Mirror ink

What it is

Mirror ink is a symmetry drawing pad. Every stroke you make is repeated around the middle of the canvas, so a single squiggle becomes a ring of squiggles and an ordinary doodle turns into a kaleidoscope pattern. Choose how many mirrors you want, from two up to sixteen, pick a palette, and draw. When something looks good, download it as an image and keep it.

How to play

Drag anywhere on the canvas. Pick the number of sectors, from bold shapes at two or four to lace at twelve or sixteen, and toggle the extra mirroring for a different feel. There are eight palettes of eight colors, one picked out for you each day, and a sun button that switches between glowing neon on black and flat ink on paper. Undo takes back one stroke, clear wipes the lot, and the download button saves a picture. There is no score and nothing to finish.

What makes it different

Symmetry drawing is the oldest trick for looking talented with no talent: fold paper, drop ink, press. This does that with a lot more axes and an undo button, and the neon-or-paper switch means the same drawing reads two ways, one like stained glass and one like a woodcut. It works well with a finger on a phone or tablet, where a slow curve is easier than with a mouse.

Why it is on Bored

Somewhere to put your hands while you think about something else. We built it so a single slow squiggle comes back as a ring of them, which means the result is always worth a screenshot even when the drawing was not worth the effort. There is no score and nothing to finish, so a visit lasts exactly as long as your attention does, and you leave with an image file if you want one.

Tips

• Start near the middle for tight patterns, move outward for big ones
• Fewer sectors give bold shapes, more sectors give lace
• Try the same drawing on neon and on paper, the colors change character
• Slow curves beat fast scribbles, let the mirroring do the work

FAQ