How to Make a 7 Circuit Caerdroia Labyrinth

In this post I will show you how to draw a 7 circuit Caerdroia Labyrinth. I first became aware of this type of labyrinth, a variation of the Cretan labyrinth, when I saw it in the film, The Night House, which has a maze theme weaved into the storyline. This type of labyrinth is Welsh and they were used for gatherings of singing and dancing. To learn more about them check out Wikipedia.

How to Draw a 7 Circuit Caerdroia Labyrinth

Step 1 Draw the seed pattern

I came up with 2 possible seed patterns for this. The first is based on the classical 7 seed labyrinth and adjusted for the unique shape of this labyrinth. You can see this below in black overlaid onto the complete labyrinth in red. It uses a center cross (in this case offset), 4 L’s and 4 dots just like that seed uses.

The step by step instructions will use this seed, however there is another seed option I will review below.

Step 1 - Draw the seed pattern

Step 2 Note the Connection points

All seeds become labyrinths by connecting one point to another around the entire shape. For a 7 circuit you will need to make 8 connections as labeled below.

Step 2 Note the connections

Step 3 Note the location of the peaks and shape changes

In the northern part of the labyrinth, you have all circular pathways, and all of them have a peak that is centered between the first connection points (also centered above the center goal).

In the southern part of the labyrinth you have a square labyrinth. This portion of the labyrinth fills bottom half and a half step above the seed (this is an aesthetic choice by me - you may also use the seed as the point of shape change if you prefer)

Step 3 Location and shape changes

Step 4 Draw and connect the pathways to create the labyrinth

After all the explanation above, connect the same numbered pathways to create the labyrinth. Connections 1-5 require (mostly) the drawing of semi-circles, while 6-8 require pathway extensions before drawing the semicircles.

Connect the pathways in order from left to right.

That completes the labyrinth, BUT let’s look at the other seed I mentioned above.

ALTERNATIVE Step 1 Draw the seed pattern

To simplify the connection drawing this seed requires only the drawing of semicircles, but a much larger seed which looks more like a very wide tree. There are still 8 connections to make, but they are more uniform. Just make sure you align all of their transition points from square shaped to circular shaped.

All other step are basically the same, with just the drawing of your walls changing since you did more upfront work !

OPTIONAL STEP 5 Make any Aesthetic Changes

You have options for the wall.to pathway ratio. Below I made them equal. The display of corners ( I chose soft below vs. sharp corners), and how the ends of lines will look (I chose rounded vs squared).

That concludes our instructions. Good luck in making your own design !

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How to Make a 7 Circuit Diamond Labyrinth

In this post I will show you how to draw a 7 circuit diamond labyrinth.

How to Draw a 7 Circuit Diamond Labyrinth

Step 1 Draw 8 concentric diamonds

These will become your guides for the drawing of the labyrinth. Note that the number of circuits you want add one and that is how many concentric layers you need for any labyrinth creation.

PROTIP: Start your drawing with the center goal so you do not run out of room ! This also allows you to pick the size the center goal will be.

AESTHETIC CHOICE: For this example my diamond uses a square turned by 45 degrees. The 11 circuit diamond labyrinth .was made using a 2/3 grid (2 over, 3 up) giving it a sharp angle.

Step 1 - Draw 8 concentric diamonds

Step 2 Draw the outer wall, and pathway to the goal

At the 6 o’clock portion of the center diamond, draw a centered pathway to the edge, while keeping the right side open for the outer pathway on the right. Extend the left pathway to the edge and then create the outer wall all the way around the diamond, leaving only the entrance pathway open on the bottom left of the diamond and turning north until you reach the second inner diamond (this creates the entrance pathway).

AESTHETIC CHOICE: I decided to make this labyrinth using standard equal walls and pathways, but you can also use thinner lines if you want.

Step 2 Draw the outer wall, and pathway to the goal

Step 3 Begin the internal pathways

Continue the entrance pathway around the center goal, leaving the pathway open on the bottom right of the second center diamond. Using the third internal diamond draw a wall to create a second pathway from the center, stopping on the bottom left and leaving the pathway open for the turnback.

Take the right pathway from the center goal and continue it counterclockwise around the diamond, stopping to keep the pathway open on the bottom left of the diamond.

Step 3 Begin the internal pathways

Step 4,5 Continue drawing the internal pathways

In the center portion of the diamond, draw a turnback pathway in the next concentric diamond, creating a third pathway from the center goal. Keep the pathway open on the bottom right for a turnback the other way in the next step.

And draw the next layer back the other way.

Step 6 Finish the internal pathways

One last layer to draw to complete the labyrinth.

Step 7 Delete guides and make aesthetic changes

Delete your guidelines. You can change the widths now if you do not like how it looks. I changed the wall endings at the turn-backs to have curved ends, because I like how it looks.

That concludes our instructions. Good luck in making your own design !

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How to Make a 11 Circuit Diamond Labyrinth

In this post I will show you how to draw an 11 circuit diamond labyrinth. A diamond shaped labyrinth is not common but I like the way it looks when completed and you have a few interesting aesthetic choices to make when you design your own that I will review.

How to Draw an 11 Circuit Diamond Labyrinth

Step 1 Draw 12 concentric diamonds

These will become your guides for the drawing of the labyrinth. Note that the number of circuits you want add one and that is how many concentric layers you need for any labyrinth creation.

PROTIP: Start your drawing with the center goal so you do not run out of room !

AESTHETIC CHOICE: For this example my diamond was made using a 2/3 grid (2 over, 3 up) giving it a sharp angle. My 7 circuit uses a square turned by 45 degrees to create the diamond.

Step 1 - Draw 12 concentric diamonds

Step 2 Draw the outer wall, and pathway to the goal

At the 6 o’clock portion of the center diamond, draw a centered pathway to the edge, while keeping the right side open for the outer pathway on the right. Extend the left pathway to the edge and then create the outer wall all the way around the diamond, leaving only the entrance pathway open on the bottom left of the diamond.

Step 3 Begin the internal pathways

Draw the entrance pathway all the way towards the goal, stopping when you hit the second diamond layer. Continue this pathway around the center goal, leaving the pathway open on the bottom right of the second center diamond.

Take the right pathway from the center goal and continue it counterclockwise around the diamond, stopping to keep the pathway open on the bottom left of the diamond.

Step 4 Continue drawing the internal pathways

In the center portion of the diamond, draw a turnback pathway in the third concentric diamond, creating a second pathway from the center goal. Keep the pathway open on the bottom left for a turnback the other way in the next step.

In the outer layers, draw the second outer pathway from the bottom left to the right side, clockwise, ensuring to not close the pathway on the bottom right.

Step 5 + Finish the internal pathways

Continue drawing pathways from each direction until they meet.

Step 6 Delete guides and make aesthetic changes

Delete your guidelines.

AESTHETIC CHOICE: In this step I decided the labyrinth looked a bit flimsy with walls so thin, so I decided to change to a standard equal construction by thickening the walls.

AESTHETIC CHOICE: For any labyrinth with sharp angles the turn-backs will be deeper than normal. If you do not like the way it works, you can fill-in the turn-backs to give the labyrinth a different look (and in this case one that I prefer).

11 circuit diamond labyrinth with turn-backs

That concludes our instructions. Good luck in making your own design !

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How to Make a 11 Circuit Hexagonal Labyrinth

In this post I will show you how to draw a hexagon and then expand that out to a full digital 11 circuit hexagonal labyrinth.

How to Draw an Hexagon

If you want to draw an hexagon with equal lengths here is the method I would use.

Step 1 Draw a straight line

Step 2 Rotate the line 60 degrees

Obviously this is a digital method where you can copy and paste then rotate, but it also works if you are hand drawing. Use a pencil and protractor and ensure you use the same length of line.

Step 3 Rotate the line 60 degrees again

This will create what looks like a widely spaced asterisk.

Step 1 Draw a line

Step 2 Rotate 60 degrees

Step 3 Rotate 60 degrees again

Step 4 Connect the ends of the lines

This will create outer walls of the hexagon that are the same length.

Connect the ends of the lines

Step 5 (both are optional) Delete the original lines and rotate the hexagon

You can delete the guidelines to create your final hexagon, but you may not want to. Why ? Because when you create a labyrinth using this template the guidelines you used also guide you on when you turn the lines (or alternatively embed the hexagon) for your next layer of the labyrinth. You also have the option to rotate the hexagon to have a wall parallel to the bottom of the page/screen, but I did not do this in my example.

Hexagon

Before we get into the step by step instructions, I want you to notice where the walls of the labyrinth make their turns. I have highlighted them below in blue - if you made your Hexagon using my method above and you did not delete the guidelines here you can see that each turn happens at these guides. The example is a 5 circuit version, but it will be true for ANY size circuit labyrinth.

How to Draw a 11 Circuit Hexagonal Labyrinth

Step 1 Draw 12 concentric hexagons

Now that you know how to draw a good hexagon let’s get started drawing our labyrinth by drawing 12 of them. I always use a standard equal construction, meaning that the width of the walls equals the width of the pathways in between them. For this version I have rotated the hexagon so that bottom is parallel to the bottom of the page.

PROTIP: Start your drawing with the center goal so you do not run out of room !

PROTIP: To create a hexagon of x# of different circuits, you just need to draw x+1# of hexagons. So a 23 circuit labyrinth needs 24 hexagons, etc.

Step 1 - Draw 12 concentric hexagons

Step 2 Draw the internal sections

In this step we draw our internal turnaround points which create sections for the labyrinth. In our example we have 4 sections. At 9, 12, and 3 o’clock draw straight lines that cut off all but 1 pathway. At 12 this is the outside path and at 3, and 9 it is the most internal pathway. Finally create what will become the final pathway to the goal by adding 2 walls centered at 6 o’ clock. The left wall of those 2 walls should not cover the outside pathway.

Step 3 Break the walls into pathways

Each section will need 10 ‘cuts’ to make the pathways wind thru the section. Also cut the final walkway to the goal and the entrance just to the right of that through the outside wall.

A note about turn-backs. My example above has 4 sections. But you can also draw the same labyrinth with more or less turn-backs (sections). Below I have a 1 section, 2 section, 4 section (the one we just made) and a 6 section version of hexagonal labyrinths. If you imagine walking these, the more sections, or turn-backs, the more back and forth walking you will do. All examples are 5 circuit hexagonal labyrinths.

A note about orientation. I also wanted to show you how the labyrinth would look if we had not rotated it. In this version the entrance and final pathway to the goal lead from a corner instead of the center on a flat portion on the outer edge. Here are how the 2 and 4 sectioned labyrinths would look:

And let’s compare the standard 4 section versions in more detail because we can adjust our steps above to make another version. Step 1 is the same except for the orientation of the hexagons you draw. Step 2 is actually the same as far as where the lines are drawn and what pathways are left open. And Step 3 is also the same since you cut the pathways in the same place ! So essentially the steps are pretty much the same ! So if you want to make the “corner” version you can !

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