two round layouts join it. A spiral winds the grid around a center, so its rows become arms that curl inward and its boxes shrink as they go while keeping their shape, like the classic spiral checkerboard illusion. A cone shows the grid from above a cone's point: rows become rings of equal depth, and columns become wedges that meet in the middle.

Both work with every pattern, from the standard board to honeycomb, brick and houndstooth. Columns count the boxes around and rows count the rings. A spiral picks how far its arms wind so the colors join up all the way round. If they can't, one seam shows where the circle meets itself, and 24 boxes around always joins up.

Samples to start from

• Drawing the board…A spiral checkerboardOpen with these settings
• Drawing the board…Twenty-four boxes around, winding deepOpen with these settings
• Drawing the board…Brick, on a coneOpen with these settings
• Drawing the board…A honeycomb spiral in three colorsOpen with these settings

What's included

• Grid, spiral and cone layouts, for every checkerboard pattern
• Spiral boxes that keep their shape as they shrink toward the center
• Cone rings of equal depth, with wedges that meet at the point
• A repeat that sets the round board on a square of its first color, so tiles meet edge to edge
• SVG, PNG and a printable PDF with the finished size across and each color's pieces