Truston Ailende

Adinkrahene is the symbol for leadership and charisma. This symbol is reportedly the inspiration for the design of the other symbols. Its simple yet abstract design, consisting of three concentric circles emphasizes the importance of ideas and abstract concepts.

In the last section, I introduced the grid. The grid will allow us create any symbol we want to because we can analyse and replicate the symbol of our choice.

We will draw a grid of 5 pixel squares on the image of the Adinkra symbol of our choice and replicate that on our grid. The squares on our grid are 10 pixels each. The goal of our program would be to create a grid that is two times the size of the original grid.

Drawing the 5 pixel squares on the Adinkrahene symbol will look as shown below:

Analysing the Symbol

The first circle is 8 squares away from the centre of the circle. So multiplying by 5 would give us 40 pixels.

The second circle is 13 pixels away from the centre of the circle. So multiplying by 5 would give us 65 pixels.

The third circle is 18 pixels away from the centre of the circle. So multiplying by 5 would give us 90 pixels.

The outer circle doesn’t touch the edge of the grid. It leaves a space of 1 square. The thickness of the circles are all 10 pixels.

The Plan to Draw the Symbol

To draw the Adinkahene symbol, we have to compensate for scaling up the shape to twice its size.

As a result of this, we shall increase the size of our pen to 20 pixels.

The first circle will have a radius of 80 pixels. We will move the pen to the location (0, -80) and draw a circle of 80 pixels.

The second circle will have a radius of 130 pixels. We will move the pen to the location (0, -130) and draw a circle of 130 pixels.

The third circle will have a radius of 180 pixels. We will move the pen to the location (0, -180) and draw a circle of radius 180 pixels.

Algorithm to Draw the Symbol

The algorithm to draw the Adinkrahene symbol is shown below:

1. Lift up the pen
2. Increase the pensize to 20 pixels
3. Move the turtle to the position (0, -80)
4. Place the pen down
5. Draw a circle that is 80 pixels in radius
6. Lift up the pen
7. Move the turtle to the position (0, -130)
8. Place the pen down
9. Draw a circle that is 130 pixels in radius
10. Lift up the pen
11. Move the turtle to the position (0, -180)
12. Place the pen down
13. Draw a circle that is 180 pixels in radius

Using Turtle Graphics

We will use the template.py file and rename it to adinkrahene.py.

The first step in drawing the Adinkrahene symbol is to draw the innermost circle and work our way out.

The first task is to lift up the pen. The code to do this is shown below:

turtle.penup()

Next we will increase our pensize to 20. The code to do this is shown below:

turtle.pensize(20)

The origin of the turtle is at (0, 0). To move the turtle to the position (0, -80), we use the command shown below:

turtle.setposition(0, -80)

At this point, place the pen down and draw a circle of radius 80 pixels. The code to do this is shown below:

turtle.pendown()
turtle.circle(80)

Our Python Turtle window will look like shown below:

Steps 6 to 9 are the steps for drawing the second circle. The code is similar to what you have already seen before and is shown below:

turtle.penup()
turtle.setposition(0, -130)
turtle.pendown()
turtle.circle(130)

When we run the code, our second circle now appears as shown below:

Steps 10 to 13 will draw the third circle. The code to do this is similar to what you have already seen before and is shown below:

turtle.penup()
turtle.setposition(0, -180)
turtle.pendown()
turtle.circle(180)

When you run the code, the image is as shown below:

Complete Code

The code for drawing the symbol is shown below:

"""
Project Name: Drawing Adinkra Symbols using Python
Symbol Name: Adinkrahene
Developer Name: Truston Ailende
Email Address: trustonailende@gmail.com
"""
import turtle
import math

# Square
def drawSquare(length):
    turtle.penup()
    turtle.setposition(-length/2.0, length/2.0)
    turtle.pendown()
    for i in range(0, 4):
        turtle.forward(length)
        turtle.right(90)
    turtle.penup()
    turtle.home()

# Horizontal lines
def drawHorizontalLine(length, division):
    pixelSpace = int(length / division)
    half = int(length / 2)
    for j in range((-half + pixelSpace), half, pixelSpace):
        turtle.penup()
        turtle.setposition(-half, j)
        turtle.pendown()
        turtle.forward(length)
    turtle.penup()
    turtle.home()

# Vertical lines
def drawVerticalLine(length, division):
    pixelSpace = int(length / division)
    half = int(length / 2)
    turtle.right(90)
    for k in range((-half + pixelSpace), half, pixelSpace):
        turtle.penup()
        turtle.setposition(k, half)
        turtle.pendown()
        turtle.forward(length)
    turtle.penup()
    turtle.home()

# Draw the grid
drawSquare(400)
drawHorizontalLine(400, 40)
drawVerticalLine(400, 40)

# Change the colour mode
turtle.colormode(255)

# Change the pencolor to red
turtle.pencolor(255, 0, 0)

# Draw the horizontal centre line
turtle.setposition(-200, 0)
turtle.pendown()
turtle.forward(400)
turtle.penup()

# Draw the vertical centre line
turtle.setposition(0, 200)
turtle.setheading(270)
turtle.pendown()
turtle.forward(400)

# Reset all the properties
turtle.home()
turtle.pencolor(0, 0, 0)

# Place code here
# Lift up the pen
turtle.penup()

# Set the pensize
turtle.pensize(20)

# Draw the first circle
turtle.setposition(0, -80)
turtle.pendown()
turtle.circle(80)

# Draw the second circle
turtle.penup()
turtle.setposition(0, -130)
turtle.pendown()
turtle.circle(130)

# Draw the third circle
turtle.penup()
turtle.setposition(0, -180)
turtle.pendown()
turtle.circle(180)

# End the program
turtle.done()

Where Can It Be Found?

A brief Google search led me to the following places where you can get branded Adinkrahene products:

1. TShirts, Mugs and Phone Cases on TeePublic
2. Pendants on Purple Blessing
3. Socks on Adinkra Republic

Summary

At the end of this post, we have successfully used the Python Turtle environment to draw the Adinkrahene symbol.

The code for this series is available on GitHub. Please feel free to check it out.

Support this Series

Using the Adinkra symbols, I created the Adinkra Notebooks Collection.

You can support this series by buying one of them.