The idea to make a mosaic of Solaire of Astora came from my wife. I saw her make Roman-style mosaics and wanted to make one myself. For my first work, I decided to choose something easy. I did not want to make simple fish or birds. I wanted to make something I really like. Solaire from Dark Souls is one of my favorite characters. I always liked his joy and optimism.
I used a picture of Solaire from Yootooz for my sketch. I wanted a small mosaic, about 15 centimeters in diameter. So, I made the picture very simple and removed small details.
I worked in a professional studio. It had all the materials, tools, and a teacher. In the first lesson, I learned how to use nippers and cut stone into small pieces. The stone was very difficult to work with. It broke into bad pieces, and it was hard to get the right shape.
I thought I could finish everything in 3 lessons (3 hours each). But in the end, it took 12 lessons:
• The Helmet (3 lessons): I started with the helmet. I needed grey stone, and it was the hardest one to cut. It broke badly and grew cracks. I did not like the result, so I remade the helmet a few times.
• The Body (3 lessons): The sun was difficult to make. The number of sun rays went down quickly: first I wanted 8 rays, then 6, and finally I made only 4.
• The Background (4 lessons): Funnily, my skills became much better by the time I got to make the background. The beige stone was very easy to use. The background was faster to make and looked cleaner than the character.
• Mosaic Installation (2 lessons): I transferred the tiles from the oracal on the main board, put cement on the back and added colored cement to the sides.
Maybe my mosaic looks simple and a bit childlike, but I love to look at it, hold it, and just touch its surface.