The Beauty of Hexagons-Tessellation-Drawing a Hexagon
The Beauty of Hexagons
Nature is one of the greatest mathematicians. Look closely at a honeycomb and you’ll discover a masterpiece built from one remarkable shape – the regular hexagon.
This hand-painted artwork celebrates the perfect balance between art and mathematics, transforming a simple honeycomb into a vibrant visual reminder that maths is everywhere. Every brushstroke highlights the symmetry, precision and repeating patterns that make geometry both beautiful and practical.
A regular hexagon is one of only three regular polygons that tessellate. Tessellation means shapes fit together perfectly, covering a surface with no gaps and no overlaps.
The three regular shapes that tessellate are:
Equilateral Triangle – 3 equal sides and 3 equal angles of 60°.
Square – 4 equal sides and 4 right angles of 90°.
Regular Hexagon – 6 equal sides and 6 equal angles of 120°.
These shapes appear throughout architecture, engineering, design and the natural world, proving that mathematics creates both strength and beauty.
Draw Your Own Regular Hexagon
All you need is a compass, ruler, sharp pencil and eraser.
Draw a circle using your compass.
Without changing the compass width, place the compass point anywhere on the circle and mark the next point on the circumference.
Repeat this process six times around the circle. Each step is exactly one radius long.
Use a ruler to join the six points in order.
Erase the circle if you wish, leaving a perfect regular hexagon.
Repeat your hexagons side by side to create your own honeycomb tessellation. Add colour, patterns or shading to turn your mathematical construction into a unique piece of geometric art.
Challenge Yourself: Can you explain why a regular pentagon cannot tessellate on its own? What makes triangles, squares and hexagons so special?
Mathematics isn’t just about numbers—it’s about discovering the patterns that shape our world.

