Has anyone ever done any wall murals?

[19magic]

I'm considering an ocean themed bathroom which is essentially two and a bit walls plus the ceiling. Then if that goes well eventually the whole place (different themes). I don't know the idea of having a completely different place to everyone I've ever known sounds super appealing, plus I know I'm gunna be living here for 10+ years so why not.

Has anyone ever done big painting projects like this? Anyone got any tips? (The pics are a bit more talented than me, but I think I can achieve something similar, the underwater bit of the one with a boat is doable, the others more for inspiration).

Updates

+1 y

Also do you think it would look weird if I have a painted background with a few fish here and there and then having larger fish (dolphins, sharks, whales etc) in sticker decals. Would it match? I've seen them used with white walls and that looks cool, but not so much with painted colour walls.

[jennifer_bloom]

I loved the last two - the first one seems to appeal to an older and more serious audience. The advantage of the last two is they appeal to both children and adults and seniors too. There is just one thing you have to consider which is that it might be harder to see in dim lighting if you colour your walls a certain colour or it might put more strain on the eye. I'm not an expert on this but maybe ask an optometrist if one wall colour is better then another. Next time you go for glasses or your friend or family do, tell them to ask this question as a side line.

[19magic]

The first one is more something I can do, though I was never planning on doing the landscape just the sea part. The second one was where someone paid a professional to do the work so while I really loved it, it's not quite in my ability, the author said they used a mix of oil paints and it's still very much the same after 10 years. The last one the animals especially the bigger ones is not something I can do, I don't think anyway but I do love the background and that's where the idea of stickers comes from.

I've not heard of that before I'll ask, since my eyes, sight wise isn't so bad, but I do seem to have problems with straining.

[ShesRad80]

yes, and you can either get stencils if you want it semi-permanent or get wall decal so you can remove them easily if you ever get sick of the theme. make up brushes work amazing with paint on walls.

[ShesRad80]

to your update, you mean mix it up the techniques, its your vision make it come to life.

[ShesRad80]

eh forgot this link its sea themed to give you ideas

www.bing.com/.../search

[19magic]

I've literally been scrolling through Pinterest to find things, so now I've got the ideas, I need to work out the techniques. And have never thought of makeup brushes, but you're right even when using cheap ones I haven't noticed the spines/hair break off on your face and the eye shadow ones would give good shading or bubble effects.

[ShesRad80]

art my second passion after healthcare, but i figured that out when i was a kid they make such smooth lines and easy to contour. sounds like you have a fun project ahead! glad you found more ideas just, you can mish mosh any techniques together its art, art rarely has any rhyme or reason

[19magic]

Yeah I loved art as a kid, but I favoured sketching and pastels/chalk more than painting. I'm quite good at repeating 2d pics without tracing, I used to draw so many pokemon lol

[rigmarole]

You'd have to be more specific what your goals are. Like a graffiti artist doing a throw up in a public space that needs to move fast with confidence in their can control and be out of there in 5 to 10 minutes isn't going to be asking for the same advice as a commissioned team of artists air brushing the side side of a building on some art grant. The first generally looks for a clean wall, train car, etc. then will outline large shapes with a light color like white, then block in the background/main color, then come back with the shadows for an outline in say black as an example. Then touch up and highlight before getting out. They will use 3 colors. If they have to prep their surface they will do it a different day with a roller beforehand. In contrast a more extensive mural, the artist will typically draw out all the art ahead of time. Then they have to scale that initial drawing onto a wall. That can be done with gridding methods using exact measurements or even with projectors.

[19magic]

It's going to be painted maybe with different kinds of paints. I was thinking of using emulsions for the background blues, sand and seaweed, and then possibly acrylics for details and animals and anything popping out. I'm still undecided whether to get a few wall decals, and there's an idea of a 3D boat bottom on the ceiling so you're looking up at the bottom of the boat and two paddles and then some fake fishnets for extra in the corner on the ceiling. So once the background was done do some white on the ceiling to copy the one in the pic. Then pencil in some fishes and rocks and try to be good at shading and contour to get more of a 3D effect.

That's my plan at the moment but I'm going to spend the next month or two practicing things on paper before bringing it to the wall.

[rigmarole]

Sounds like it would work. Just prep your surfaces well to avoid flaws later on and figure out your scale ahead of time.

[19magic]

Do you think the different types of paint would matter, as in emulsion Vs acrylic or emulsion matt Vs gloss or silk or one of the other types.

[rigmarole]

Generally emulsion paint used for walls contains an acrylic emulsion as the binder so I don't see why it's be problem. You're prepping your surfaces and putting on new coats for the background colors so it should be good.

[FunkyMonkee]

Yes, in photography class in high school I painted the inside cover of, "Dark Side Of The Moon" across the wall above the chalk board.

[collie22]

Those are so cool. I've never thought of painting one.