Steps to creating a mural.
The first step to creating a mural is to select a theme. In this case, we wanted to create a mood - a restful scene, invoking thoughts of a quiet summer's day in a cottage garden. Once a theme is established decide which stencils to use. Now is the time to create a rough sketch. It is not necessary for the sketch to be beautiful, it just needs to function as a plan, showing position and size of the wall and the relationship to each other.
With sketch in hand, begin to tackle the wall. Draw a horizontal line where the bottom of the wall in the mural should be. To create depth, draw this line two feet above the bottom of the mural. By having this line so far above the bottom of the mural, the space below the line becomes a large area of ground upon which all of the elements can be placed. This is a good time to "block" in different colors to define each background area, i.e., sky, ground, wall, hills, etc. Use light-colored glazes to do this. (For this purpose, a glaze consists of acrylic craft paint mixed with a little Floetrol, which is applied with a damp sea sponge.) Sponge on a light brown for the background color.
Starting with the garden bench, positioning the back legs below the line, so it appears in front of the wall. Once the bench is in place, determine where to position the window. It is important to stencil the largest elements first: everything else can be worked over and around them. Always save the smallest elements for last. There are three major elements in this mural which are painted in the following order: 1. Bench: 2. Window and shutters: 3. Tree. Items in the background need to be placed higher on the mural, while items in the foreground need to be placed lower. For example, the tree has the appearance of being a few feet in front of the bench, because it is placed lower. For the tree to appear next to the bench, align the roots with the bench legs.
Once these major components are in place, start filling in. Begin layering the stencils over the top of one another. On the right-hand side, stencil tall tools leaning against the tree. The lazy mouse laying against the shovel comes next. Stencil leaves around the tools, in front one moment and disappearing behind them the next. By layering stencils in this way, the mural develops character and appears three dimensional.
When overlapping stencils, position the next stencil over the top of a painted area and "white-out" the background through the stencil, using white paint stippled on for opaque coverage. Once the white dries, stencil in the new element. For the next item to appear behind the existing element, position the stencil over the top and protect the existing element with tape. When the stencil and tape is removed, the last item added appears behind what is already there.
It is important to keep the perspective as accurate as possible. For items above eye level, often the bottom of the items are cut off. When choosing your stencils, keep in mind the designer's point of view.
Be creative with your stencils; layer them using only portions instead of the entire design. It is not necessary to fill every single area; sometimes a single butterfly is all you need. We have found murals a great way to tie in all the colors in a room and to create a focal point that brings a lot of pleasure to our customers. Often there isn't enough room to put a piece of furniture against a wall, but there is always room for a little more paint!