Decorative wall murals can add an awesome accent to any room, but what if you’re not artistically inclined? No worries my friend, here’s how to add any design to a wall, it’s as simple as coloring!
Easy Wall Murals- How to add any Design to a Wall
My wife and I are expecting a girl. She found a giraffe mural in a magazine that we decided to try. It requires what some might call basic art skills like tracing and painting in the lines.
Supplies:
Picture of the image to be painted on the wall
Overhead transparency
Marker
Lamp
Cardboard box
Tape
Colored chalk or Pencil
Paint
Paintbrush 1.5″ or 2″ inches wide
Small paintbrushes – the artsy kind
Wall
1 Choosing the Design Image
My wife found this picture in a catalog. The photo is actually just a picture of the catalog itself. Other design ideas that would work well include coloring books, children’s books, etc.
2 Tracing the Image
Trace your chosen image onto an overhead transparency.
3 Design Projection
Create a simple makeshift projector using a box, a lamp, and some tape. Project the transparency onto the wall. I found that using a light bulb without the “frosting” on the inside made for a clearer picture.
4 Tracing the Projection/Design
Trace the projected image on the wall with chalk. I used pink chalk since white chalk didn’t show up at all and the color I wanted to paint was pink. You can barely see the pink chalk in the attached photo. Looking at the photo I realize you can’t see it all. Take my word for it, there’s a chalk outline of the mural.
In hindsight, a pencil would have worked just as well and could easily be erased if needed.
5 Painting the Mural
Now that that the picture is drawn on the wall in chalk, paint. Just don’t go outside the lines. This is the hard part. It takes a steady hand and patience. When doing touch-ups, I found these two things made a world of difference:
1) Solid lines with smooth edges
2) A solid coat that does not allow the background color through.
6Finishing the Mural
Finish painting and when the paint dries, wipe the wall down lightly with a clean rag. This will remove the chalk left behind from before. Now step back and marvel at your artistry.
by mmelville3
