Today we wanted to show you a different way to create a page in your Mixbook project. We know you’ve already got a variety of layouts to choose from, but more options have never been a bad thing, right? This post will take its inspiration from an old style of art: mosaics. Mosaics have been around for as long we can remember, creating beautiful art pieces with strategically placed colored stones. While these masterpieces take some time to produce, from the initial planning stages to the actual execution, we promise photo mosaics in your Mixbook project won’t take nearly as long. There are two ways to create this page: with equal sized tiles or more abstract tiles.
To Start:
All photo mosaic pages will start the same way. Drag the photo you would like to use onto the blank page. Next, enlarge the photo to your preferred size by dragging one of the corner red squares away from the center. This is also the time to do any zooming, if needed.
For Equal Sized Tiles:
Resize your photo using the middle red squares. This will ensure that your photo is only cropped, instead of resized. Once you’ve reached the desired size, copy and paste that photo until you reach the correct number of tiles (determined by you, of course!).
Next, place the tiles accordingly. We’ve created a 3×3 square, which has a total of 9 tiles. The last step is to pan the photo within the frame so that they match up with one another. We start from the top right corner and work our way across. Once all the photos match up, you’ve completed a beautiful photo mosaic.
For Abstract Tiles:
For this type of mosaic, we go straight to the copy and paste step. First, decide on the number of tiles you want to use and paste accordingly. For this example we’re going to use 5 tiles.
Because this is photo mosaic is abstract and free form, the resizing comes after the photos have been duplicated. Remember, when resizing the photos use the middle squares, instead of the corner squares. Resize each duplicated photo to the shape your heart desires, and place them in a satisfying layout.
Now, all that’s left is to pan the photos so the correct portion is showing in the frame. You’ve now officially created an abstract photo mosaic!
*Insider Tip: When panning a photo, you will notice that the entire photo becomes visible. The parts inside the frame are clear, while the parts of the photo outside of it are faded. Use this as your guide to match the faded photo to the already positioned tiles.
We love photo mosaics because they allow for so much creativity and no two photos can ever really be the same! Take inspiration from actual mosaics, the various layouts we offer in the “Layout” tab, and the various photo apps available on your smartphone! We invite all you Mixbookers to proudly post your beautiful artwork on our Facebook wall to inspire the rest of the community! To help you get started, we’ve got a few layouts posted below. 
We can’t wait to see what you create! Happy Mixbooking!
Marleen Caswell September 13, 2012 at 1:08 pm
You lost me at “place tiles accordingly”. I have copy and pasted four copies of my picture but now I do not understand how to place them – how do I get those four boxes? I tried a 4 picture layout but I just get four small copies of my picture. i am stuck. Can you help?
Elle Daquioag September 13, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Hi Marleen,
I hope that helps!
I can definitely help! You won’t be able to use layouts from the “Layouts” tab because your photos will not be large enough to create the “tiles.” Once you’ve copied and pasted your four photos, just move them around the page to create your desired layout – you can position them so that they mimic that 4 picture layout you originally chose! Once you have them in place, use the panning hand to position the photos in their frame. You should then be able to match up the photos to create a mosaic look.
Marleen Caswell September 19, 2012 at 4:07 am
Yes, that did help! I did it and it looks great. I just had to get the idea of panning and then once I put my cursor on the hand that appears a dim photo appears in the background and I can enlarge each pic to the same size and see how it overlays and match up each tile. Thank you!
Bill Beebe September 19, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Love the one of the two kids holding hands on the beach, but only as a format for different photos on a similar subject on the same page. I will definitely utilize this framework on a future book that I intend to start with Mixbook. You did a marvelous job on my one and only book so far.
Susan Blakely September 20, 2012 at 1:15 pm
You said on the example above you used 3×3 squares. How can you tell what size the squares are? Is there a way to show a ruler?
Mixbook Customer Care Team September 20, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Hello Susan,
We apologize for the confusion! With the 3×3 squares we are referring to 3 rows of squares by 3 columns of squares and not the measurements. The actual measurements of the squares would depend on the size of the book. At this time there isn’t a way to show a ruler within the editor, but that certainly is a great idea! We’ll definitely pass it along to the rest of the team. (: Let us know if you have any other questions. Happy Mixbooking!
Roma from Customer Care (: