Hexagonal Grid Coordinates To Pixel Coordinates

For clarity, let the “hexagonal” coordinates be (r,g,b) where r, g, and b are the red, green, and blue coordinates, respectively. The coordinates (r,g,b) and (x,y) are related by the following:

y = 3/2 * s * b
b = 2/3 * y / s
x = sqrt(3) * s * ( b/2 + r)
x = - sqrt(3) * s * ( b/2 + g )
r = (sqrt(3)/3 * x - y/3 ) / s
g = -(sqrt(3)/3 * x + y/3 ) / s

r + b + g = 0

Derivation:

• I first noticed that any horizontal row of hexagons (which should have a constant y-coordinate) had a constant b coordinate, so y depended only on b. Each hexagon can be broken into six equilateral triangles with sides of length s; the centers of the hexagons in one row are one and a half side-lengths above/below the centers in the next row (or, perhaps easier to see, the centers in one row are 3 side lengths above/below the centers two rows away), so for each change of 1 in b, y changes 3/2 * s, giving the first formula. Solving for b in terms of y gives the second formula.

• The hexagons with a given r coordinate all have centers on a line perpendicular to the r axis at the point on the r axis that is 3/2 * s from the origin (similar to the above derivation of y in terms of b). The r axis has slope -sqrt(3)/3, so a line perpendicular to it has slope sqrt(3); the point on the r axis and on the line has coordinates (3sqrt(3)/4 * s * r, -3/4 * s * r); so an equation in x and y for the line containing the centers of the hexagons with r-coordinate r is y + 3/4 * s * r = sqrt(3) * (x - 3sqrt(3)/4 * s * r). Substituting for y using the first formula and solving for x gives the second formula. (This is not how I actually derived this one, but my derivation was graphical with lots of trial and error and this algebraic method is more concise.)

• The set of hexagons with a given r coordinate is the horizontal reflection of the set of hexagons with that g coordinate, so whatever the formula is for the x coordinate in terms of r and b, the x coordinate for that formula with g in place of r will be the opposite. This gives the third formula.

• The fourth and fifth formulas come from substituting the second formula for b and solving for r or g in terms of x and y.

• The final formula came from observation, verified by algebra with the earlier formulas.