Types of mosaic andamento

Andamento
The visual flow and direction of a mosaic created by arranging tiles specific
patterns.

Tesserae
Small pieces of stone, glass, ceramic, or other natural material cut into shapes.
Also known as mosaic pieces.
Opus Palladianum
A paving technique in which randomly shaped pieces are laid in irregular patterns
with equal spacing. Also known as crazy paving.

Opus Tessellatum
Tesserae is placed in a brick like pattern with grout lines lining up either
horizontally or vertically. But, they never line up both horizontally and vertically.
Opus Regulatum
Tesserae placed in a grid pattern so all grout lines line up both horizontally and
vertically.

Opus Vermiculatum
A technique where tesserae are places in single rows surrounding a focal point.
This technique is used to highlight the subject of the mosaic. The Tesserae is
usually the same colour as the background tesserae.
Opus Musivum
A technique where the entire background follows the contour of the subject with
opus vermiculatum extending to the boarder or secondary focal point. This
technique is typically used for large areas such as walls or cellings.

Opus Circulatum
A simple technique in which the background is made up of interlocking fans or a
scale like texture.