What is a 3D Photo Mosaic?
A 3D Photo Mosaic is a one-of-a-kind, 3-dimensional art piece created using photos and mosaic tiles. The textural qualities of sculpture and the graphic & visual beauty of photography are combined in one harmonious piece. It is a visual snapshot of an event or may encompass decades of memories in one single work of art. It is an artful substitute to using dozens of photo albums or if you have limited wall space in your home for many framed photos.
How do I begin the process?
Iconic vs Montage
Iconic 3D Photo Mosaic pieces are created using a large number of personal, historical and/or subject appropriate images that are edited and put together to shape one grand image relating to the original photos used. From a distance, the subject is obvious, and as the viewer gets closer they will see that these pieces are made up of hundreds of individual photos that have been researched and altered (edited, cropped, retouched & color or b&w converted) to form the grand subject of the piece. Each image is adhered to a mosaic tile to give the work depth and a sculptural quality. Additionally, there are no duplicate images in any piece, which gives the viewer a more engaging experience, rather than simply looking at repetitious copies of a small number of images.
Iconic Mosaic with Invisible Floating Frame
Montage 3D Photo Mosaic are a visual snapshot of an event or may encompass decades of memories in one single work of art. Rather than thumb through dozens of photo albums or use every square inch of wall space in your home with framed photos, a Montage 3D Photo Mosaic may include hundreds of photos in one harmonious piece.
Montage Mosaic with Invisible Floating Frame
Please refer to samples on this website under the respective tabs, "Iconic" or "Montage" to see various completed pieces.
Framing?
Floating Frame vs Invisible Floating Frame
The 2 different styles offered are Floating Frame & Invisible Floating Frame. (For a mosaic larger than 12-15”, I recommend the Floating Frame, as it protects the tiles better when shipped or move/transferred from living spaces.)
A Floating Frame is a custom wooden or metal frame where the mosaic appears to “float” inside the frame. It typically has about a 1/8” space between frame and mosaic. The frame can be a variety of coatings or finishes. This is often how paintings are framed and can lend a contemporary look to the artwork.
Iconic Mosaic framed with Floating Frame in Light Oak
Iconic Mosaic with Floating Frame in light oak (profile view)
An Invisible Floating Frame is a custom wooden art panel and from the front appears to not have a frame and “floating” on the wall. It typically has about a 1-1 1/2” depth from the wall. The sides will be painted either black, white, stained deep walnut or clear varnish on light maple wood.
Iconic Mosaic with Invisible Floating Frame (front view)
Iconic Mosaic with Invisible Floating Frame stained walnut (profile view)
How many photos are needed? What size should my digital files be?
Once you decide on the type of frame you’d like, Floating Frame vs Invisible Floating Frame, I can tell you about how many photos you’ll need. Most Montage pieces require a minimum of 100 photos and average about 150-300. An Iconic piece requires a minimum of 250 photos and average about 500-800. But that varies dramatically depending on the detail and scope of the design.
I do not use your physical original photos in the piece. I can either use your digital files or scan your original photos. You can also take a photo of a photo and email it to me/upload it. You just need to make sure it’s not at a distorted angle or glare. There is a $1.50 per photo scan fee. You can mail your original photos to scan to me and I can ship them back to you with the finished piece. If you have digital files, you can upload them to a free site (e.g. Dropbox or GooglePhotos) so I can download them for free or mail me a CD or thumb drive. All photo files must be saved in a jpeg or PDF format and each must be no smaller than 100KB and no larger than 4MB.
Do you use my actual photos? Can you scan original photos?
All pieces are one-of-a-kind and all designs are unique to each piece. Once I see exactly how many photos you would like to use, I layout the entire piece with the various tile colors selected and place each tile color individually in a custom grid until it works harmoniously with the layout. Each individual photo is then edited, retouched and reduced to a 3/4” square format. We would then discuss if you'd like the photos in their original format, color, b&w, sepia tone, etc. After all photo files are converted digitally, I download them and then crop them to a 3/4" square format. They are then printed on photo paper and hand-cut. Each photo is adhered to a mosaic tile and varnished to preserve the photo. Finally, all photos are adhered to the custom wooden surface & painted/framed.
How is the piece designed and assembled?
All of the tiles are 3/4" square. This is very important when choosing photos because if you have a large group shot, the faces will be very small when shrunk down to 3/4". I prefer all photos to be in their original format, NOT cropped. I will digitally crop them after I receive them so I can maximize the space around the image.
What size are the mosaic tiles? Do I need to crop my photos before sending to you?
I have almost every color tile you can imagine in my studio. We can discuss what colors you like or do not like after choosing a frame.
What color tiles do you have?
Montage pieces require 2-3 weeks to complete once the frame is chosen & the digital photo files/pictures are received. An Iconic piece requires 3-4+ weeks to complete, depending on the size and scope of the image. If you have a rush job that requires the piece finished sooner than these time frames, a rush fee will be discussed.
How long will it take to complete?
See Pricing under the "Info" tab.
How much will a finished piece cost?
Yes. Each piece is insured and send insured via UPS. I ship worldwide. A shipping price will be quoted once the destination is given.
Do you ship?
All jobs that are quoted for finished pieces which include the frame, tiles, photo editing & cropping, design consultation and assembling the piece. Additional costs are shipping, scanning photos ($1.50 each photo), requesting the photos in a certain order (e.g. chronological), specific color conversions of photos and rush fees for a job needed sooner than 4 weeks for Montage and 6 weeks for Iconic.
Are there any additional costs?
Yes. A 20% non-refundable deposit it required at the start of the job for materials. Online payments can be made through Venmo, Zelle or credit card. If paying via Venmo or credit card, and additional 3% service fee will be added. Final payment is due upon completion of the piece, before shipping.
If you have any further questions, please contact me. I'd be happy to give you more details or information.
Is a deposit required?