Turing patterns: Stripes

Two chemicals spread and react on a grid that wraps around, and spots, stripes or mazes grow on their own. Pick a preset, set how it grows, then download a seamless repeat.

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Pattern

PresetSpotsMitosisCoralLabyrinthStripesWormsHolesBubbles

SeedNew seed

Growth

Grid64 x 64 cells96 x 96 cells128 x 128 cells160 x 160 cellsSteps1,000 steps2,000 steps3,000 steps4,000 steps6,000 steps

SpreadEvenFaster acrossFaster downFaster on the rising diagonalFaster on the falling diagonal

A finer grid fits more, smaller shapes in each repeat. More steps let the pattern settle; fewer show it still growing. A finer grid with more steps takes a second or two to draw.

Look

StyleFilledOutlineTwo bandsEdge level20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

Where the edge is drawn, from the lowest level of the second chemical to its highest. Lower levels make fatter shapes.

Colors

BackgroundPatternInner band

The inner band color is used only by the two-band style.

More palettes

Printing

Repeat width2"3"4"5"6"7.5"

How it works

This is the Gray-Scott model. Chemical A is fed in everywhere, B turns A into more B, and B is slowly removed. Both spread to neighboring cells, A twice as fast as B. The feed and kill rates decide what grows: John Pearson mapped them in 1993, and each preset is a pair from a different region of his map. The grid's edges join up, so the pattern grows on the surface of a doughnut, and the repeat has no seam to hide.