Dogs
Dogs are a motif that for tessellation purposes are most difficult to accomplish, at least to an acceptable degree, as their outline is so specific (basically a body with longish legs) and so consequently there is little scope for any variation (more of which I discuss in greater detail with Essay 3, Motif Choice). Perhaps an indication of how difficult this motif is to compose was shown by Escher, who only did two such examples (Nos.16 and 97). Consequently, as this particular motif is relatively few in number, this is of more interest than with the ubiquitous birds and fishes.
As such, the examples below, despite being of an broadly acceptable quality, display shortcomings in terms of their inherent quality to lesser or greater degrees.
Study.
This example shows two distinct, albeit similar types of dogs, with the lower diagram having been derived from the upper, as an 'improvement', most noticeably with the dogs' mouth, which is now closed. As such, although the difference is slight, the improvement should still be discernable, as with the mouth being open, such a dog is not anatomically correct, the lower jaw being undershot, resulting in an inferior example in these matters. Although indeed such an �open mouth' idea does possess advantages (as it can define the dogs paw, as exemplified in Escher's Bulldogs), in this particular instance I favour the latter.
No matter, both of these are of a relatively high quality, with the head and body being in admirable proportion, albeit even so I am still not entirely happy with the legs, which are somewhat contrived. However, as dogs remain a most trying motif, such inexactitudes on occasions do have to be accepted with equanimity, as here.
