Mural Finished!

So, I finished the mural today and really think it turned out pretty good! The leaves are a bit on the light side but I think they might be ok. If I am not satisfied over the next few days I might go and get a darker green to go over them with. We will keep you posted on that. Anyways, without further a due here is the finished product!

I'm very proud of how this turned out. It has been so long since I have attempted anything so creative.. So, for all you out there that might want to try this in the future let me give you a play by play on how we accomplished it.

1. Find/draw something that you want to use as your mural on a piece paper. You can find something on the internet and print it out, free hand something on paper (if you are that good you might be beyond what I am explaining here), or use a computer program like Adobe Illustrator.
2. Take that piece of paper and draw grid lines both horizontally and vertically to give you manageable areas on the wall that you can draw out. I did mine in 1 inch x 1 inch sections which corresponded to 1 foot x 1 foot sections on the wall.
3. Next draw out you grid lines on the wall that correspond to the sheet with your sample picture/drawing from step 1. I used a 4 foot level to help me draw the grid on the wall.
4. Get what you need to draw/paint/etc.. I purchased 4 different paints, 2 from the art store in the acrylic paint section and 2 from Home Depot (play with the sheen a little if you want to provide more depth, I used a shinier paint for the leaves). I also got some pencils and small paint containers so it would be easier to manage on a ladder. I also purchase flat tip brushes to help with the precision I need to achieve in order to stay in the lines of my mural.
5. Draw out you mural with a pencil. Do one squarer at a time to keep the job manageable.
6. Paint! Advice: Use the right brush for the job! if you need to paint something small use a small brush and if you need to paint something big (like the trunk of a tree) use a bigger brush!
7. Touch up. You might need to go back and touch up from erasing grid lines or going outside the lines of your mural. This will make the whole mural look that much better.
8. Your Done! Enjoy!