1 black (3 tiles)
2 marbled pink (4 tiles)
3 brown (2 tiles)
4 yellow (26 tiles)
5 softpink (75 tiles)
6 scarlet (32 tiles)
7 tangerine (32 tiles)
8 orange (60 tiles)
9 white (3 tiles)
10 bright red (44 tiles)
11 mauve (8 tiles)
1 I started this project by mosaicing the fins of the fish. Because the tesserae here are thinner, these areas will take longer to mosaic. I like to start on the slowest part of the mosaic and get that bit done, so that I can finish on a 'home straight'. By cutting the tiles into long thin strips you can emphasize the delicacy of the veil-like fins compared to the more solidly mosaiced body of the fish.
Because the plastic surface is slippery, initially lay a few key lines and allow them to set. For the same reason, place the centre of the eye in position, nibble a circle, cut in half and wedge a thin white triangular highlight between the two halves. You may find it helps to use a cocktail stick to finely position the pieces. Nibble a tiny circle for the fish's nostril and glue it in position.
2 once fast,the key lines will act as buffers against which you can place the adjoining rows of tesserae. Fanning outwards from the centre, mosaic the top dorsal fin in the various reds, orange, tangerine and yellow. Repeat for the other fins. Mosaic the key line that forms the jowl of the fish.
3 To run the yellow ring around the eye, cut a large circle out of the tile, cut it into quarters and then nibble the centre out of each quarter. Arrange these tesserae around the black centre to re-form the circle. Keep working outwards adding a brown, then white and finally a red and orange ring to the fish eye. The brown ring will delineate the yellow one, the white ring will make the whole eye stand out from the red body,and the red and orange ring will act as an opus vermiculatum stopping the tesserae of the body from 'crashing' in to the white ring.
4 Continue to mosaic the head of the fish. Try to get a good, strong, clear line between the line of the red upper lip and the line of the white lower lip which form the mouth. This will help give the fish its particular expression. Run the white key line along the middle of the fish's body and allow to dry.
5 Fanning outwards from the centre, mosaic the fish's upper body. As you work upwards with each row, use a little less yellow, replacing it with tangerine, then a little less tangerine, replacing it with orange, and so on, slowly blending in each colour as you go. By the last row you should be using predominantly scarlet with the occasional piece of bright red.
6 Mosaic the lower part of the fish's body using a predominance of soft pink tiles. Pepper the pink with the occasional yellow and mauve tessera. The final few rows where the plate slopes up are particularly tricy to mosaic. The remaining gaps always appear to want larger tesserae than they actually need. Be patient and, if necessary, spend time nibbling each tessera to fit.
7 Continue in this way until you have finished the fish's entire body. Leave to dry until the PVA goes clear, taking up to four hours. (This is longer than usual because whereas MDF is absorbent which helps the drying process, this plastic plate isn't).
8 When the glue has set, grout and clean the mosaic in the normal way. Although the squeegee is useful for applying the grout to the flatter areas of the plate, you will find that you have to use your fingers (wearing rubber gloves) to grout the curved edges. When you have finished cleaning and wiping off the excess grout, prod with your craft knife to check there are no tesserae
hidden beneath the bed of grout( pay particular attention to the curved sloping sides during this operation). Then allow to dry for at least two days before cleaning off the surface scum as usual.
When it is cleaned and dry, you can, if you wish, hang your plate on an interior wall. Glue a large 'D' ring to the back of the plate using fast-setting two-part epoxy resin in a well ventilated room. Scratch the surface with your craft knife first so that the glue will key to the plastic surface.
2 marbled pink (4 tiles)
3 brown (2 tiles)
4 yellow (26 tiles)
5 softpink (75 tiles)
6 scarlet (32 tiles)
7 tangerine (32 tiles)
8 orange (60 tiles)
9 white (3 tiles)
10 bright red (44 tiles)
11 mauve (8 tiles)
1 I started this project by mosaicing the fins of the fish. Because the tesserae here are thinner, these areas will take longer to mosaic. I like to start on the slowest part of the mosaic and get that bit done, so that I can finish on a 'home straight'. By cutting the tiles into long thin strips you can emphasize the delicacy of the veil-like fins compared to the more solidly mosaiced body of the fish.
Because the plastic surface is slippery, initially lay a few key lines and allow them to set. For the same reason, place the centre of the eye in position, nibble a circle, cut in half and wedge a thin white triangular highlight between the two halves. You may find it helps to use a cocktail stick to finely position the pieces. Nibble a tiny circle for the fish's nostril and glue it in position.
2 once fast,the key lines will act as buffers against which you can place the adjoining rows of tesserae. Fanning outwards from the centre, mosaic the top dorsal fin in the various reds, orange, tangerine and yellow. Repeat for the other fins. Mosaic the key line that forms the jowl of the fish.
3 To run the yellow ring around the eye, cut a large circle out of the tile, cut it into quarters and then nibble the centre out of each quarter. Arrange these tesserae around the black centre to re-form the circle. Keep working outwards adding a brown, then white and finally a red and orange ring to the fish eye. The brown ring will delineate the yellow one, the white ring will make the whole eye stand out from the red body,and the red and orange ring will act as an opus vermiculatum stopping the tesserae of the body from 'crashing' in to the white ring.
4 Continue to mosaic the head of the fish. Try to get a good, strong, clear line between the line of the red upper lip and the line of the white lower lip which form the mouth. This will help give the fish its particular expression. Run the white key line along the middle of the fish's body and allow to dry.
5 Fanning outwards from the centre, mosaic the fish's upper body. As you work upwards with each row, use a little less yellow, replacing it with tangerine, then a little less tangerine, replacing it with orange, and so on, slowly blending in each colour as you go. By the last row you should be using predominantly scarlet with the occasional piece of bright red.
6 Mosaic the lower part of the fish's body using a predominance of soft pink tiles. Pepper the pink with the occasional yellow and mauve tessera. The final few rows where the plate slopes up are particularly tricy to mosaic. The remaining gaps always appear to want larger tesserae than they actually need. Be patient and, if necessary, spend time nibbling each tessera to fit.
7 Continue in this way until you have finished the fish's entire body. Leave to dry until the PVA goes clear, taking up to four hours. (This is longer than usual because whereas MDF is absorbent which helps the drying process, this plastic plate isn't).
8 When the glue has set, grout and clean the mosaic in the normal way. Although the squeegee is useful for applying the grout to the flatter areas of the plate, you will find that you have to use your fingers (wearing rubber gloves) to grout the curved edges. When you have finished cleaning and wiping off the excess grout, prod with your craft knife to check there are no tesserae
hidden beneath the bed of grout( pay particular attention to the curved sloping sides during this operation). Then allow to dry for at least two days before cleaning off the surface scum as usual.
When it is cleaned and dry, you can, if you wish, hang your plate on an interior wall. Glue a large 'D' ring to the back of the plate using fast-setting two-part epoxy resin in a well ventilated room. Scratch the surface with your craft knife first so that the glue will key to the plastic surface.
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