Roman Mosaics: Discovery Through Colour

Explore ancient mosaics through colour

Colouring a Roman mosaic, tessera by tessera, gives you a different way to discover it.

Rather than simply looking at the finished image, you spend time with its details: the shapes of the individual tiles, the changes in colour, and the way those small pieces come together to form the picture.

With a photograph of the original beside you, you can look closely, compare colours and bring the design to life on paper. The clearer sketch interpretation and accompanying guidance help you find your way through the details.

You don’t need to make a mosaic with stone or learn to draw the design yourself. The line drawing gives you a starting point, so you can concentrate on exploring the image through colour.

Follow the original colours, try your own interpretation, or do a little of both. There’s no need to rush or finish in one sitting.

The pleasure is in creating your own finished picture—and noticing things in the Roman mosaic that you might otherwise have passed by.

What you get in the PDF
Two Roman mosaics, each with:

• an A4 blank mosaic line drawing, ready to colour
• an A5 photograph of the original mosaic
• an A5 sketch interpretation, drawn to show the tesserae and colours more clearly
• guidance on the colours used and why

Plus a short video introduction and an instruction sheet.

FAQ

• What paper should I use? - It mostly depends on your printer. Check what thickness it can take (the manual or the manufacturer’s website will give a maximum weight in gsm). Many home printers handle up to around 200 to 210gsm, though some only manage standard office paper.
  • Brush pens and markers: a heavier paper of about 120 to 200gsm works best. Standard 80gsm copier paper will work, but brush pens tend to show through or bleed. If your printer takes thicker stock, use it. Thicker card often feeds better through a rear or manual feed tray than through the main paper tray.
  • Coloured pencils: almost any smooth paper works, so a light card of 120 to 160gsm is a good choice.
  • Watercolour or wet media: use a mixed media or watercolour paper of about 200gsm or more, and check that your printer can take it. Light washes will work on mixed media paper. Also check that your printed lines won’t run. Laser prints and pigment-ink printers are usually waterproof, but standard dye-based inkjet lines can smudge when wet. Test on a spare sheet first.
  • If your printer can’t take thick paper: a local print shop can print the pages on heavier stock for you.
• Can I print it more than once? - Yes. Print as many copies as you like for your own use, so you can try different colour schemes or start again after a mistake.
• Is it suitable for children? - It depends on the age, and how focused they are. The designs are real Roman mosaics, not simplified cartoons, with small tesserae and plenty of detail so as a rule of thumb 8 yrs+ would be a guide.
• How long does a mosaic take to colour? - It depends on how detailed you want to get. A simple version using four or five colours and leaving the background as plain paper can take an hour or longer. A fully worked version with shading may take several hours, which is easy to spread over a few sessions. There’s no need to finish in one go.