4 Steps to Paint Your Own Mural

Painting a mural is one of the most creative things you can do to your house interior or exterior. This art will not only add an immediate uniqueness and flare to your house but it will ultimately represent who you are and your personality. Here are some opinions and ideas to get you to your first completed mural.

1. Where will the Mural Be and What Is The Theme?

Will it be an interior or exterior mural? If it is outside then the primer will mostly be different based on the weather extremes and most likely the finish. Also, if the painting is outside then other people who are not family will see it and the theme will be different as it will not be focused on one element as opposed to a mural in the kids bedroom for example.

Where inside or outside the house will the mural be? This is a very good question for planning. If the mural is in the bathroom then maybe you will use complimenting colors with shades of blue for water. If it is in the children’s room then maybe it will be based on a Disney character.

2. Preparation for the Mural

If you have ever tried to paint on concrete or an aggregate/porous surface then you would agree that one of the most important aspects of the mural is the surface. Every mural would optimally have a smooth, cleaned, and primed surface ready to take on the acrylics or latex paint. You can paint on a rough surface but it might be a good idea to level out the bumps with some type of thicker gesso that you can even sand.

Supplies Needed for a Mural

Water and Soap: to of course clean brushes when needed
Palette: which can be anything such as cardboard or wood
Drop cloths or newspaper: Believe me this is important because every mural ends up being a warzone.
Brushes & Rollers: You will need a bigger Gesso/Primer bush, slightly smaller for bigger surfaces for latex, and smaller acrylic brushes for detail. You will also need a paint tray and many covers to put inside the tray.

Primer and Paint: This will depend on the surface but most every mural is primed in someway for acrylic painting. You will need latex paint for the bigger projects or you will spend a fortune on paint. Also a gel primer/medium is good to mix in with paints because if you have any runny paints going down your mural it is a disaster.
Water: rinse brushes
Painters Tape

3. Positioning the Image

The next step will be to somehow get the image you will be painting on the wall. There are ultimately two ways to do this and other variations of course.

Drawing: Some artists just draw the outline and the image by freehand and it comes out amazing. This can be tricky as the image is ultimately the baseline and needs to be done well.
Projector: The Projector in my opinion is the best way as it can be projected on different walls and the image size can be changed easily to get a good idea of what you want without all the mess or labor.

4. Painting the Mural

This is the creative aspect and there is not much direction or opinion in this area. The true artist has their own way of painting and brush/shading techniques. Here are a couple of pointers to give the novice mural painter.

Always step back from the painting intermittently to make sure the painting is proportionate and what you are envisioning.
Make sure the paint is a good consistency so the paint will not run on the wall.