Mural Painting
Chris Palmer
Hello,
Sorry to make a multiple newsgroup post, but these are the closest
newsgroup I could find to the subject matter.
My wife and I want to paint a cartoon type mural on the walls of our
kids room. We're not looking for the realism or subtlety of and oil
painting, but for something in the style of a cartoon background,
specifically we are going to do a 100 Acre Wood scene with Pooh's house
(the Disney version) and some generic tree, grass, flower, kind of stuff.
Note that this is not a public place or a commercial enterprise, so don't
bother telling me about Disney's prosecution of people painting Disney
characters on billboards or the walls of daycare centers.
Our current plan is to create sketches, scan them, clean them up on the
computer and decide on color schemes, then print out B/W outline drawings
and project them on the walls using an opaque projector. We will then
trace the drawings onto the walls and paint in the colors. Finally,
because it is a cartoony painting, we planned to go back with a black
paint pen (or actually, pens of different widths) and draw in the
outlines.
So, I have a few questions:
1. Is this the best way to do this?
2. Has anyone else done something like this before? (I know they have,
I mean on these newsgroups).
3. If we start with a latex wall paint base (probably a light, hazy sky
blue), what type of paints should we use for the mural?
4. Depending, I suppose, on the types of paint we use for the mural,
will we need a topcoat to protect the mural?
Any other inputs would be appreciated. E-mail would be preferable. If
there are no web pages devoted to such topics, I am probably going to
create one if the project turns out OK and any input I get from the 'net
will be part of the web page.
Thanks in advance.
Catherine M. Taylor
I tried e-mailing ya Chris but it bounced. E-mail me back and
we'll chat. I had the 100 Aker Wood put on my 2.5YOs wall a couple of
months ago. Let me know how I can help.
************************************************************************
Kitty Taylor ki...@mhsgate.mlb.ilstu.edu
Illinois State University cmt...@RS6000.cmp.ilstu.edu
Milner LIbrary ACM Dept phone: (309) 438-2863
Normal, Illinois 61761-8900 fax : (309) 438-5132
************************************************************************
Amazon0521
I found the question interesting, as I plan to do some mural work on my
house. Would you post your methods for all of us to learn? Thanks,
Caris
Amazo...@aol.com
Lynniepoo2
<< Our current plan is to create sketches, scan them, clean them up on the
computer and decide on color schemes, then print out B/W outline drawings
and project them on the walls using an opaque projector. We will then
trace the drawings onto the walls and paint in the colors. Finally,
because it is a cartoony painting, we planned to go back with a black
paint pen (or actually, pens of different widths) and draw in the
outlines.
So, I have a few questions:
1. Is this the best way to do this?
2. Has anyone else done something like this before? (I know they have,
I mean on these newsgroups).
3. If we start with a latex wall paint base (probably a light, hazy sky
blue), what type of paints should we use for the mural?
4. Depending, I suppose, on the types of paint we use for the mural,
will we need a topcoat to protect the mural?
Any other inputs would be appreciated. E-mail would be preferable. If
there are no web pages devoted to such topics, I am probably going to
create one if the project turns out OK and any input I get from the 'net
will be part of the web page.
Thanks in advance.
>>
I have cartoon murals in all of our bedrooms, from Nintendo and Disney
magazines and Ninja Turtle movie boxes. Our walls were originally flat
white latex. I drew grids on the pictures I wanted, say 1/4 inch squares
to up to 1/2 inch, depending on the size of the picture. If you don't
want to ruin the original picture with a grid, use a ballpoint pen to make
a grid on a clear document protector then slip your picture inside. Make
sure it doesn't slip, though. Make a grid on the wall in light pencil
marks, with the squares 2 to 4 inches each, (measure your picture and your
wall and work out your own scale). Then proceed to draw the contents in
each square onto the wall.
This is a standard form of enlargement and doesn't require any equipment
at all other than a straight edge and a pencil. For areas in the picture
that have more detail, you can subdivide a square into smaller squares to
get precise. Then (optional) I erased the grid lines with a big fat eraser
and painted using little bottles of acrylic craft paint. (I had these
paints laying around from projects begun and never finished... it wasn't a
conscious choice) I used a fine brush for the black outlines but wish I
had thought of a marker at the time! I did all my murals several (7 or 8)
years ago and they are still adorable and as washable as the flat latex
ever was (which is to say, easy does it)... Never protected it with
anything, and our walls don't get beat up--don't know if you expect yours
to? The beauty of the acrylic paints is the opacity, so you can cover a
mistake easily.
Like I said, this method requires no equipment (scanning, projecting) and
my experience with tracing a projection was frustrating on the one time I
did try it. I found I got in my own light and would lose the picture in my
shadow just as I put pencil to wall... And I didn't have to "create
sketches"... I wonder if you have pictures available in a coloring book or
story book that you could use rather than creating your own... My way (not
that I thought it up) does PERHAPS take a bit longer, but if you are
somewhat of a doodler you should be able to copy from small grid to large
grid fairly easily.
I found that once I started, I didn't want to stop. I have two
life-sized Ariels, Sebastians and Flounders from the Little Mermaid, a
Mario from Nintendo, a couple of other game charachters, plus the Ninja
Turtles with Shredder and a Quick-Draw McGraw... After all these years,
my guys have outgrown these, so soon will do a light sanding to smooth off
the layers (see above note concerning covering mistakes--I had a few
places where it happened more than once) and repaint. But fresh walls may
inspire me to do it all over again!
BTW, I intended to apply a clear coat but never did, and if I did it again
I would try to get around to it, if only for a slight gloss to bring the
pictures out more. Good luck, and have fun. Write if I can be of any
assistance whatsoever...
Lynn
Rose Madder
In article <4qhkge$n...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, lynni...@aol.com says...
>This is a standard form of enlargement and doesn't require any equipment
>at all other than a straight edge and a pencil. For areas in the picture
>that have more detail, you can subdivide a square into smaller squares to
>get precise.
You are right in saying that the grid is the old tried and true method of
enlarging, but with modern day optics and projectors, there is no need
to go to all that laborious trouble. While there are drawbacks to projection,
you can't beat it for ease of use. Some opague projectors simply do not
have enough light to be of value for mural projections though. If you can
get hold of one used for classroom transparency projections they work
well. The problem with any sort of projection, whether it is with standard
35mm slides or opague, is keeping things from moving and in focus during the
entire process. This should be no problem for cartoons, which do not
require precision anyway. It can be a serious problem for people who are
trying to project a face in order to do an accurate portrait, or any other
picture which is going to involve getting detail correct. I LONG ago quit
gridding up in favor of projection. If there is some need to copy from a
magazine or book, for example, I use a copy stand and 35mm camera
and then use the slide image in a standard 35mm slide projector for
projecting the image back onto whatever surface I am going to paint, etc.
As for painting nursery walls -- assuming the surface is already painted
in the usual indoor latex paint, I would use various colors of indoor latex
that is advertised as "washable" and would NOT worry about a protective
layer of clear varnish. If a clear varnish is decided on, then there are
clear acrylic mediums that can be purchased that will not yellow and
will be washable. Most paint stores sell their paints in small quantities,
like in half-pints or 1/4 liters or whatever so that there is no need to
buy gallon quantities if you only want enough to do red noses on
gnomes, or whatever.
--
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Colorful but fugitive.
~ Rose Madder ~
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