Start
Use your own image, start blank, or open the bundled sample.
Kaleidoscope Effect
Frame a patch of a photo and fold it into a seamless repeating pattern: mirror or kaleidoscope tiles, with optional color filters, for still or video output.
Runs locally No upload
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Facts
- Category
- Motion
- Works with
- Image or blank canvas
- Exports
- PNG / JPEG / Video
- Runs in
- Your browser, and the SHADR iPhone app
- Your images
- Processed on your device, not uploaded
- Cost
- Free in the browser
Fold one source into a moving field of symmetry.
The kaleidoscope effect is a free browser tool that takes a patch of a photo and folds it into a seamless repeating pattern of mirrored tiles, a kaleidoscope image made from any picture.
Shape
Build the result with Fold, Repeat, and Sample Size, then refine the remaining controls in real time.
Export
Render PNG / JPEG / Video output and download it directly to your device.
Use it for
- Looping visual identities
- Pattern and textile direction
- Mirrored title backgrounds
Key controls
- FoldChoose Kaleido, Mirror, and Radial, plus 1 more variation.
- RepeatTune from 1 to 12.
- Sample SizeTune from 5% to 100%.
All controls4
- FilterChoose Original Color, Bauhaus, and Graphite, plus 4 more variations.
On the Web
- Export motion as video instead of Live Photo.
In the iPhone app, Live Photo export is available.
Get the iPhone appHow Kaleidoscope works
A kaleidoscope repeats and mirrors a small piece of an image until it forms a pattern. This tool lets you choose the piece and the fold. Sample Size (5–100%) sets how large a patch of the photo is used, and Framing X and Framing Y (-100 to 100%) move it across the picture. Fold chooses the fold (Kaleido, Mirror, Radial or Hexagon), Repeat (1–12) sets how many times it repeats and Rotate (-180 to 180°) turns the pattern.
Filter adds a colour filter (Original Color, Bauhaus, Graphite, Signal, Terra, Ultramarine or Custom), and Filter Strength (0–100%) sets how strongly it is applied. Motion (Rotate, Step, Drift or Breathing) animates the pattern; in the browser the motion exports as video, and in the iPhone app as a Live Photo.
Choosing a photo
Photos with varied colour and texture make richer patterns, because the pattern is built from a small patch. The tool can also start from a blank canvas.
Settings worth changing first
- Fold (4 options) and Repeat (1–12, default 4).
- Sample Size (5–100%, default 25%) and the framing, Framing X and Framing Y (-100 to 100%).
- Rotate (-180 to 180°, default 0°).
- Filter (7 options) and Filter Strength (0–100%, default 85%).
Presets
Scarf Print, Mirror Weave, Micro Medallion, Ultramarine Tiles and Graphite Ground.
Before you start
How does a kaleidoscope effect work?
A small patch of the image is copied, mirrored and rotated around a centre so the copies tile together without seams. Changing which patch you pick changes the whole pattern.
How do I choose which part of the photo is used?
Framing X and Framing Y (-100 to 100%) move the patch across the photo and Sample Size (5–100%) changes how much of it is taken.
Can I animate the pattern?
Yes. Motion offers Rotate, Step, Drift or Breathing and Speed (0–100%) sets the speed. In the browser the motion exports as video; Live Photo export needs the iPhone app.
What can I export?
PNG or JPEG at 1600, 2200 or 3200 pixels on the long edge, or video. The photo is processed in the browser and is not uploaded.
What changes on the Web?
Export motion as video instead of Live Photo.
Continue with SHADR on iPhone after you create in the browser.
Get the iPhone app